“While ‘The Black Cat’ does not share many explicit connections with Poe’s 1843 story, both texts use archetypal symbolism to explore painfully intimate experiences (in Poe’s case, addiction and mental disarray, and in Ulmer’s case, psychological trauma).”
“Relishing in its ability to wrong foot and thrill right to its final moments, ‘Bacurau’ is an unashamedly cinematic experience, with its makers playing in a sandbox of tropes and expectations, subverting them to put forward a radical and wholly essential message.”
“At its seemingly lugubrious heart, ‘Return to Oz’ is an ode to imagination; a celebration of the weird and wonderful worlds of our own making, in which we find sanctuary and satisfaction.”
“Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Nightingale’ will not attract the same cult following or breadth of widespread fan devotion as ‘The Babadook,’ but her latest marks significant progress in the filmmaker’s command of story and cinematic language.”
“A lot can be said about the aesthetics of ‘The Mandalorian’ as they relate to Westerns, but even more so can be said of the thematic elements that comprise the new series.”
“‘Ad Astra’ joins the likes of ‘Gravity’ and ‘Interstellar’ as one of Stanley Kubrick’s starchildren.”
“‘Spider-Man: Far from Home’ is a sophomoric attempt to capture the visual flair and look of the old comics; Watts fails to capture the bite and necessary substance.”
“‘Inglourious Basterds’ is a study in suspense.”
“Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy has become THE Batman interpretation, heralded for its gritty realism. But in my book, ‘Batman’ is the better comicbook movie.”
“Like ‘Blood Meridian,’ that epic of colonialist bloodshed along the frontier, ‘The Nightingale’ depicts a brutal historicism; a cruel world that favours no one but those who already have it. This isn’t a wish-fulfillment revenge film, but a reality check.”