Sarah Gavron’s Rocks is a realist coming-of-age drama that follows a young girl of colour, “Rocks” (Bukky Bakray), as she struggles caring for her younger brother after their mother leaves without warning. Aggressively directed and acted, Rocks offers a poignant intersectional look at race, poverty, and gender in the context of the United Kingdom, where the racial tensions–let alone economic tensions–triggered by Brexit are flourishing.
Other than his physical appearance, my knowledge on the life and career of Frank Zappa was nil; which is why I was anticipating the documentary Zappa. Because if a filmmaker is going to educate me on the legacy of a prolific musician, it’s documentarian Alex Winter. Recently known for his return as Bill S. Preston Esq. in Bill & Ted Face The Music, music aficionado Winter is also one of the best documentarians currently working…
I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight has an ungainly title but, luckily, the film’s memorable efforts are more than distracting.
Netflix follows up The Princess Switch: Switched Again with another disappointing seasonal sequel to one of their holiday hits, The Christmas Chronicles.
I’m laying my cards out on the table: I have an unconditional love for Nickelodeon. The network defined my childhood, helped diversify my media and sense of humour, and it was an outlet for truly unique entertainment. As much as I tried to enter Scott Barber and Adam Sweeney’s documentary The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story without an enamouring bias, it was impossible.
Screenwriter Darius Marder teams up yet again with filmmaker Derek Cianfrance. Only this time, the roles are reversed with executive producer Cianfrance taking a story credit and Marder (still penning the screenplay) stepping into the director’s chair. The finished film, Sound of Metal, is as much of a masterpiece as their last collaboration, The Place Beyond the Pines.
We’ve all seen a movie that pairs an uncomfortable adult with a precocious child, and usually the humour stems from their awkwardness that develops into an endearing dynamic as their chemistry develops. Saint Frances is no different, and about halfway through the movie I thought I had Alex Thompson’s film figured out. Little did I know that the film was quietly providing the groundwork for inspiring feministic themes that would elevate the material above its…
The original cast, director, and screenwriters from Netflix’s surprise hit The Princess Switch have reunited for The Princess Switch: Switched Again to offer fan service for at-home viewers. But even though the production remembers what tickled audiences the first time around, they have failed to capture the same spark in this rusty sequel.
Lenin M. Sivam’s Roobha explores two intersecting narratives: one, a young dancer, Roobha (Amrit Sandhu), a transgender woman living on the streets; two, an older bartender Antony (Jesuthasan Antonythasan) whose poor lifestyle choices have severally worsened his health. The two unexpectedly fall in love, creating tension in both characters’ lives.
I’ll be frank: Chick Fight is a disappointment. With a cast that boasts big names like Alec Baldwin, Fortune Feimster, and Bella Thorne, I expected more from this female-lead action-comedy.