Category Archives: Film
Review in Brief: Nomadland (2020)
Arguably no filmmaker since Agnés Varda has blended elements of documentary and fiction together as effectively as Chloé Zhao. NOMADLAND’s narrative is loose and meandering, but only to reflect the Nomad on-the-move, purposeful and yet purposeless lifestyle. Following industrial collapse … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Run (2020)
Non-specific spoilers for RUN ahead. If there’s one mystery-thriller movie trope that really needs to die, it’s the Convenient Incriminating Evidence Box. Aneesh Chaganty’s sophmore feature is far less assured than SEARCHING, being about 50 minutes of a decent thriller … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Promising Young Woman (2020)
With PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN writer-director Emerald Fennell has crafted one of the most challenging and keen-edged debut films in years, and it’s making just the right kinds of people mad. Cassie (Carey Mulligan) spends her evenings pretending to be blackout … Continue reading
Crip Camp (2020) Review
Review in Brief: Baby Done (2020/21)
A lot of New Zealand comedies have a very distinct feel, and BABY DONE from writer-director team Curtis Vowell and Sophie Henderson echoes the voice of its producer Taika Waititi. This is deadpan-funny, heartfelt and unafraid to make its protagonist … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH tells a heightened version of a story that everyone should know, and tells it with righteous anger. Unfortunately some elements of the film’s abundant style do admittedly get in the way, like the depiction of … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Minari (2020)
There’s no debate, MINARI is an American film – what could be more American than a tale of a family buying a farm and dreaming of living off the land? It’s astounding that the film features two of the first … Continue reading
Godzilla vs Kong (2021) Review
Review in Brief: Ammonite (2020)
AMMONITE is a labour-intensive, impeccably detailed and tender film, the second from tactile master Francis Lee. This is a story of passions, of the agony of being starved of them, of being kept from them. Direct comparisons to PORTRAIT OF … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 