What a delight, what a rare privilege, to see a work of art so full to the brim with talent. This is a movie that knows how to find the cosmic in the commonplace, the monumental in the smallest interactions. It is a tragedy, but it is also, simply, life.
Much like Cervantes’ book itself, this movie contains many stand-alone episodes, as the characters encounter various damsels in distress, evil sorcerers, or nefarious knights, with the twist of hopping between levels of narrative every few minutes. Running north of the two hour mark, the film is long, and feels longer still.
The Tale is a study of memory and trauma, and how the two grapple with each other. The way it weaves a story from these threads, dipping in and out of the past so much like our minds do, is nothing short of masterful.
Steven Soderbergh took a $1.5 milllion budget (which could pay for roughly 40 seconds of a Marvel blockbuster), his iPhone 7, and made himself an outstanding psychological thriller. That alone is an achievement, but so is Claire Foy’s performance as the sole protagonist.
Here’s a movie you did not see coming: a genre-savvy horror comedy set in the 19th century, in an isolated Basque village, starring an old man, a little girl, and possibly a literal demon from hell. What more do you want?
Hereditary will methodically target your deepest insecurities, your most primal fears, undermine whatever defenses you’ve built around them, and then ravage them with chilling ruthlessness.
The film succeeds by letting these characters reconnect slowly, naturally, awkwardly, by giving them space to circle each other; it looks at them with sympathy, not with judgement.
On Chesil Beach recounts the courtship of two young people who have little affinity, nothing in common, and seem to like each other less, not more, as their idyll advances.
You know exactly what you want out of Ocean’s 8, and the movie’s more than happy to deliver. There’s glitz, glamour, talented actresses, diamonds, a daring heist, expensive dresses, and a good time to be had for everyone.
You have to watch the riveting A Quiet Place, but you have to watch it properly: preferrably in a theatre, but on a matinee, free of popcorn and kids, alone in the dark.
The Film Tower 