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2020 releases

Greenland movie review: a human spin on the end of the world

Sun, Dec 27, 2020
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A same-old tale of apocalypse knows we’ve seen this all before, and so centers human drama over disaster porn. It has nothing new to say, but at least it says it well, with notes of horrific grace.

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Songbird movie review: screechingly out of tune

Wed, Dec 23, 2020
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An appalling melange of insipid disaster drama and implausible romance with a bit of dystopian satire thrown in. This is a crass cash-in meant to prey on our pandemic anxieties, not grapple with them.

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Farewell Amor movie review: family ties undone, and forged again (LFF 2020)

Fri, Dec 11, 2020
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Achieves that rare cinematic feat of being specific and universal at the same time. A lovely film, plaintive and poignant, with exquisite performances from a beguiling cast, and ultimately hopeful.

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Happiest Season movie review: don we now our gay apparel…

Wed, Dec 02, 2020
7 comments

Finds something fresh and gently feminist in the tropes and claptrap of an overbaked genre. Stewart and Davis have terrific chemistry, and the supporting cast of modern legends of funny is to die for.

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Small Axe: Mangrove movie review: parties and protests (LFF 2020)

Tue, Nov 24, 2020
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A triumph. McQueen brings history to life and makes it sing with zest and passion, with a spirit that endures beyond the strife. A celebration of Black joy alongside a raging against Black oppression.

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Proxima movie review: the work of the world

Fri, Nov 20, 2020
5 comments

Brings a fundamental new humanity to the story of those who court great danger in order to advance human knowledge. Eva Green is immense. Writer-director Alice Winocour’s compassion is achingly acute.

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Mogul Mowgli movie review: Riz Ahmed goes home and goes big (LFF 2020)

Tue, Nov 17, 2020
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An uneasy jolt of (pop) culture clash and assimilation angst. Unsettling and electrifying; near-nightmarish and absolutely mesmerizing. Riz Ahmed oozes sweat and rage, pride and power.

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African Apocalypse documentary review: Black perspectives matter (LFF 2020)

Fri, Oct 30, 2020
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In an intimate yet shattering documentary, Black British activist Femi Nylander searches for “the imperial history they didn’t teach at school,” and finds it. Heartbreaking, provocative, illuminating.

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Borat Subsequent Moviefilm movie review: punching way the hell up

Thu, Oct 22, 2020
3 comments

A work of breathtaking audacity. This is as perilous as comedy gets, and it’s very, very funny, often shockingly so. Sacha Baron Cohen’s scathing cultural strikes land like extinction-level asteroids.

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Love and Monsters movie review: building a future at the end of the world

Tue, Oct 20, 2020
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This pleasantly silly-sad apocalypse, melancholy with a dash of optimism, smashes clichés and finds fresh angles on the familiar. Dylan O’Brien has a self-deprecating charm; there’s a great dog, too.

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