Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s new film, All We Imagine as Light, won the prestigious Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in May. The film exhibits an Indianness that is distinctive from the one most frequently represented globally. Within mainstream Hindi cinema, India is often presented as a homogenous Hindu, upper-caste, middle-class Hindi-speaking nation. In western… Continue reading Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ disrupts popular narratives of Mumbai
Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, struggled at the box office when it was released. It remains one of the director’s most under-appreciated films. Unlike 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Shining, which have been endlessly dissected in books and essays, Barry Lyndon has received relatively little scholarly attention –… Continue reading Barry Lyndon at 50: why Kubrick’s most overlooked masterpiece deserves another viewing
Alice Lowe’s Timestalker is an inventive, genre-bending dark comedy that traverses time, love and existential questions with her signature sharp wit and emotional depth. Following her critically acclaimed debut feature Prevenge (2016), Lowe returns with a more ambitious and stylistically experimental project. In Timestalker, she once again demonstrates her unique voice, blending comedy with moments… Continue reading Timestalker: Alice Lowe’s darkly hilarious journey through love and time
The Dr. Strangelove stage adaptation at London’s Noel Coward Theatre delivers a hilarious, engaging, and thought-provoking experience. Armando Iannucci’s adaptation, directed by Sean Foley, stays faithful to Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire while providing a fresh theatrical spin. Steve Coogan, taking on the roles of Captain Mandrake, Dr. Strangelove, President Muffley, and Major TJ Kong,… Continue reading Steve Coogan shines in Dr. Strangelove: a hilarious, faithful spin on Kubrick’s classic from Armando Ianucci
In Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho returns to the big screen with a sci-fi satire that combines biting social commentary with a hefty dose of dark humor. This film, a follow-up to his Academy Award-winning Parasite, is far from the subtle, intricately layered critique of class dynamics that won hearts and Oscars in 2020. Instead,… Continue reading Mickey 17: Robert Pattinson delivers a double dose of dysfunction in Bong Joon-ho’s darkly humorous Sci-Fi satire
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-anticipated sequel to his 1988 cult classic, lands with all the macabre flair you’d expect from the director. While the film doesn’t quite capture the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of the original, it’s still a gleefully twisted ride that manages to stay true to its roots while offering up some fresh, if… Continue reading Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: a spirited return to Tim Burton’s gothic playground
In Starve Acre, director Daniel Kokotajlo delivers a haunting, slow-burning folk horror adaptation of Andrew Michael Hurley’s novel. Set in 1970s Yorkshire, the film stars Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark as a grieving couple whose lives unravel as they encounter ancient, malevolent forces lurking beneath their home. Despite its strong performances and eerie atmosphere, Starve… Continue reading Starve Acre: a brooding dive into folk-horror with atmospheric weight, but lacking in scares
Writer: Yorgos LanthimosDirector: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis FilippouCast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schafer Yorgos Lanthimos’s second film in the space of less than a year, ushers you into a labyrinth of moral quandaries and psychological minefields, further solidifying his reputation for creating films that are not just seen, but experienced on… Continue reading Kinds of Kindness: dark fables and moral quandaries in Lanthimos’ latest
Writer: Jeff Nichols, based on The Bikeriders by Danny LyonDirector: Jeff NicholsCast: Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist If you’re on the lookout for a riveting movie that delves into the camaraderie, struggles, and thrills of motorcycle club life, then Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” might just be the film you’ve been waiting… Continue reading The Bikeriders: Jeff Nichols’ Electrifying Journey into the Heart of Biker Culture
Writer: Alice RohrwacherDirector: Alice RohrwacherCast: Josh O’Connor, Carol Duarte, Vincenzo Nemolato, Alba Rohrwacher La Chimera, directed by Alice Rohrwacher, is a poetic dive into the transformative power of art and human connection. This film, which artfully blends reality with a sense of the ethereal, manages to captivate the viewers from its very first frame. Rohrwacher,… Continue reading La Chimera: exploring mystical realities
