David Lowery’s A Ghost Story shows us a role reversal of grief from the perspective of the dead in a hybrid of metaphysical caricature, proving to be a fine and fresh addition to the world of auteur cinema. More often than not, movies about grief only show the counter-reactions of the physical world of humans.Continue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: A Ghost Story (2017)”
Author Archives: Dennis Buckly
LIST: Ranking Darren Aronofsky’s films from best to worst
From the critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream (2000) to the divisive and controversial mother! (2017), it has always been safe to say that Darren Aronofsky’s films indulge to the psychological torments of his protagonists who strive for greatness through the drive for perfection, but tend to crash and burn in a downward spiral ofContinue reading “LIST: Ranking Darren Aronofsky’s films from best to worst”
MOVIE REVIEW: mother! (2017)
mother! is an amalgamation of Darren Aronofsky’s loud universe of allegory, muddled with a circus of nightmarish events, and a powerful, committed performance by Jennifer Lawrence. To say that the film is thought-provoking is an understatement. mother! is Aronofsky’s artistic cry as to what the true role of a film director is: to start aContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: mother! (2017)”
LIST: Top 6 films of Sofia Coppola, ranked
From being the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2003 (Lost in Translation); the first American woman and third American filmmaker to win the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2010 (Somewhere); up to her most recent milestone, as the first American womanContinue reading “LIST: Top 6 films of Sofia Coppola, ranked”
MOVIE REVIEW: The Beguiled (2017) [2 of 2]
A re-imagining of Don Siegel’s 1971 classic through the reversal of gender perspective, Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled delivers a chilling retelling of the blistering collision of the sexes through the female persona in a period thriller that’s so reserved, so quiet, but so powerfully effective. The Beguiled is set a couple of years into the CivilContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: The Beguiled (2017) [2 of 2]”
MOVIE REVIEW: It (2017)
Shot with meticulous craftsmanship, boasting with camp classic 80’s horror scare tactics that never get old, Andrés Muschietti’s It (2017) proves that adaptations and horror films are still in the game for cinematic marvel. Set in the late 1980s, It follows the story of a quiet suburban town haunted by an eerie entity inContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: It (2017)”
MOVIE REVIEW: Love You to the Stars and Back (2017)
Romantic comedies involving two different fates colliding could easily go astray to the cliché route; not with the masterful hands of Antoinette Jadaone whose treatment to Love You to the Stars and Back is rich and heartfelt, it’s an instant classic. Love You to the Stars and Back follows the road trip romance of MikaContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: Love You to the Stars and Back (2017)”
MOVIE REVIEW: Patay Na si Hesus (2017)
Filled with a dynamic ensemble of quirky, off-beat characters and an unapologetic screenplay possessing subtle hints of satire and over the top humor, Victor Villanueva’s Patay na si Hesus proves to be one of the year’s revelations. Set in Cebu, heavily written in the laid-back, homey diphthongs of the Visayan language, the film follows theContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: Patay Na si Hesus (2017)”
MOVIE REVIEW: Bar Boys (2017)
A film that tackles the dynamics of friendship and family towards the pursuit of one’s ambition, Kip Oebanda’s Bar Boys stirs both humor and curiosity in bringing forth the works of a courtroom drama in a behind-the-scenes black comedy. Bar Boys follows the journey of a barkada — Torran (Rocco Nacino), Chris (Enzo Pineda), ErikContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: Bar Boys (2017)”
MOVIE REVIEW: 100 Tula para kay Stella (2017) [1 of 2]
Jason Paul Laxamana’s 100 Tula Para kay Stella offers a pragmatic approach to a tale of unrequited love in an ethereal synthesis of time, poetry and music whilst wrapped in the grounded, hard edges of life’s reality. The film starts with the introduction of the typical nerdy, stuttering wallflower Fidel (JC Santos) and the typicalContinue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: 100 Tula para kay Stella (2017) [1 of 2]”