Thoroughbreds (2017)
★★★★☆
A film adapted from his stage play, Thoroughbreds is Corey Finley’s directorial debut. It’s a stylised teen thriller/black comedy of well-plotted cross and double-cross with two amoral central characters.
Americas
Isle of Dogs (2018)
★★★☆☆
Ruff cut – Wes Anderson’s surprise venture into animation in Isle of Dogs.
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
★★★★☆
You Were Never Really Here by Lynne Ramsay is a dark, disturbing odyssey into the mind of a brutal yet tender hitman.
A Fantastic Woman (2017)
★★★☆☆
Facing the humiliation of social exclusion after losing a loved one, Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman is a heartbreaking portrait of loneliness.
The Shape of Water (2017)
★★★★★
Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a fairy tale, a story of love, loss and friendship, and a magical cinematic joy.
Downsizing (2017)
★★★☆☆
Alexander Payne’s Downsizing is a fantasy satire in microcosm on life, the universe and everything.
Last Flag Flying (2017)
★★★★☆
Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying is an elderly Last Detail-type road trip in search of the American military dream.
The Final Year (2018)
The Final Year is a fascinating documentary by Greg Barker that’s almost Shakespearean in the rise and fall of its central characters, Barack Obama…
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
★★★★★
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is Michael McDonagh’s five-star drama laced with humour featuring a gloriously Oscar-worthy performance by Frances McDormand.
Brad’s Status (2017)
★★★★☆
First-world problems trigger beta-male, middle-aged angst in Mike White’s comedy drama Brad’s Status, with a father/son relationship at its heart.
Menashe (2017)
★★★★☆
Menashe by Joshua Z Weinstein is a very human story set in a uniquely closed community that turns out to have universal appeal.
Bingo: The King of the Mornings (2017)
★★★☆☆
Rampant with brash 1980s Brazilian political incorrectness, Daniel Rezende’s Bingo: The King of the Mornings is based on a true story of an actor’s downfall.
Stronger (2017)
★★★★☆
Stronger, directed by David Gordon Green, stars Jake Gyllenhaal in a gruelling but inspirational portrait of a man rebuilding his life after the Boston Marathon bombing.
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
★★★★☆
Serving well-rounded feminist statements while expertly juggling three intertwining stories, Battle of the Sexes is an outwardly reaching argument encapsulated in a tennis match.