Nobody Knows (2004) If The Florida Project didn’t bum you out quite enough, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Nobody Knows might do the trick. After Akira (Yûya Yagira) and his mother Keiko (an actress named You) greet the landlord’s at their new complex.… Continue Reading
Sami Blood (2017) The Sami people of northern Sweden’s Lappland region raise reindeer to this day, but much like most indigenous peoples, the history of racial discrimination and cultural misunderstanding are lain bare in Sami Blood. When Christina (Maj-Doris Rimpi)… Continue Reading
Annihilation (2018) Cerebral science fiction master Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Never Let Me Go) has again arrived to drag his viewers into his weaving, creative world. In Annihilation, an adaptation of the first book in Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy,… Continue Reading
A Fantastic Woman (2018) Daniela Vega’s introduction to Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman is grand. Her older lover’s stroll through a busy bar guides him to Marina Vidal, the singer in the band flirting with Orlando (Francisco Reyes) offstage. Is… Continue Reading
On Body and Soul (2018) It’s rare to find a film both tender and subtle while adding style and quirk in its narrative. Eternal Sunshine, Her, and now On Body and Soul: the long awaited new film from Ildikó Enyedi,… Continue Reading
Black Panther (2018) Marvel’s Black Panther may be my new favorite superhero movie. Writer-director Ryan Coogler, the celebrated filmmaker behind Fruitvale Station and Creed, blends modern sensibility, superhuman magic, and cultural diversity within this stellar action film. Growing from the… Continue Reading
The Insult (2018) Arriving with a bang, Lebanon received its first nomination for Ziad Doueiri’s The Insult. The story of two men at odds–one of Lebanese Christian, one a Palestinian Muslim–whose feud speaks for a country in turmoil. When a… Continue Reading
A Ciambra (2018) With the energy of Ma’ Rosa and paced like Good Time, Jonas Carpignano follows up his refugee drama Mediterranea with a sequel of sorts in A Ciambra. A Romani family, a settled community of gypsies, is always… Continue Reading
Paddington 2 (2018) I express myself in film. If there’s anything that’ll actually impact my mood, it’s a film. Paddington 2 is the perfect antidote to a bad mood. Following up the better than I could have imagined first venue,… Continue Reading
Paddington (2014) After all the praise and BAFTA nominations were thrown on early 2018 release Paddington 2, I had to finally give the first film a try. Having avoided it due to the plethora of silly gags in the trailer and… Continue Reading