BETTER MAN
If you had told me that I would enjoy a Robbie Williams biopic featuring a CGI chimpanzee, I would have laughed in your face. And yet! There are places where the gimmick gets a bit tired - watching ape-Williams opine about the trials of fame to a room full of recovering addicts is particularly taxing. But overall, this film is invigorating. I kinda love it.
ON THE GO
This strange little road trip movie manages to drag despite plenty of absurd situation-comedy and even a barnyard orgy sequence. Chacha Huang's performance as La Reina, a self-proclaimed mermaid with supernatural powers, is a fun highlight in an otherwise tedious film.
EMILIA PÉREZ
Oh Internet, boy did you hate this movie! I am neither trans nor Mexican, and totally missed the various missteps and misrepresentations that seem to have killed it for many viewers - and the melodrama is laid on a bit thick for my liking. Still, watching a hyper-masculine drug lord - played by the regal Karla Sofia Gascón - transform into a self-assured trans woman is captivating. Worth the watch.
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
The beauty of this film lies in its detail: it skillfully evokes the humid air of the Mumbai streets, the tight wrap of a starched sari, the scent of chicken marinating in rich spice. A quiet portrait of three strong women struggling with the challenges and contradictions of modern Indian life.
THE OUTRUN
Set in the Orkney Islands - visually stunning and emotionally resonant. Saoirse Ronan portrays the depths of alcoholism and regret with subtly and grace.
BAISE-MOI
Thelma and Louis meets Natural Born Killers meets amateur porn. This film is not for the faint of heart - it opens with the most brutal rape scene I've ever witnessed, and proceeds accordingly. Still, there's something sickly satisfying about watching these two abused women as they go on a vengeful killing rampage. Yikes, I say.
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
I really wanted to like this movie, a family drama set in contemporary Iran. The courage of the director, an Iranian dissident who escaped the regime after imprisonment and torture, is undeniable, and the footage of anti-hijab protests, artfully laced into the film from the perspective of two young, questioning women, is both disturbing and inspiring. However, the characters on the whole remain two-dimensional, especially the father, whose descent into misogyny and violence feels forced. The ending, when it finally arrives after three grueling hours, is almost comical in its melodrama - in any case it drew titters from the audience at my viewing. There's no denying the value of this picture as a portrait of life under Iranian tyranny - its flaws however make it difficult to watch. Unfortunately, I just can't recommend it.
THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS
I saw this film during the Queertactics Festival in Vienna. It didn't feel all that queer to me - the protagonist's lesbian relationship only gets cursory attention - but the primary love story, beginning in 1960s Pakistan and spanning decades, is moving and authentic.
ANORA
Despite all the hype around this movie, I didn't expect it to be so dang funny. Lots of violence played for laughs, which made me a little queasy at times. Still, Mikey Madison's performance is delectable, and Mark Eidelstein's portrayal of a spoiled up-and-coming oligarch is priceless.
MADALENA
This quiet picture-book of a movie portrays the lives - and deaths - of transgender women in rural Brazil. Moving and disturbing, its imagery is surreal in the most real of ways.
ANTONIA'S LINE
This 1995 film is one of my all-time favorites. Set in the Netherlands post WWII, it tells the story of a matriarchal family as it transforms and expands over half a century. Gloriously feminist.
KINDS OF KINDNESS
I saw this film once and HATED it. I saw it a second time and was spellbound. Far more challenging than the relatively accessible Poor Things, it is slow, ugly and raw. And 100% worth it.
POOR THINGS
A uniquely twisted, endearingly peculiar coming-of-age story. Emma Stone's precise and passionate portrayal of budding sexuality and developing maturity is set against a backdrop of bonkers storytelling. Quite a ride.
ALL OF US STRANGERS
If ghosts are real, this is what they look like. Heartbreaking and beautiful. The chemistry between Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott is profound.
BULLET TRAIN
Violent as hell and super entertaining. Brad Pitt is at his best - endearingly self-depreciating even as he's bashing someone's face in. Priceless side characters, too - I'm anxiously awaiting the Tangerine & Lemon prequel!
CIVIL WAR
I expected little from this picture, and was pleasantly surprised. I'm no expert, but this felt like a genuine glimpse into the lives of war photojournalists, despite the disaster-exploitation backdrop.
Further Favorites:
What can I say - Cumberbitch for life!
