1917 is the most recent film by Sam Mendes, loosely based on stories passed down from his grandfather about his experiences in World War 1. The film, which is edited to play as if it is (mostly) one single, unbroken shot, follows two British soldiers (Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay) on the western front tasked with delivering an urgent message to another friendly battalion before an impending surprise attack by the Germans. Above everything else, 1917 is a gorgeous and monumental achievement in cinematography. Not only does it effectively create the illusion of one unbroken chunk of time, but it […]Read more »

The Similars (Los Parecidos) is a 2015 Mexican film by writer-director Isaac Ezban that falls somewhere between a throwback episode of The Twilight Zone and a slapstick farce. During a violent rain storm in 1968, eight strangers become trapped at a bus station where they gradually fall victim to a supernatural phenomenon. Seemingly at the center of the story is Ulises (Gustavo Sanchez Parra), a man impatiently waiting for his bus so that he may reunite with his pregnant wife in a nearby city. For reference that will make sense soon, Ulises has a full beard and a head of […]Read more »

Little Women is at least the seventh adaptation of the novel by Louisa May Alcott, this time adapted and directed by Greta Gerwig, primarily starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, and Florence Pugh. The film follows four sisters across a portion of their lives in Civil War-era America, dealing each with their own transitions from childhood to adulthood. Of course, by 19th century standards this means finding a husband and having a family by the ripe age of 20. Straight off the bat, this is a movie I can confidently say I enjoyed. It’s a competently, if not expertly, made movie […]Read more »

Day 2 of 2 in my series of “Watching The Grudge Movies Because I Feel Like It” segment has brought me to the most recent iteration in the J-horror series, written and directed by Nicolas Pesce and starring Andrea Riseborough, John Cho, and Demian Bichir. In what isn’t quite a remake, not quite a sequel, the titular curse has spread abroad to the United States after an American caretaker tangentially related to the events of the first film brings it home with her. The central idea behind the “grudge” is that an act of violence and rage can pollute a […]Read more »

My first (and only, up to this point) “experience” with The Grudge franchise was the first American remake in 2004. What little I remember of it has failed to leave a lasting impression on me. With the impending release of yet another remake/re-imagining, I figured I would seek out the original and see how it stands up in 2020. Of course when I say “original” I’m talking about Ju-On: The Grudge, which is apparently the third in the Japanese Ju-On series. The film follows a somewhat unconventional and non-linear format, jumping from character to character to chronicle the spread of […]Read more »