Drama

Where does the horror lie in Tereza Nvotová’s Nightsiren? Is it in the supposed curse that has followed Šarlota (Natalia Germani) from her childhood to the present day? Or is it embodied in the inhabitants of her secluded town to which she’s returned after a twenty-year absence? Is it the witch rumored to live in […]

What are movies at their very basic but images projected on a screen with accompanying sound? It’s just light reflected into our eyes. But it takes a gifted filmmaker to use every inch of that canvas and every decibel afforded to them, and to use it well. Ari Aster is one such filmmaker, whose stories, […]

Here’s the thing about the evolving Magic Mike series: It’s not about the stripping. Sure, the dance moves are fantastic, but at the heart of it, it’s about Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) trying to find his way amid shady club owners (Magic Mike), impending adulthood (Magic Mike XXL), and, finally, being someone’s everything while becoming […]

Alice, Darling is a snapshot of a woman in hell. Completely lost and drained of life, it takes two women to bring her back to the land of the living, and even their combined efforts still might not be able to break through. We’re put right in the titular Alice’s (Anna Kendrick) physical and mental […]

Much like any “stranger in a strange land” film, Kitchen Brigade (original French title: La Brigade) mines its comedy and tension from two disparate factions having to learn about each other. There’s the initial standoff, followed by a gradual armistice which leads to understanding and cooperation. And, of course, who can forget the happy-happy endings […]

The head-scratching Squeal (former title: Samuel’s Travels) feels like a Monty Python sketch turned completely weird – well, weirder than it probably would be, but compelling nonetheless. Its manner reminds me of a similar film called Men & Chicken, especially with its hard-charging, heavily exaggerated tone. Both these films operate as a stream of consciousness, […]