She Spoiled It

Review: Relic

27/1/2021

“Relic”, the debut feature from Japanese-Australian director Natalie Erika James is a deeply unsettling horror with something very particular to say. A 90-minute metaphor for the devastating changes that dementia inflicts on sufferers and their families, the film is about intergenerational support, familial inheritance, and the rotten thief that is dementia.

Review: Resisterhood

27/1/2021

Mission statement:
“To use the power of film to tell uplifting stories of resistance to reenergize the movement and inspire people to VOTE!“

With the express aim of encouraging women to vote in the 2020 US presidential election, this documentary doesn’t mince its words. By following grassroots organisers we are shown the importance of taking an active stand in the political sphere so that all people can be supported by a fairer society.

Review: Lourdes

21/12/2020

A quiet and mysterious snapshot of the juncture between desperation and hope, Jessica Hausner’s “Lourdes” sneaks its emotional impact under the radar and gives no answers. We are left pondering life’s deep questions.

Review: Red Road

25/10/2020

This review was written for the www.filmotomy.com series on Cannes.

Red Road won the Jury Award at Cannes in 2006. Directed by Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, American Honey), this is a tense and paranoid psychological thriller that keeps audiences scrutinising their screens and looking for answers.

Interview with “Astronaut” director Shelagh McLeod

7/8/2020

“Astronaut” (2019) is an uplifting and encouraging drama about Angus (Richard Dreyfuss), an ageing widower coming to terms with his failing physical health and life in a care home. He always wanted to be an astronaut so despite his age, physical condition, and protests of those around him, he enters a competition to go on a commercial space flight.

I had the opportunity to speak with director Shelagh McLeod about her directorial debut and pursuing passions later in life. This interview was conducted for www.InTheirOwnLeague.com

Review: Radioactive

1/8/2020

This historical drama directed by Marjane Satrapi follows Marie Curie from her discovery of radium and polonium to her death in 1934. It merges a range of historical time periods in a blended visual style which leans on its graphic novel roots. It may not work for some but is certainly bold.

Review: System Crasher (Systemsprenger)

30/3/2020

In Nora Fingscheidt’s first scripted feature “System Crasher” (2019) we see innocence meet with blind violent rage in a story that is both infuriating and incredibly sad. This film was Germany's official submission to the International Feature Film category at the 2020 Oscars.

Review: First Cow

27/3/2020

Based on the novel “The Half Life” by Jonathan Raymond, this is a beautifully composed film about male friendship, masculinity, cooking and community.

Review: Papicha

25/3/2020

In this debut feature by director Mounia Meddour, “Papicha” (2019) is about Algerian girls in the late 1990s trying to cling to freedom and self expression during a rise of an extremely conservative Islamic fundamentalism that literally threatens their lives.

Review: Kød & Blod (Wildland)

20/3/2020

Directed by Jeanette Nordahl, “Kød & Blod” (“Wildland”) is a Danish film about a toxic family and the need to belong in a community. It’s a matriarchal mafia genre with the focus on violence within a family not outside. It’s a drama steeped in mistrust and danger.

<<Previous

Review: Relic

Review: Resisterhood

Review: Lourdes

Review: Red Road

Interview with “Astronaut” director Shelagh McLeod

Review: Radioactive

Review: System Crasher (Systemsprenger)

Review: First Cow

Review: Papicha

Review: Kød & Blod (Wildland)

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