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Mank is a Time Capsule of Old Hollywood, Centered around a Burnout Screenwriter (Who Went On to Create History)
Mank is one of those films that, despite having all of the elements for success, fall just short of being great. Directed by David Fincher and starring heavyweights such as Gary Oldman and Charles Dance, it focuses on disgraced screenwriter…
Happiest Season Puts a New Spin on Familiar Christmas Cheer, Exploring Queer Identity and Acceptance
Happiest Season is another entry in a long line of Christmas-themed romantic comedies. What makes it different, however, is that it’s about a lesbian couple who have to hide their relationship because one of them is still in the closet,…
Run is a Tense, Tightly-Directed Narrative of a Parasitic Mother-Daughter Relationship
Run is one of those movies that are easy to figure out, especially if you’re aware of Munchausen by proxy and have seen Sharp Objects or The Act. But it holds you glued to the screen, thanks to the tension…
Freaky is a Fun (and Predictable) Take on Body-Swapping and Slasher Movies
Freaky is another one of Blumhouse production’s horror hybrid mishmash, done by trusted Blumhouse collaborator, Christopher Langdon. He worked previously on the Happy Death Day movies, which married time loops to slashers. Freaky, on the other hand, mixes body swapping…
Sincerely Yours, Dhaka: a Metropolitan Saga, on its way to Oscars
The 2018 movie, Sincerely Yours, Dhaka (available on Netflix) is being considered for an Oscar Nomination, so I decided to revive an old piece for the occasion. The post-modern, metropolitan cinematic anthology about Dhaka city, “Sincerely Yours, Dhaka”, is a…
Love and Monsters is a Pleasing Take on the Young Adult Apocalypse Genre (Despite Taking Many Cues from Other Popular Stories)
Love and Monsters is a throwback to the family-friendly YA fares that were so frequent during the 80s and the 90s. A lovable (and self-deprecating) dork sets out in a dangerous world filled with large, deadly monsters to reunite with…
Ludo is an Entertaining Black Comedy that Blends Four Different Narratives to Great Effect
Ludo has all the hallmarks of a signature Anurag Basu production: loud color palettes, a almost whimsical brand of dark comedy and multiple intersecting narratives. This is Basu’s first film after Jagga Jasoos, which met mixed reactions. Over the course…
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is a Delightful Farce that Updates the Classic Trickster for a New America
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was announced only a few weeks before its release. Taking place 14 years after the original, the sequel takes aim at Trump supporters, QAnon truthers and Covid protesters. While the movie is not as shocking as its…
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a Tense and Eloquent Reenactment of a Real Life Political Trial, Reflecting Many Issues of Our Time
The events depicted in The Trial of the Chicago 7 unfolded more than fifty years ago, but there is an undeniable air of relevancy to them. Helmed by the unapologetic partisan Aaron Sorkin, it’s a crackling courtroom drama filled with…
Serious Men is an Entertaining Satire of a Ambitious Con-Man Whose House of Cards Starts to Come Apart
Adapted from a novel of the same name written by Manu Joseph, Serious Men is a satire that touches on casteism, endemic problems in the education sector and how ordinary people thrust the weight of the world onto their children…