This is certainly not your mother’s Hill House. Mike Flanagan has taken Shirley Jackson’s novel and re-imagined it as a family saga—something I was apprehensive about, because family sagas are so common nowadays. I’m rather partial to Jackson’s […]
Tag: Drama
The Breadwinner (Twomey, 2017)
The thing I most admire about The Breadwinner is the fact that it doesn’t end on a tidy note. I found that commendable. It shows a lot of maturity to avoid the customary scene of hugs and […]
Wonder (Chbosky, 2017)
I totally get that this film could be seen as ableist in casting Jacob Tremblay as a boy with facial disfigurement, using prosthetics to fashion a mask that an actual disabled actor wouldn’t need. Obviously, […]
Logan (Mangold, 2017)
If I had a special connection to the X-Men franchise, and if Wolverine had been one of my all-time favourite characters, I would’ve appreciated this far more. This whole setup feels like the culmination of a grand […]
Aquarius (Mendonça Filho, 2016)
There’s an impressive amount of strength that Sônia Braga carries while she’s acting. From one look or movement, she has the ability to arrest you on the spot. You do not mess with her. You […]
Ordeal by Innocence (Goldbacher, 2018)
Of the three Sarah Phelps adaptations of Christie’s work thus far, this one is by far the most radical. In the others, she kept much of Christie’s plotting intact, and instead added her own modern […]
Indian Horse (Campanelli, 2017)
Stories like the one told in Indian Horse demand greater representation. The colonial injustices against the Indigenous peoples of Canada, like the abuse they suffered in residential schools for over a century, are a national shame that […]
The Party (Potter, 2017)
I think, with a little more time and a few more twists, The Party could’ve come together as a truly splendid chamber farce. The cast is there. Sally Potter is one of Britain’s more underrated filmmakers working […]
Thoroughbreds (Finley, 2017)
Like a two-day-old helium balloon, you can see Thoroughbreds slowly deflating with each passing act. It begins promisingly enough, centering on the affectless Amanda (a fantastic Olivia Cooke) as she rekindles her relationship with childhood friend Lily […]
The Tale (Fox, 2018)
On one hand, it’s a shame The Tale wasn’t given a theatrical release. The subject matter is more than topical right now, and one always wants to see a great talent like Laura Dern headlining the big […]
Book Club (Holderman, 2018)
Geared toward the twilight set, Book Club delivers a fair amount of laughs courtesy of its cast of American treasures. It’s a bit like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, in the sense that its concerns are about the […]
You Were Never Really Here (Ramsay, 2017)
The quality of this film that I admired from the start was the heightened soundscape, which I assume is meant to mirror the sensitivity of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joe. Conversations and footsteps here have a sharpness […]
Hereditary (Aster, 2018)
Kudos to Ari Aster for making a film that is so unbridled in its insanity that it has the durability of Teflon. There are several images in Hereditary that will be hard to forget anytime soon. From […]
Let the Sunshine In (Denis, 2017)
It’s only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away.—The Bee Gees Claire Denis continues to be nothing less than fascinating with her first film in four years, a far cry from […]
Where is Kyra? (Dosunmu, 2017)
Another mark in the “win” column, Bradford Young. You really are one of the best DPs in the business right now. You understand the stories you’re hired to tell with your visual acumen. You have […]
The Lonely Film Critic 