“Before I was born, I definitely had the wrong identity. I already didn’t know — I was already prepared not to know who I really was.” Frédéric Bourdin Bart Layton’s arresting documentary features a story almost as bewildering as Abducted in Plain Sight, with an American family who welcomed in a 23-year-old French man impersonating […]
“To read and control people’s minds is the secret of the ninja strategy. Only real sincerity can move human hearts.” Dakuan A swashbuckling fantasy set in feudal Japan, Ninja Scroll’s action is its strength from mercenery Jubei’s lightning-fast strikes to the variety provided by his superpowered enemies, often requiring intelligence rather than brawn to beat. […]
“Yo, what up everybody. Roaring Kitty here. I’m going to pick a stock and talk about why I think it’s interesting. And that stock is GameStop.” Keith Gill As a Reddit user, I followed the GameStop short squeeze in early 2021 with great interest as several Wall Street hedge funds were blindsided by loosely coordinated […]
“Am I playing that role or am I living that role? Or am I living through it by pretending?” ‘Rangamarthanda’ Raghava Rao Opening with an antiquated monologue about the nature of acting, Ranga Marthanda is a Telugu drama that explores the relationships and tragic downfall of a venerated theatre actor following his retirement. It is […]
“If you leave something behind, you gain something too.” Nora’s Mom Opening with three individuals being observed from across a bar, Past Lives flashes back by several decades ultimately circling back to that same bar scene now imbued with the years of yearning and intimacy refined through the course of the film. Writer-director Celine Song’s […]
“Nothing is more important than finding these jackfruit right now.” SP Angrez Singh Randhawa A satire of Indian government masquerading as a light-hearted comedy, Kathal (“jackfruit”) is entertaining but lacks the requisite bite to make its satire as potent as it ought to be. Its intentions regarding political influence over the police are clear from […]
“I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes it feels like he can read my mind and there’s nowhere left that I can actually be alone.” Alice In Alice, Darling the titular protagonist is forced to acknowledge the non-physical abuse in her relationship during a girls’ trip away from her partner. Anna Kendrick delivers her best […]
Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (literally “The Thief Has Escaped”) is a Hindi heist film centred around a diamond theft on a plane which is interrupted by a hijacking. Opening with a vegan meet-cute between air steward Neha and persistent businessman Ankit — which fluctuates between charming and awkward — the couple proceed with the crime […]
“When we have liberated ourselves, we will have to ask ourselves who we are.” Ona Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel is a dour but moving experience, its desaturated melancholy swallowed by heavy blacks. Toews described her novel as an “imagined response to real events”, chronicling the women in an isolated rural religious community […]
“Chance of success just plummeted.” Jack of Hearts Heart of Stone opens strongly with a mountainous MI6 mission that subverts the trope of field agents versus the techies stuck in the van; then the script intervenes and it at all begins to unravel into Netflix’s trademark action movie recipe of big name stars and poor […]