The Teachers’ Lounge
By: Jolie Featherstone Ilker Çatak’s award-winning feature The Teachers’ Lounge is a scintillating, modern-day fable.
Oscar
Minamata
Minamata was in the running for the inaugural Fan Favourite Oscar earlier this year. The primary issue: nobody really knew what Minamata was. It was a nominee that was championed by Johnny Depp’s loyal fanbase, and the dedication resulted in the mystery movie coming in third-place ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home and tick, tick…BOOM!.
The Father
The Father is a really interesting Oscar contender, and not just within this year’s nominees – it would be a stand-out during any year.
The Insult
The Insult is over-the-top. It begins with unique charm, but that approach eventually consumes too much time and spills over – much like the pivotal argument that Ziad Doueiri’s movie is centred around.
The Red Turtle
By: Nick Ferwerda As a huge fan of Studio Ghibli’s catalogue, it’s hard not to go into their latest co-production The Red Turtle with very high hopes. I am happy to report that this film does not disappoint.
Embrace of the Serpent
By the end of the month, faithful viewers of the Academy Awards will see if Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent is able to beat out the other pictures competing for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. I can’t comment if Guerra’s film is better than the other contenders, but I think the Academy was very generous by nominating it in the first place.
Carol
By: Mark Barber Carol is a difficult film to describe without context. I have occasionally found myself at odds with contemporary representations of queer identity, as it refuses to abandon elements of tragedy that have dominated for so long. As Vito Russo points out in his celebrated The Celluloid Closet, queer characters rarely receive a happy ending. Same-sex relationships were taboo for much of the 20th century, which was then reflected in their filmic representation….
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
By: Mark Barber The Oscar-nominated doc Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me follows the title legendary country singer through both his final tour and his struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Necessarily poignant (if artificial) and urgent about the subject and his inevitably fatal illness, the film still occasionally struggles with the presence of exploitation. Numerous interviews with family, friends, and celebrities set up a touching rumination on the ineluctable flow of time. But the oft-witty Campbell serves…
Last Days in Vietnam
By: Gesilayefa Azorbo Last Days in Vietnam, directed by Rory Kennedy, is a gripping look back at the massive, often unsanctioned evacuations of South Vietnamese citizens and Americans in Vietnam that were undertaken in the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War. This is a story told through meticulously researched archival footage and interviews with key players in the US and Vietnamese military and state departments – including Henry Kissinger himself – as well as…
August: Osage County
By: Addison Wylie As far as films with an ensemble cast go, August: Osage County is among the best. Its star studded line-up filled out by Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Juliette Lewis (just to name a few) is enough to get movie goers in seats. What pays off even more are the exceptional performances during the constant sparring between these highly dysfunctional family members. The Westons have a large family and…