If there is a single word to describe Schindler’s List it would have to be ‘thorny” given the already always revolving conversations about Steven Spielberg and the complex subject of the ‘Holocaust’. Can I get personal? How does a white Anglo female with a rejected christian upbringing who claims to have a love of avant […]
Category Archives: Film Reviews
December
15
20 years ago today: Schindlers List – Spielberg gets emotionally serious. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
December
14
30 Years ago today: Silkwood – Mike Nichols and the power of the nuclear activist. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Union films weren’t unheard of back in December 1983, but activist films with a female lead speaking out against nuclear fuel production workplace safety was, and in many ways Silkwood was ahead of its time given its central premise is centred around potential environmental crime; but back in the day of Karen Silkwood, it was […]
December
14
White Reindeer – Zach Clark brings a Christmas tale with a twist. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Munching through the Christmas paraphernalia, from ‘C’ movies through ‘C’ music to ‘C’ food, we arrive at a cute little indie called White Reindeer released in 2013. Perhaps a little somber to become a Christmas staple, Zach Clarke has written and directed a simple enough flick that combines enough of the right elements to have […]
December
13
American Hustle – David O’Russell exceesds expectations. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
It’s difficult to pin down what is particularly brilliant about American Hustle, except to say that the layers will be revealed in greater depth in future years; it is one of the most perfectly cast films you will ever see; and it stems largely from a transformation of a certain genre it seeks to subvert […]
December
10
Paradise: Faith – Ulrich Seidl watches patiently as humanity self destructs. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Ulrich Seidl originally made the Paradise trilogy as one single film, which I imagine would have run for six hours and come with four hours of free therapy immediately after, so it’s a good thing he chose to break them up a bit. However, each film and its unflinching gaze on human weakness bleeds into […]
December
07
War Witch – Kim Nguyen and the unflinching Western eye. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
That War Witch is set in a ‘unspecified African Nation’ speaks directly to the problems of homogenization in the film, the obvious planned placement in front of white liberal audiences and Kim Nguyen’s unspoken motivation to bring the horrors of Africa to the white and comfortable. Africa is a continent and the countries it houses […]
December
06
What Richard Did – Lenny Abrahamson gives us more than a morality tale. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
It’s surprising there aren’t more “anti-boiurgoise” films being made these days. Some of our best film, literature, art and music come from a loathing of the privileged middle class and its annoying patronage that the arts cannot live without. Certainly we see less rebellion against this strangely cloistered section of society who keep mental moral […]
December
04
Primer – Shane Carruth and the art of deception. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
So it might seem possible, that as we advance in science and technology, we might be able to construct a wormhole, or warp space and time in some other way, so as to be able to travel into our past. If this were the case, it would raise a whole host of questions and problems. […]
December
03
Enders Game – Gavin Hood adapts and directs a film that will be defined by its sequels. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
In the raging battle for the pre-teen, teen and YA market place Enders Game is the latest addition to hit the screens, but its a little tricky for Lionsgate Films to land this one safely and it will be interesting to see how Enders Game goes. The film’s story is a long way from the […]
December
02
Night Train to Lisbon – Billie August paints us a rather empty Pascal Mercier. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) is a Swiss professor of ancient languages who happens upon a woman on the brink of suicide as he is meandering to work one day in the rain. He cries out to stop her, and when he is successful, acts a little like the dog surprised it caught the car. Gregorius is […]
Lisa Thatcher 