Uncut Gems (2019)

The morning after I watched Uncut Gems (2019) on Netflix (where it’s been released for international audiences), I felt like I had a hangover: agitated, restless, but also euphoric over having finally seen something I was so hyped for. When we first see jeweller and gambler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) in his shop at the […]

The Lighthouse (2019)

On the basis of two films, Robert Eggers is cementing himself as a horror auteur interested in myth, folklore and a kind of New England turn of the century American horror. The Lighthouse (2019) is his second film after his critically acclaimed The VVitch. It will be challenging for some viewers – it’s black and […]

Thelma (2017)

The common comparison that Thelma (2017) gets is that it’s an arthouse Carrie. And it is about a young woman, Thelma (Eili Harboe), who discovers she has psychic powers while being torn between her religious upbringing and sexual desires. However, Norwegian director Joachim Trier still carries through his past work in empathetic character-based dramas (like […]

Her Smell (2018)

If The Rose was Bette Midler performing an unofficial Janis Joplin biopic, Her Smell (2018) feels like a fictional take on Courtney Love and Hole. However, director-writer Alex Ross Perry has said his true inspiration for the character of Becky Something (Elisabeth Moss) and her rock band Something She, which is set in the 1990s […]

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

The wave of Best Of 2010s lists prompted me to note down quite a few recommendations. Both Lewis Rice O’Donnell and Axel Carrington put this title on their lists and that’s two people whose tastes in cinema I trust. Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) is a slow, […]