Sibyl (2019)

I think I had the mistaken impression that Sibyl (2019) was an erotic thriller (the first act initially made me think of Francois Ozon’s Double Lover), which it isn’t. But there’s lots of intrigue and tension throughout, a psychological character study that is about a few things at once: sexual desire, substance addiction, creative process, […]

The Power Of The Dog (2021)

Benedict Cumberbatch is the star of the new western drama, The Power Of The Dog (2021), directed by Jane Campion who is best known for The Piano, Holy Smoke, In The Cut and Bright Star. Based on a novel from the 1960s by Thomas Savage, an author I’m not familiar with, The Power Of The […]

Point Blank (1967)

Lee Marvin in a series of dapper suits with a revolver in hand is enough for a 1960s neo-noir like Point Blank (1967) but the actor’s collaboration with young British director John Boorman offered them both a chance to push the crime genre into pop art experimentation. Revisiting Point Blank, it feels like Steven Soderbergh […]

Pig (2021)

I appreciate people who avoid trailers or reading reviews (and can easily skip reading this); the idea of taking a movie in without preconceptions, expectations or spoilers is like the pure film viewing experience. But I can’t help myself – I like watching trailers, I like reading advance reviews, probably to my detriment. So it […]

Another Year (2010)

Revisiting Mike Leigh’s film, Another Year (2010), there are images of the middle-aged couple Tom (Jim Broadbent), a geologist, and Gerri (Ruth Sheen), a counsellor, that are so appealing and heart-warming to me. Gerri cuddling Tom while he prepares dinner or both of them sitting underneath a tarp with a cup of tea while it […]