Perhaps it’s the promise of a ‘brawl’ in the film’s title? Or maybe it’s the sheer, immediately iconic, presence of a head-shaven and cruciform-tattooed Vince Vaughn in the barren wastelands of suburban America? Whatever the root, there’s something about the opening to S. Craig Zahler”s latest work that brims with the tension of suppressed fury from the off. With this broiling tone established, a glacial pace proves the perfect foil to one deeply grisly plot in an exploitation feature of consistently surprising empathy. Continue reading Brawl in Cell Block 99 | Review→
She might be your little pony, but My Little Pony is one big brand for Hasbro. With retail sales of over $1bn annually, is it any wonder that this seemingly immortal marshmallow of a franchise has landed in cinemas for the first time since Michael Joens’ 1986 box office bomb? While the latest My Little Pony feature sure ain’t going to win over any new fans, it’s hard to imagine that it needs too. It’s not even…that bad.
A dream cast is only one microcosmic gene in the biology that makes Netflix’s new offering, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), a joy to behold. Frances Ha director Noah Baumbach’s pottering dramedy is an exquisite and densely scripted minefield of humour and poignancy that, whilst never exactly being relatable, feels beautifully true to life.
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