By: Jolie Featherstone Dome Karukoski’s Tolkien is a polished, but reserved, Edwardian period piece that explores the early life of J. R. R. Tolkien, famed author of The Lord of the Rings. From a childhood fraught with loss to serving in in the First World War as a young adult, the film draws connections between Tolkien’s real-life experiences and the lore and legends he created in his works.
Sunset is a sophomore feature from Oscar-winning Hungarian director László Nemes (Son of Saul). Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Son of Saul, so I can’t compare notes nor can I comment on how the filmmaker has grown. However, I was reminded of another recent period film while I was watching Sunset – Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite.
Across the past couple decades, Armando Iannucci has repeatedly shown himself to be one of the most important voices working in comedy. Whether we are discussing his hand in the creation of Alan Partridge or his blatantly political work in The Thick of It and Veep, Iannucci has shown that he has his hand on the comedic pulse of whatever age he may be in. Now, he’s decided to take on a new experiment: a…
After a 5-year hiatus, English filmmaker Terence Davies returns with Sunset Song, an adaptation of the seminal Scottish novel by Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Davies’ traditionally melodramatic and stilted approach to writing drama is on display here, and a great hindrance to this adaptation.