Karyn Kusama captures Nicole Kidman as we’ve never seen her before in the edgy crime drama, Destroyer. Washed up, jaded and broken LAPD detective Erin Bell (Kidman) confronts her shady past when a dangerous foe from her undercover days sends an ominous message and opens up old wounds. The narrative is enigmatically split between Erin’s present…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Destroyer’ Review
Rupert Everett has been tirelessly trying to make The Happy Prince for the past ten years. He secured Colin Firth and Emily Watson early on, which helped in shopping his sharp script around to different studios. While waiting for finances to pull through, he mastered his brilliant cinematic performance by playing Oscar Wilde on stage for two…
Continue reading ➞ ‘The Happy Prince’ Review
This article was originally published on Film Threat (August 2014). Judy Greer makes her delightful and distinctive directorial debut with the star-studded offbeat comedy, A Happening of Monumental Proportions. Individual crises converge as a diverse cast of characters experience a variety of challenges. In one life-changing day, an illicit office affair is exposed, an overbearing boss…
Continue reading ➞ ‘A Happening of Monumental Proportions’ Review
This article was originally published on Film Threat (April 18, 2018). David and Nathan Zellner wrote, directed, and star in the unconventional and off-beat comedic Western, Damsel. This quirky film is an acquired taste. Viewers enter the theater expecting the unexpected, yet it still manages to be stranger than imagined. Parson Henry stumbles into his new…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Damsel’ Review
This article was originally published on Film Threat (April 18, 2018). The tragic tale of Frankenstein’s Monster is greatly known. There have been several adaptations of the creature’s misunderstood torment over the years. Haifaa Al-Mansour’s Mary Shelley offers a refreshing and relatable take on how the monster mirrors Mary’s (and her similar peers’) struggle. After learning the…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Mary Shelley’ Review
Barry Jenkins’ stunning adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel, If Beale Street Could Talk, is poetry in motion. A gripping narrative and vivid imagery transcends the page and illuminates the big screen as Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) shares her scattered tale of true love and tackles adversity in 1970s Harlem. Throughout the film, we feel submerged in her world as Jenkin’s artful direction floods viewers with vibrant colors, groovy tunes, and the threat of danger lurking in the dark corners of her neighborhood.
Outlaw King is a sweeping epic beautifully and brutally depicting Robert Bruce’s (Chris Pine) arduous efforts to unite all Scots and free Scotland from British rule. Braveheart made us familiar with the Scots’ graphically bloody plight for freedom in the 14th century. This film echoes similar sentiments, especially when William Wallace’s death inspires Bruce to boldly take action against the British monarchy.
Vox Lux: A Twentieth Century Portrait ambitiously tackles pertinent issues and fears that plague our society today. This flashy film and its loaded storyline create an unexpected and paralleled paradox.
Ophelia is a female-driven re-imagining of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which instills strength and hope into the despairing ingenue that has spawned countless melancholic portrayals in various forms of art.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Joel Edgerton on the red carpet when he received a tribute at the 2018 Mill Valley Film Festival. Being a fan of his work, I always wondered what inspires him to choose a project. Watch the video to learn his answer: https://youtu.be/ig6B-yox5F4 After screening his brilliant new film, 'Boy…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Boy Erased’ Review and Interview with Joel Edgerton
