The Sword of Trust (2019): There’s a lot going for this kooky little comedy – an eccentric plot, characters heavy on the quirks, biting dialogue and an absolutely spot-on cast. It all makes for a thoroughly amusing minor cinematic entry. The gist: Cynthia and Mary need to handle Cynthia’s inheritance from her recently deceased grandfather,… Read more

Bumblebee (2018): After the experience of Shazam, I was cautious in approaching BB, a movie that gave a similar vibe. Sadly, it felt painfully PG-13, with a tired story and equally tired characters. Hailee Steinfeld is usually awesome and she does her part in making the whole thing bearable, but were it not for an… Read more

Saving Mr. Banks (2013): A rare success story for the “movie about the movie” genre, SMB proves insightful, amusing and terribly emotional – sometimes to a fault. You probably know by now that I am strongly attached to Mary Poppins, which is why my liking of SMB should come as not so much of a… Read more

Giant Little Ones (2018): In spite of treading familiar territory in terms of story and characters, the way in which director Keith Behrman conjures moods through colors and pacing is top-notch. The story of Franky, played by a young Jesse Eisenberg kind of fellow, and the falling out with his best friend edges towards the… Read more

This is Where I Leave You (2016): Star-studded family reunions rarely work well and, unfortunately, neither does TiWILY. Lead by Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Adam Driver, the movie tries to create the familiar tension of reunions, with secrets unfolding and comatose passions reigniting. At times, it does a decent job, with some of the… Read more

Horror turns classical mush-fest The Perfection (2018): While the movie boasts some cool visuals with strong musical backdrops, it’s farther off from perfection than it probably desires. (Some spoilers ahead) After a promising and thoroughly sexy set-up, it swerves into explanatory flashback territory (a big no-no) before going into full revenge porn mode. Unimaginative twists… Read more

American Animals (2018): Based on a true story, AA approaches its heist story in an unusual manner – not only by recreating it, but also offering a documentary perspective from its protagonists. I wasn’t completely taken by it, because a clean docu or a clean interpretive movie would have felt tighter and produced a more… Read more

The definition of a classic Casablanca (1942): I fell in love with you watching Casablanca/ Back row of the drive-in show in the flickering light/ Popcorn and cokes beneath the stars/ Became champagne and caviar/ Making love on a long hot summer’s night/ I thought you fell in love with me watching Casablanca/ Holding hands… Read more

Casablanca II Transit (2018): Christian Petzold is shaping to be one of my favourite directors at the pace he’s going. The manner in which he tiers characters, geography and historical context is mesmerizing, making up for the more ambiguous moments in his film-making. Transit is particularly bizarre and unlikely at times, with its characters intermittently… Read more

*Insert Blood Pun Here* The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019): Coming directly after finishing John Carreyrou’s book on the subject, I had high expectations of HBO’s Inventor. While it’s an informative piece of film-making, it has three major issues: a) it doesn’t dig deep enough in the juicy subject matter b) it… Read more

When Dealing Lands You in Prison 25th Hour (2002): I am always fearful of re-examining the movies I loved while growing up. This Spike Lee ‘joint’ bears the usual excesses of the director, as he portrays the last day of freedom for Monty Brogan (Ed Norton). It’s out of these excesses that the movie grows,… Read more