Mudbound [2017]: A Gritty, Hard-Hitting & Thought-Provoking Snapshot of American History
Powered by strong performances from its cast and steered by Dee Rees’ excellent direction, Mudbound paints a gritty portrait of…
Sexy Beast (2000): A Dazzlingly Ferocious Crime Flick
Ex-criminal Gary ‘Gal’ Dove (Ray Winstone) is blissfully enjoying his retirement with his ex-porn star wife DeeDee (Amanda Redman). Gal…
Claire’s Camera [2017]: Hong Sang-soo Once Again Defies Narrative Rules
Once again, Hong Sang-soo crafted a piece that is succinctly his own, and it is sure to please Hongophiles everywhere.
Lean on Pete [2017] – An Elegiac Tale of a Lonely Teenager at Crossroads
English film-maker Andrew Haigh’s previous devastating existential dramas – Weekend (2011) & 45 Years (2015) – were essentially about…
[Watch] Video Essay Exploring why “Ringu” is a relevant horror film in the era of clickbaits
Ringu (1998) Video Essay: For my other video series (alongside Film Finds), I take an in-depth look at what I…
Oculus [2013]: Thrilling, Mystifying & More Involving Than Your Average Horror Flick
Smart, scary & unpredictable for the majority of its runtime, Oculus is a solidly crafted, skilfully executed & surprisingly effective…
Lookback on Lumet: The Hill [1965]
Like the hill itself, the film slowly trudges its way up as it gradually introduces each character (of the newcomers and the assortment of prison staff), repetitively, yet importantly showing their physical endurance being pushed, before it reaches a height with the death, and then the film falls down the other side of the hill, hurtling faster and more ruggedly towards a climatic stand-off involving the exchanges of arguments and fists.
Old Stone [2016] – A Taut Drama on the Bone-Chilling Bureaucratic Insensitivity
Shanghai-born and Vancouver-based film-maker Johnny Ma’s stark social realist drama/thriller Old Stone (2016) is a disturbing illustration of the sardonic…








