Drama
Best Sellers
Films are rewarded when they think outside the box and resist their genre’s conventions. But sometimes, a movie can remind us of how narrative prerequisites can be misinterpreted as cliché by indifferent filmmakers.
The Card Counter
Much like an expert poker player, writer/director Paul Schrader underplays The Card Counter. Instead of a flashier approach that boasts with style, Schrader captures the subdued focus and routine of a gambling sub-culture and its players. One of those players being William Tell (Oscar Isaac), a former serviceman who invests in high-rolling card games to keep himself distracted. It’s an efficient, time-consuming past-time that prevents William from possibly falling back into bad habits.
Mogul Mowgli
By: Trevor Chartrand Director Bassam Tariq and actor Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler, Sound of Metal) are the co-writers of BBC Films’ Mogul Mowgli, and together they explore the concepts of family, tradition, and cultural identity/responsibility with their recent collaboration.
Black Conflux
Written and directed by Nicole Dorsey, Black Conflux gets many things right. Aesthetically, it is a compelling film that makes use of visual motifs to link the lives of two very different characters.
Pig
Michael Sarnoski’s feature-length directorial debut Pig is about a recluse truffle hunter (Rob played by Nicolas Cage) who is need of answers after his truffle-finding pig is stolen – the John Wick comparisons are unavoidable. Both movies feature an actor-turn-cult icon playing an enigmatic strong-but-silent type who has the main motivation of reuniting with their animal companion. It’s already been clarified by audiences who have embraced Pig that Sarnoski’s movie couldn’t be more different, with…
Creation Stories
Not very often do audiences receive a biopic as pointless and embarrassing as Creation Stories. Then again, the filmmaker could still benefit from a turkey like this. If they believe their biopic holds valuable nostalgia or fan service, ham-fisted qualities can be forgiven by movie goers, allowing the movie to even win Oscars. It worked for Bohemian Rhapsody.
Zola
Zola, to an extent, is experimental with its narrative. While it flows coherently, the film is very much still in tune with its source material – a series of tweets explaining a story that’s “strange yet true” – and presents itself as someone spinning you a wild yarn (intercut with tangents and outbursts).
Censor
Is a movie still a success if it didn’t come through on its initial promise, yet still left an effective impression? I had a similar reaction earlier this year to Saint Maud, and here I am again with Censor, a horror from writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond that moved me even though I was never truly scared.
