Napoleon (2023) - Movie Review

Much like with Killers Of The Flower Moon, we’ll be looking at another instance of an auteur digging into Apple’s deep pockets to realise their historical epic. Even ignoring the lengthy discrepancies concerning initial box office impact and overall cultural impact, I can only see the notion of a great filmmaker creating great art while also putting a dent into a company that, quite frankly, is rich enough already, as a net positive. Although, I’ll admit that in the case of this film, said positive isn’t quite as strong as Scorsese’s.

The Woman King (2022) - Movie Review

Films like this make me kinda nervous as far as writing what I actually think about them. Yeah, there’s my previously-mentioned insecurity when it comes to discussing stories and ideas connected to Black cultures, which I genuinely think I’ve dropped the ball on around here a number of times, but there’s also the historical side of things as well. Long before this film saw release over here in Australia, it came under heavy controversy for its historical inaccuracies, to the extent that it airbrushed the involvement of Dahomey, the West African nation that the film is centred on, in the Atlantic slave trade.

Now, whenever dealing with films based on historical events, I tend to lean on the side of “this is a film, not a documentary” when processing what’s on-screen. I often feel like I’m stretching my abilities when talking cinema as is (hello imposter syndrome, my old friend), let alone feigning knowledge about history that I do not possess, outside of some light Googling out of sheer curiosity; this should not be mistaken for a lengthy education on such things. Between that and the regularity with which cinema, particularly in the mainstream, glosses over the messier parts of the subject matter, I don’t feel comfortable judging it on those standards. I especially don’t like the idea of a film like this being put under some ‘model minority’ scrutiny bollocks, where it’s expected to do better than those whose diversions tend to fly under the radar more times than not.

So, what I’m going to do with this film is to discuss it and analyse it as is. While I have done a bit of looking-into concerning the real-world history being shown (and yes, it is a lot to deal with), I am only going to be talking about what is in the film itself. Partly because of my aforementioned reluctance about judging films on anything greater than that, but also because I’m hoping to surprise at least one reader as far as what is actually in the film that everyone and their dog(whistle) is talking about.

The Last Duel (2021) - Movie Review

I haven’t really gotten into this in past reviews of his work, but I have a serious admiration for the work of Ridley Scott. When he’s on point, he is capable of some of the greatest works that the medium has to offer, whether it’s Alien, Blade Runner, or (personal pick here) Hannibal. But even in his lesser films, there is always something in his productions that I just have to point to as being objectively brilliant.

Exodus: Gods and Kings? Yeah, that wasn’t great, but the casting for God was ingenious. Prometheus and Alien: Covenant? Michael Fassbender’s David is one of the most fascinating cinematic characters of the entire 2010s, even if those films didn’t make full use of him. Even All In The Money In The World, which I seem to be in the minority on as I found it quite inconsistent, has Christopher Plummer giving the performance of a lifetime that held everything together. The man’s talent shines through no matter what he’s working on, so regardless of how this turns out, I’ve been looking forward to it all the same.

The Current War (2020) - Movie Review

When it comes to dramatising historical events, there is always the fear that said history on its own could end up being more interesting than a given attempt to tell it. This film, however, may be a rare case of that in duplicate, as the story behind the production not only has a chance of overshadowing the production itself, for the last few years, it actually did. This film has been stuck in release limbo since November 2017, being shelved because of the involvement of Harvey Weinstein in the production and initial distribution deal. That’s the heavily simplified version of the story, because every facet of the thing could easily take up this whole article on their own, but it ultimately leads to a single question: Was this film worth holding onto for this long?

All Is True (2019) - Movie Review

After spending most of this decade adding his approach to period fidelity to a wide range of other literary adaptations, from the Arthurian tinges of Thor to the whodunit conservatism of Murder On The OrientExpress, filmmaker and thespian Kenneth Branagh has returned to his Shakespearean roots to direct and lead a production all about the man himself. Specifically, a story covering the last three years of the Bard’s life, from the destruction of the Globe Theatre to his untimely death.

The King (2019) - Movie Review

There’s something off about this movie. The latest from Aussie director David Michôd is an adaptation of the Henriad, the classic canon of Shakespearean works focusing on King Henry IV and V… and yet, it is a remarkably loose adaptation. Written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton, you’d have to strain to hear any of the original prose in here. Even considering the lengthy history of adaptations of the Bard, including Ophelia from earlier this year, this seems like a backwards move. Why would you bother adapting a work of fiction, which itself is based on historical fact, and leave behind the writing that is the main reason why Shakespeare’s work survives to the present day? Well, thankfully, there are quite a few answers to that, and all things considered, I think these guys took the right approach.

The Favourite (2018) - Movie Review

 

The latest from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, while it lacks his attachment to the script as well as the involvement of his go-to DOP Thimios Bakatakis, operates within his usual realms of all things quietly insane. A costume drama set in the early 18^th century, involving a battle for the favour of Queen Anne (played superbly by Olivia Colman) between cousins Abigail (Emma Stone in rare, vengeful form) and Sarah (Rachel Weisz apparently trying to redeem herself for her last attempt at romantic period drama). It marks the most easily-digestible film Yorgos has made yet, meaning that I’m not going to be wallowing in a critical malaise trying to figure this shit out like last time. It also means I get to talk about one of the funniest films I’ve seen all year without any cerebral hang-ups.

The King's Choice (2017) - Movie Review

Even with the breadth of releases that I’ve gotten so far on this blog, today is going to mark not only a first in terms of reviewing but also a personal first. Today's subject marks the first Norwegian film I have ever watched (that I’m aware of), not just the first that I’ve reviewed. Something I’m learning quickly from the prevalence of Indian cinema at my local is that, like a lot of other things, I rely on what I watch when it comes to understanding other cultures.

 

Some are easier to grasp than others: The American monopoly means that there are a lot of facets of the U.S. that get shown on screen, the occasional British releases have given a better insight into my country’s sovereign nation, and even the increasingly-rare Aussie productions provide a snapshot of my home outside of my suburban domicile. Beyond that, I’m pretty in the dark and no less so than when it comes to Norway. I mean, my extent of the country’s societal trappings comes from Where To Invade Next, and while I would make a joke about how Michael Moore isn’t exactly the most objective viewpoint to adhere to, I’m still trying to comprehend the workings of their prison system as shown in that film.

 

Basically, if this review sounds like an ill-informed foreigner trying to understand a given culture, it’s only because it is.