Crimes Of The Future (2022) - Movie Review

Between the more feminist offerings coming out of Europe like Titane and Hatching, and heir to the throne Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, it makes a lot of sense that King David would choose now to return to the genre that iconified him. While his recent run of more conventional, if cerebral, dramas has certainly produced some winners (A Dangerous Method took a second viewing for me to fully appreciate it, but appreciate it I do), there really is no replacing the kind of fleshy, practical effects-driven insanity he used to specialise in. As those aforementioned films have shown, there's certainly still a market for it. And even though this is the product of a script David wrote back in 2003, it’s only ‘dated’ in the sense that he is indeed returning to his glory days. His unsettling, gross, endlessly fascinating glory days.

Spencer (2022) - Movie Review

Well, this should be interesting. Another biopic drama from the director of Jackie, a star turn from Kristen Stewart that has gotten her legit Oscar buzz for the first time in her career (I’d wouldn’t normally bother mentioning such things, but with how long she spent as a critical punching bag, it’s more than deserved by this point), and it’s written by the mental giant behind one of last year’s worst films in Locked Down, and 2019’s Best Worst Film in Serenity.

Oh.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad. (RIP Meat Loaf)

Happiest Season (2020) - Movie Review

It’s kind of impossible to get casting that’s better than this, especially for something as traditionally over-billed as a Christmas movie. On one side, Kristen Stewart, an actress with one of the most gratifying resurgences of the last decade, and a modern gay icon. And on the other, Mackenzie Davis, half of one of the greatest gay romances in all of fiction with Black Mirror's San Junipero. They've both been in some less-than-ideal features this year already (Underwater and Seberg for Stewart, The Turning and Irresistible for Davis), but all the same, a movie with them together as a couple has just got to be good. And thankfully, it very much is.

Lizzie (2020) - Movie Review

This is a cinematic pairing that is so blindingly obvious that it really should have happened before this point. Kristen Stewart and Chloë Sevigny: Both indie darlings, both internationally seasoned, both chaotic queer in presence, both utter joys to see in just about anything (hell, even hindsight gives Stewart’s Bella a certain ironic pleasure). And when paired up for a rather iconic piece of gory American folklore, along with a director who got his feature-length kickstart with backing from Spectrevision… hell yeah, am I excited that this finally got a release over here.

Seberg (2020) - Movie Review

I don’t think there’s a single actress working today who could take this role other than Kristen Stewart. As much as the white liberal populace could quite easily take a shine to stories like that of the real-life philanthropist and actress Jean Seberg, the narrative of a white woman implanting herself into the protests and struggles of the Black Panther Party isn’t something just anyone could pull off. With how high-profile Stewart has grown of late, and how endearingly riot grrl her public persona has become, her status as one of the mainstream's favourite social subversives makes her ripe for this kind of story. And thankfully, through thick and thin, she manages to pull it off.

Personal Shopper (2017) - Movie Review

I wish this didn’t need to be reiterated, but the fact remains: Twilight is long since over and done with. Everyone attached to those films has long since moved on to (mostly) better things far removed from it. However, even with that said, I keep getting the feeling that people aren’t giving Kristen Stewart, the most memorable part of those films for all the wrong reasons, her fair due. Maybe it’s because, in the dungeons of comment sections and web forums, jokes about Bella’s utter uselessness and unintentionally malicious behaviour still ring out. That association is hard to break, even if you’re fortunate enough to unironically like those films.

 

The shame in that sentiment furthers once you realise that, since 2012, Stewart has not only kept fairly busy but also done some genuinely fantastic work like with American Ultra and Clouds Of Sils Maria. It’s hardly a surprise that this film, written and directed by the man behind Clouds and who got Stewart to give one of her best performances to date, would be on my radar. But does it continue her winning streak (ignoring that Billy Lynn ever happened) or does it add a chink to the chain?

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016) - Movie Review

Café Society (2016) - Movie Review

For as much as I’ve argued otherwise, I do understand that separating the actions of the artist with the published art can be harder said than done. The amount of times I hear Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport around my house (long story involving younger siblings) on a daily basis is made even tougher knowing what and where Rolf Harris is writing nowadays. Yes, we’re talking about the king of all things neurotic and Jewish Woody Allen once again, and in an attempt to keep with my central doctrine concerning this, I have actually liked his recent output. From the outstanding character drama Blue Jasmine to the sharply written rom-com Magic In The Moonlight to the wonky but still commendable morality play Irrational Man, I don’t have much to argue with in terms of his artistic output. However, once it gets to the point where said artist essentially inserts himself into the art, that disconnect proves ever trickier.

Snow White And The Huntsman (2012) - Movie Review

It’s catch-up time again as I take a look at the predecessor to an upcoming film… or an already-released film that I didn’t get to because I was too busy spending a month brown-nosing an entire industry. This time, it’s in preparation for The Huntsman: Winter’s War, a film that already looks incredibly uninteresting even without having seen the first film. So, let’s go back to 2012: Chris Hemsworth is riding high on that Marvel wave, Kristen Stewart is trying to break away from the series that would be tied to her forever, Charlize Theron was less than a month away from either disappointing or surprising audiences with Prometheus, and I was having constant mental breakdowns in the face of my final exams for school; it was a tough time for everyone. Oh, and the world apparently ended or something, I don’t know; I think a guy on the radio mentioned it once. This was also released in close proximity to another Snow White adaptation (or re-imagining or whatever buzz word the studios wanted to use) direct by Tarsem; you know, the guy who made this waste of a film. Why do I get the feeling that the contest of lameness between them is going to be really, really close?

Top 11 Critical Disagreements Of 2015

As we welcome in the New Year, it’s time for what I am now deciding is an annual tradition around these parts: Lists! To kick off this set of lists, we’re going to take a look at just how much of a special friggin’ snowflake I am and see the top 11 films that I didn’t see eye-to-eye with most critics on from 2015. I didn’t really think that I’d end up with enough to create another list after last time, but turns out that I was wrong.

Once again, same rules from last year apply: I am not going to include any films that have divided critics already; I’m just sticking with those that have a strong leaning one way or the other. Also, so that I don’t end up repeating myself, I’m also going to refrain from including any films that will end up in either my Best or Worst of the year. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get stuck into my Top 11 Critical Disagreements of 2015.

Clouds Of Sils Maria (2015) - Movie Review

Back when I reviewed Still Alice, I found myself unable to remove the mental association about SWIMNOT’s involvement in the Twilight films. Looking back on it, I definitely ended up doing her a disservice and treated her largely as a punchline. Given her work as Bella Swan, that is probably to be expected to a certain degree as that is definitely the kind of film series that is custom-made to damage careers. However, after seeing her outright impressive turn in American Ultra, I think we’ve reached the point where she has earned her place as a legitimate actor. So, as we take another look into this indie Cinderella story, and if that sounds trite forgive me for picking the most appropriate phrase possible, I’m putting an official embargo on Twilight jokes.

American Ultra (2015) - Movie Review

Of all the different films that have resulted from Hollywood today at its most adaptation-happy, one of the rarest seen nowadays is the spoof. There are probably two fairly big reasons for that: The proclivity of YouTube parodies have pretty much made the notion of paying to watch a spoof movie on the big screen unnecessary, and the simple fact that none of the filmmakers that could actually pull off doing spoof movies are around anymore. When the only champions for spoof films are the sanity-stripping duo of Friedberg and Seltzer, the guys behind Date Movie, Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans, it’s enough to make anyone swear off snarking on films ever again. But, then again, maybe these parodies aren’t as dead as we think; they can also sneak up on people if you’re not careful. For example, we have today’s film: This is American Ultra… and points already for the most awesomely ludicrous name for a film this year.

Still Alice (2015) - Movie Review

In the world of cinema, there are a number of things that have become acceptable targets for ridicule by pretty much everyone: Battlefield Earth, Plan 9 From Outer Space and The Room are all great examples of this. One such thing that has its hunting season sign up all year round is anything connected with the now-dying phenomenon of Twilight, whether it’s the films themselves, the actors who starred in them or the people who are responsible for them. It may have grown tired, given how readily the world rightfully rained down on the series for years on end, but the after-effects still linger to this day. With the female lead from Twilight, Kristen Stewart, in today’s film, I find it hard to avoid talking about the connection, especially when it feels like the film itself is daring me to do so. After the jump, I’ll explain why.