Shin Godzilla (2016)

Seeing this pop up on a few friends’ Best of 2010s list promoted me to finally watch Shin Godzilla (2016; Shin Gōjira), which is available to stream on SBS OnDemand. Though I haven’t seen many of the Japanese made Godzilla films, I always think that the American versions have a big flaw to overcome: how do […]

The Untamed (2016)

When we held VHS Tracking – Live for the Blue Room Winter Nights, one of my questions to the panellists was “What movie would you use to vet the people in your life?” One of artist Nathan Beard’s choices was The Untamed (2016; La región salvaje) which he described as a “horny movie” and one […]

It Follows (2014)

When It Follows (2014) concluded, “elegant” was the word that came to mind. There’s a certain dreamy mood to writer-director David Robert Mitchell’s film, which comes through in the colours, costuming, framing, and staging. It’s almost as if Sofia Coppola Virgin Suicides era had made a horror film. The initial yearning of protagonist Jay (Maika […]

The Guest (2014)

There’s a knowingness that propels The Guest (2014) into a delightful combination of humour and tension. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett (the team behind You’re Next) establish patience with their set-up: a soldier, David (Dan Stevens), turns up on the doorstep of a grieving family whose dead son he served with in the military. Straight […]

The Irishman (2019)

The first time I watched I Heard You Paint Houses aka The Irishman (2019) was in a cinema thanks to The Backlot. When it ended, I felt like I had lived a lifetime and my head was heavy like a brick. Second viewing was weeks later on Netflix and it’s a long epic that carries […]