Toronto 2019: The Lost Okoroshi review
★★★★☆ Following his 2016 debut Green White Green, Nigerian director Abba Makama returns to the festival circuit with this exploration of heritage, culture and folk memory,...
Film Reviews & More
Most Recent. In Christopher Machell.
3 May 2024
Film Review: Challengers
★★★★☆ With Luca Guadagnino’s terrific Challengers, the acclaimed director of Call Me By Your Name brings us the sub-genre we never knew we needed: the erotic tennis thriller.
24 April 2024
Film Review: Abigail
★★☆☆☆ Directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s “Abigail” mashes up crime caper and monster movie, but fails to deliver fear or humor. Spoilery trailers and unoriginal characters overshadow promising elements, resulting in a dull, lifeless experience lacking creativity and wit.
17 April 2024
Film Review: Civil War
★★★★☆ In Alex Garland’s Civil War, a group of journalists embark on a road trip to interview the US President amidst a second American Civil War, while exploring media’s dehumanizing relationship with violence.
Christopher Machell
Toronto 2019: #ShareHerJourney, folk memory and belief
As the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) gears up for its 44th year, festival programmers continue to #shareherjourney with 35% of films at...
DVD Round-up: Aug 2019 edition
August’s releases run the gamut from horror, urban thrillers, social justice and tender drama. While themes of modernity, paranoia and urban life prominently feature...
Film Review: Memory: The Origins of Alien
★★★☆☆ Marking its 40-year anniversary, Alexandre O. Phillipe’s new documentary explores the cultural and mythic origins of the film once derided by Pauline Kael...
Film Review: Hail Satan?
★★★★☆ Act with compassion; protect personal freedom; respect bodily autonomy; maintain beliefs consistent with science: accept human fallibility; privilege wisdom over the written word:...
Film Review: Pain and Glory
★★★★★ When director Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) tells his estranged actor and friend Alberto (Asier Etxeandier), “It’s taken me thirty-two years to reconcile myself”...
Film Review: Une Femme Douce
★★★★★ Touring as part of the Cinema Rediscovered festival, Robert Bresson’s 1969 classic finds its way back on to UK screens. Structured in flashback, Une...
Film Review: Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw
★★★☆☆ Supporting characters from previous Fast & Furious instalments, former DSS Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and rogue spy Shaw (Jason Statham) are given the keys to...
