Petite maman (2021): Funny how I have not seen Sciamma’s Portrait, but a more or less chance moment made me watch her follow-up to it. And what a wondrous movie Petite maman is. I started the day by reading up some comments of a director complaining there should be fewer constraints on auteur movie runtimes, given how much is accepted of three hour long superhero movies. And then this 72 minute wonder comes along just to show, for the I don’t know how manieth time, that phenomenal stories have more than enough room to flourish in a less epically sprawling form, packing enormous depth in seeming simplicity. This tale about motherhood and family is perfectly balanced, sweet, introspective, emotional, so very close to a movie with no weak moments. The timeless quality it achieves in both its narrative and its auburn, remote setting was magnetic to me and immediately set my mind back to my own auburn, remote settings of childhood. I’ll say it again, wondrous. 9
Rose Matafeo: On and On and On (2024): I wanted to start this one out by claiming to have been a long time fan of Rose Matafeo, only to realize it’s probably not even three years since I saw Dead Pixels. In this HBO stand-up she talks about relationships and identity, the former head on, the latter by going around it first. Per chance, if you’re interested in identity and football, it’s as good a time as any to plug the book I wrote some years ago. Aaaanyway, this might not always be the newest of materials, but I’ve always enjoyed Rose’s energy, which goes up to eleven on this one. On and On and On (also an ABBA song!) is fun, full of life and introspective enough to make you forget about your typical worries and go a bit more existential on the night. 7
Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It (2024): Ronny Chieng, one of comedy’s best known haters and a The Daily Show correspondent and host delivers the goods in his latest Netflix show. Taking on themes like embryo harvesting, foreigners and MAGA within the context of his own experiences as a first generation immigrant, he (also) doesn’t break fundamentally new territory with the show, but still manages to entertain. Sometimes the humor tends towards the low brow side of thing, which is fine for me, as long as it works. I think it mostly does here and Love to Hate It proves good entertainment. 7
Die Alone (2024): To make anything that resembles a dystopian zombie-esque movie that doesn’t feel tired is an achievement. So Lowell Dean’s movie already has that going for it, alongside a fine performance from Carrie-Anne Moss. It generally looks good, too. The plot, however, strains your patience with its contrivances to keep the mystery going, which gets a bit old especially once it’s obvious what the mystery was. That said, a poetic ending earns DA brownie points and offers it a cushy seat in the list of not-quite-throwaway post-apocalyptic explorations. 7
The Little Mermaid (2023): Now, don’t accuse me of imbibing obscene Disney kool-aid. This is a wannabe horror adaptation of the Andersen’s fairytale, which isn’t absolutely terrible, it’s just not great at all. Set to a theme park score and featuring a handful of typical B-movie performances, I don’t reckon it takes itself too seriously. Alas, it’s neither bold in its humour, nor creative in its set-pieces, but it does take some creativity in its plotting. I’m trying to look at the not-empty part of the glass, so I’ll add that Lydia Helen’s portrayal of the mermaid is in many ways stereotypical, yet effective. Above and beyond it all, TLM just isn’t much fun or scary. 4
tributary stu 