Category Archives: Movies

Review: Petite Maman

Posted on September 22, 2022 by philipbrasor

Serious movies that focus on the lives, particularly the inner lives, of children make me suspicious; or, at least, mildly uncomfortable. The assumption of innocence allows filmmakers to exploit feelings in the viewer that might be more problematic were the … Continue reading →

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Review: Hostage: Missing Celebrity

Posted on September 9, 2022 by philipbrasor

Basically meta-cinema for dummies, Pil Gam-sung’s debut feature takes full advantage of its star’s screen image to keep you guessing as to how much he is acting. Hwang Jung-min has cultivated an enviable, respectable career playing a wide variety of … Continue reading →

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Opening press conference for the 27th Busan International Film Festival

Posted on September 8, 2022 by philipbrasor

It was obvious from all the prefatory statements made by the various officials of the Busan International Film Festival on Sept. 7 to announce what would take place this year that the opening press conference was supposed to be a … Continue reading →

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Review: Incredible But True

Posted on September 2, 2022 by philipbrasor

Like fellow French filmmaker Michel Gondry, Quentin Dupieux favors plots governed by fantastical, absurd elements, but while Gondry has very definite narrative goals in mind Dupieux seems so hung up on the elements themselves that he can’t quite get them … Continue reading →

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Review: Bullet Train

Posted on August 31, 2022 by philipbrasor

David Leitch is one of those handful of directors to be continually blessed with big Hollywood budgets to realize his ambitious action-movie dreams. A former stunt man who knows how to stage a fight so that it’s more interesting than … Continue reading →

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Review: DC League of Super-Pets

Posted on August 27, 2022 by philipbrasor

Having pretty much fallen out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe out of sheer exhaustion, not to mention general apathy, I likely would find any future MCU installment totally incomprehensible, since much of its appeal (not to mention economic justification) seems … Continue reading →

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Review: Swan Song

Posted on August 26, 2022 by philipbrasor

Udo Kier’s indisputable status as a living screen legend is not based on his skills as an actor, his charisma, or his looks, but rather on his ubiquity. Since he first started acting in the late 60s in Europe (born … Continue reading →

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Review: Zola

Posted on August 25, 2022 by philipbrasor

Characterizing Zola, which is based on a viral 148-tweet Twitter thread that appeared several years ago, as a comedy makes sense only if you have a cautious attitude toward social media. The whole story chronicled in Janicza Bravo’s cinematic adaptation … Continue reading →

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Review: Saint Frances

Posted on August 19, 2022 by philipbrasor

Not to sound like a broken record, but here’s another Amerindie sub-genre: Rudderless twenty- or thirty-something bonds with young child who is not their issue and learns about life in the process. Alex Thompson’s Saint Frances, written by Kelly O’Sullivan, … Continue reading →

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Review: Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

Posted on August 11, 2022 by philipbrasor

Over the past several decades there’s been an illogical inversion with regard to movies about famous musicians from the so-called Golden Age of Pop. We’ve mostly gotten cookie cutter biopics which were then followed by dedicated artist documentaries. By rights, … Continue reading →

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