Tag Archives: Drama
Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
The more I mull over THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, the more its place at the head of the Oscar race baffles me. Martin McDonagh’s first film since SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS boasts admirable performances and fiery dialogue but fundamentally frustrates you … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Good Time (2017)
For those of you still in denial: Robert Pattinson is a really good actor, given the right material. GOOD TIME, the tale of a robbery gone wrong and good and bad brotherly influence, comes from the ridiculously talented Safdie Brothers … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Big Sick (2017)
I’ve seen THE BIG SICK twice now, and both times it got me at exactly the same moments. These weren’t particularly emotionally manipulative or maudlin scenes, but the weight of emotion that had built up over the two hours of … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Beach Rats (2017)
BEACH RATS is a digital age twist on the classic coming-of-age/sexual self-discovery tale. Young men who are not yet “out” or are unsure who or what they are looking for in a physical or romantic relationship can escape online, test … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Most Beautiful Island (2017)
MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND is a creepy and tuned-in allegorical suspense thriller. From profound observations of the economic migrant experience, from being “tired of the possibilities”, when you are unlucky to be good-looking in case New York “eats you”. We follow … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Bloody Milk (2017)
It really has been the year for depressing farming dramas hasn’t it? First-time UK filmmakers gave us THE LEVELLING and GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, now comes France’s offering, BLOODY MILK. Director Hubert Charuel must have drawn on some of his own … Continue reading
Review: Marjorie Prime (2017)
MARJORIE PRIME took me by surprise. It’s a very well-acted, thoughtful chamber piece and dialed-back sci-fi has had great form over the last few years, but I wasn’t quite expecting the emotional content to hit me like a train. It’s … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
Yep, it’s definitely an S Craig Zahler film. Much like his Western BONE TOMAHAWK, BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 is intense, drip-feedy in its pacing and almost cartoonishly ultraviolent. Also like Tomahawk it seems to become an entirely different film … Continue reading
Review: The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is an absolute delight. This is a really funny, sweet, real movie. Of course thirteen year-old Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) curses God for her uncanny resemblance to “Vote for Pedro” as she hits puberty. As she hits … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Loving (2016)
LOVING is glacial in pacing, almost apologetically low-key and the thick-as-treacle accents can be just as tricky to translate as in writer-director Jeff Nichols’ other work. The two grounded performances at its heart (career bests from both Joel Edgerton and … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 