Tilda Swinton

  • Review: ‘Suspiria’ is defiant, but its efforts may be misplaced (Includes first-hand account)

    Dario Argento is one of the best-known Giallo directors in cinema and Suspiria is one of his most celebrated works. Of course there are other directors working in this space, and he’s made other films that expertly marry the violence, sexuality and style that define the genre, but when one of thinks of Giallo they think of Argento and/or Suspiria. Therefore, reimagining one of the genre’s most notable pictures is a heady task to be taken on by only the bold… or foolish. Based on Luca Guadagnino‘s “homage,” he might be a bit of both.

  • Review: Wes Anderson’s style transfers brilliantly to ‘Isle of Dogs’ (Includes first-hand account)

    Anthropomorphizing animals has been a common technique in fictional narratives for decades. It allows storytellers to convey tales in a manner that may be more effective or less jarring for viewers… and sometimes, it’s just more entertaining. Writer/director Wes Anderson has focused most of his career on live-action dramas featuring increasingly famous actors and developing a very distinct style, but he now appears to be embracing animation to deliver his unique stories with the latest being Isle of Dogs. Yet if audiences dig a little deeper, they’ll notice many of the same themes as seen in his other pictures — just in a different format.

  • Review: ‘Doctor Strange’ would expect nothing less of his film (Includes first-hand account)

    With the studio scheduled to release two to three movies a year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding relatively quickly. Introducing new characters from the comics via brief appearances in other vehicles or their own standalone pictures, they maintain their complex personalities and bring to life storylines previously reserved for the printed page. Most importantly, after some success, Marvel has proven no longer afraid to bring some of their lesser-known heroes to the screen. Doctor Strange is the latest superhero movie to hit theatres and although he wears a cape he’s not your typical comic book protagonist.

  • Review: ‘Hail, Caesar!’ is a revolving door of problems needing solving (Includes first-hand account)

    For those who have more than a passing interest in film and its history, the studio system is an endless source of fascination. This long-lost age of Hollywood worked within many restraints, but it also generated some of the biggest, most impressive and critically acclaimed productions of the last 100 years, as well as the first true movie stars. The studio heads oversaw everything from the progress of each film being made to the public images of their top-performing talent. The Coen brothers‘ Hail, Caesar! finds the humour in these relationships, while also paying tribute to an era gone by.