Category Archives: Movies

Review: Babygirl

Posted on March 26, 2025 by philipbrasor

It occurred to me while watching Halina Reijn’s extramarital transgression melodrama that it might not have worked as effectively as it does if an actor other than Nicole Kidman weren’t playing the main transgressor. With her reputation as a Hollywood … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Review: Three films by Alain Guiraudie

Posted on March 22, 2025 by philipbrasor

French novelist and filmmaker Alain Guiraudie has been active since the early 90s but didn’t really make an impression on the wider world until after the turn of the century, and even then his films were mainly categorized as Queer … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

Review: Starring Jerry as Himself

Posted on March 21, 2025 by philipbrasor

While watching this self-styled docudrama, one has to take into consideration that it is being directed by a professional filmmaker even if the protagonist-narrator, Jerry Hsu—playing himself, as the title so usefully points out—seems to be making all the decisions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

Review: Conclave

Posted on March 20, 2025 by philipbrasor

Though it only, and deservedly, received an Oscar for best adapted screenplay at the most recent Academy Awards ceremony, Edward Berger’s film version of Robert Harris’s bestseller, scripted by Peter Straughan, would have likely walked away with the lion’s share … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Longlegs and The Sweet East

Posted on March 14, 2025 by philipbrasor

It says something about Oz Perkins’ distinctive contribution to the horror genre that his latest features Nicolas Cage in a supporting role as a serial killer who looks, sounds, and acts nothing like the Nicolas Cage we know and love. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged | Leave a comment

Review: Flow

Posted on March 13, 2025 by philipbrasor

As a film about four-legged creatures on a perilous long-distance sojourn, the Latvian film Flow, which recently won an Oscar, at first brings to mind the Disney classic The Incredible Journey, which used real trained animals as its protagonists. Flow … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

Review: Four Daughters

Posted on March 12, 2025 by philipbrasor

Because of its unconventional methodology, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s movie about a family torn apart by religion, which won the best documentary prize at Cannes in 2023, doesn’t scan as a regular documentary, meaning one that’s chiefly invested in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Review: Wicked and Presence

Posted on March 7, 2025 by philipbrasor

In the end, any review of a movie adaptation of a popular Broadway musical must contend with diehard fans of the stage version, who will invariably love the film because it was most likely made with them in mind. Any … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Devils and Because I Hate Korea

Posted on March 5, 2025 by philipbrasor

Oh Dae-hwan has attracted a huge fan base with his TV shows, in which he usually plays romantic leads. One especially popular historical drama presents him as a man masquerading convincingly as a woman. Given the protocols of Korean show … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

Review: Music for Black Pigeons and The Gesuidouz

Posted on March 1, 2025 by philipbrasor

The weird thing about a lot of documentaries about musicians is that they tend to short change the music itself in that, unless they are actual concert films, they rarely showcase full songs. Jazz documentaries tend to be different since … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment