I was curious about Errol Morris’ AMERICAN DHARMA, about Trump advisor and Breitbart exec Steve Bannon, but not apparently curious enough to see it when it was new. I finally checked it out. Essentially, it conforms to the conclusions I’ve already drawn about Morris’s filmmaking. When he was making documentaries about ordinary people, he had […]
Treatment of mental illnesses has never been straightforward. Through prescribed medicines, it keeps the insane mind in control, but only temporarily, until the sanity goes away completely. There is always the question, whether doctors do everything possible to help the patients before releasing them back to society, or it’s […]
Film Review: “The Mad Women’s Ball” (2021)
The notion that a first-time filmmaker could blend the rugged, depressive existence of scrappy children struggling to get by in one of Glasgow’s most oppressive neighborhoods with a bizarre dream sequence that includes a mouse tied to a balloon flying to the moon and becoming part of a mouse colony is just as staggering today […]
‘Ratcatcher’: Trauma Never Fades
Only a few filmmakers can deliver a heavy concept and an intelligent story using a humoristic approach. Whether it’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox, Isle of Dogs, or The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson has created a unique collection of films with a peculiar approach to storytelling – […]
Film Review: “The French Dispatch” (2021)
What does it take to become famous? How to maintain fame that can be toxic at times? Should one be down to earth or behave like the planet revolves around him or her? France de Meurs (Léa Seydoux) is an ego-centric, self-centred narcissist who happens to be a […]
As I continue revisiting my favorite movies of the past, the next one up is Marathon Man, from 1976. This isn’t one of the small number of films that I’ve seen countless times, but I have seen it several times. I’d guess this most recent time was the fourth or fifth time I’ve watched it […]
The myth of noble knights, regal ladies, and majestic, sprawling kingdoms is one that is often romanticized, both in fantasy and in stories based in reality. So far this year, we’ve already had one film, David Lowery’s “The Green Knight”— an adaptation of an Arthurian legend— challenge the notion of the courageous knight on a […]
One building in Rome, 3 apartments, 3 families each with their own stories. Yet their stories are about to collide, quite literally in the beginning, and then figuratively though no less forcefully after that. The entitled son of two upright judges swerves the car he’s driving drunkenly in order to avoid hitting his pregnant neighbour […]
“The Forgotten Battle” is about a postscript to Operation Market Garden, that late World War II gamble by the Allies to free Arnhem, liberate the Netherlands and shorten the war. That’s not “forgotten.” There was a movie about that debacle, “A Bridge Too Far,” that still turns up on grandpa’s favorite cable movie channels. This […]
Netflixable? Dutch, Germans, Brits and Canadians live through “The Forgotten Battle”
Ali (Adeel Akhtar) smiles his way through a troubled marriage. With good humour and loud music, he focuses on doing for others, including his tenants, with whom he has a remarkably amicable relationship. In fact, he’s picking up one of his tenants’ kids from from school when he meets Ava, an Irish teacher at the […]
The job of a 911 dispatcher is not easy, especially when they have to deal with an extreme situation where someone requires emergency assistance and guidance and no one is around. This is when the skill of a dispatcher will be tested if he can manage the tense situation […]
It’s that time of the year again. The month of October is upon us. So to celebrate, we at Full Circle Cinema put together another curated, month-long series with Screen Screams. This year, we will be checking our clocks as we wait in anticipation for the forbidden delight we call “the midnight movie”. And with […]
Screen Screams: ‘The Devils’ Review
With strong performances, The Power of the Dog delivers on its promise, offering a solid narrative tale of strength, masculinity and grief.
NYFF 2021: THE POWER OF THE DOG
No Time to Die is the 25th Bond movie and Daniel Craig’s final film as the suave superspy. Craig’s films started in 2006 with Casino Royal and the seeds planted in that film grew over Bond’s next three films and are at the center of his emotional/internal conflict in No Time to Die. The film […]
Photo by Pablo Larraín ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Everyone wants to be wealthy, live in a palace and be part of a royal family. Indeed, there’s financial independence but it’s the freedom that is often lost. Because every move of the royal family members will be under scrutiny, highly publicized and photographed by […]
Nashville Film Festival 2021: “Spencer”
The Turkish police procedural “Grudge” toys with the idea of really saying something blunt and chilling about Turkish justice, Turkish policing and the powerlessness of The People, and only loses its nerve in the third act. The ending is the final “cop out” of this decently-plotted Around the World with Netflix thriller, titled “Kin” in […]
Netflixable? Turkish Thriller Only Gives Up its “Grudge” at the End
I do go into detail on the film’s numerous plot points. So if you haven’t seen the film, I would watch it first and then give this a read. But if you have seen the film, enjoy my thoughts/review of the film. My brother Adam and I have started doing Top 10 episodes […]
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Titane is a complex film, one that doesn’t hold back in its portrayal of unconditional love. The bold and sometimes intense imagery of the human body put on display in the film is an unwavering/uncompromising vision. That is the vision of the director, Julia Ducournau. Released to critical acclaim and even winning the palm’d’or at the […]
‘Titane’ and the Politics of Dancing
Luisa is an elegant woman living in a spacious and luxurious home, surrounded by servants to do her every bidding, including an on-call masseuse to rub her cares away. Luisa and her family have a cushy life, their wealth and status apparent. But that doesn’t mean they never have troubles. Luisa has just returned home […]
There isn’t much funny about this film billed as a comedy, even with a great cast including Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd and Kevin Klein. The film has some sweet moments but it is more depressing than anything else. The one thing this film can provide is the […]
New from Al and Linda Lerner on Movies and Shakers: The Starling
