Director: Lee Isaac Chung | 1h 55mins | Drama | Languages: English, Korean In the 1980’s, a young Korean family decide to move their life in California in order to start a farm in rural Arkansas. The ‘American Dream’ has been played out all over cinematic history, it’s platform to attack the beaming facade of a ‘prosperous’ land is usually matched with a commentary on … Continue reading REEL Review – Minari (2020)
Director: Shaka King | 2h 6mins | Biography, Drama Small time car thief, Bill O’Neal (Lakeith Steinfeld), is caught impersonating the FBI. Instead of going to prison, O’Neal cuts a deal to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party as well as it’s Chairman, Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). Judas and the Black Messiah is the third feature from director Shaka King, a director … Continue reading REEL Review – Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Director: Kornél Mundruczó | 2h 6mins | Drama After a home-birth ends in tragedy, Martha (Vanessa Kirby) tries to navigate her life consumed by grief. When the event continues to loom over everybody, Martha’s relationships with her family become fractured. Mundcrudzo and Weber’s devastating drama is an acquired taste. One that captures unrelenting grief in all forms, but one that also has very little in … Continue reading REEL Review – Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Director: Emerald Fennell | 1h 53mins | Crime, Drama, Thriller Still traumatised by a tragic incident in her past, former Med School student Cassandra (Cary Mulligan) exacts her own justice on predatory men who take advantage of drunk women. 2020 has seen a rise in wonderful female representations. Through tender thought-provoking dramas with a contemporary setting, period pieces and even the continuation of Patty Jenkins’ … Continue reading REEL Review – Promising Young Woman (2020)
Director: Chloé Zhao | 1h 48mins | Drama After losing her husband and the town she once lived, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs up her belongings and starts living out of a van. On long the road, she meets numerous people who also live the “Nomad” lifestyle. Other than her recently call up to the blockbuster landscape, Chloé Zhao has been working and thriving in the … Continue reading REEL Review – Nomadland (2020)
Director: George C. Wolfe | 1h 34mins | Drama, Music On a hot summers day in 1927 Chicago Illinois, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her band begin a recording session. Things get heated when her ambitious trumpet player, Levee (Chadwick Boseman), challenges the way in which they play. In 2016’s adaptation of August Wilson’s Fences we once again saw the true power of the stage … Continue reading REEL Review – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Director: Pete Docter & Kemp Powers | 1h 47mins | Animation, Family, Comedy Joe (Jamie Foxx) is a middle-school teacher with a passion for Jazz, his world revolves around wanting to play piano with the greats. After he is offered the opportunity to play for Dorothy Williams, he meets his untimely end, and lands on the path to the great beyond. Pixar’s newest feature has … Continue reading REEL Review – Soul (2020)
Director: Darius Marder | 2h | Drama Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a drummer in a Heavy Metal band, must deal with his new life when he loses his hearing. After spending time at a centre for Deaf People, he must decide whether or not to have a surgery in order to get his life back to normal. Some things in life we take for granted, the … Continue reading REEL Review – Sound of Metal (2020)
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Runtime: 2h 9mins | Drama, Biography, Crime In 1968, during a protest in Chicago, a riot broke out between anti-Vietnam protestors and the Chicago PD. Eventually seven people are put on trial for inciting violence at the protest, and become known as the ‘Chicago 7’. Aaron Sorkin’s latest film is yet another example of the Writer-Director’s ability to electrify the conservative, … Continue reading REEL Review – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Director: Glen Keane, John Kahrs | 1h 36mins | Animation, Musical, Comedy Four years after the death of her mother, Fei Fei (Cathy Ang) has to deal with her father (John Cho) trying to move on with new partner Mrs Zhong (Sandra Oh) by proving the legend of Chang’e (Phillipa Soo) is true, and stop their upcoming marriage. As big as Netflix’s original content schedule … Continue reading REEL Review – Over the Moon (2020)
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