Eddie Peng on Man and Beast in Black Dog
Guan Hu’s Black Dog is set in 2008 when China is set to host the Olympic Games. In an effort to appear progressive to Western eyes, the Chinese government is focussing its attention on Beijing and cre…
A Quiet, Purring Reflection on Coexistence: The Cats of Gokogu Shrine (五香宮の猫)
In the sun-dappled town of Ushimado, a small revolution is unfolding—one that takes place not in bustling streets or grand arenas, but in the quiet corners of a sacred shrine. Kazuhiro Soda’s The Cats…
Giles Chan puts pain at the centre of his impactful feature debut Jellyfish
When it comes to outlining the plot or character traits of Jellyfish, the feature debut from West Aussie based filmmaker Giles Chan, it’s hard to escape critically applied terms such as ‘slacker’ or ‘…
The Alto Knights is an afterthought in Mob Movies
Combining the writer of Goodfellas, the director of Bugsy, and starring Robert De Niro twice, The Alto Knights, based on the relationship between two New York Mafioso - Frank Costello (De Niro) and Vi…
The Assessment: A Dystopian Tale of Parenthood and the Weight of the Future
In a world overwhelmed by climate change, where resources grow scarcer and humanity has long ago abandoned the open skies, The Assessment dares to ask the question: What does it mean to bring life int…
Lou Sanz on engaging with empathy with the pitch black comedy Audrey
Subscribe to The Curb podcast via RSS feed, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or iHeart Radio. Download the episode directly here. In 2024, director Natalie Bailey and writer Lou Sanz unleashed Audrey onto au…
Alice Maio Mackay on the new wave of transgender cinema
Subscribe to The Curb podcast via RSS feed, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or iHeart Radio. Download the episode directly here. At just twenty years old, transgender wunderkind Alice Maio Mackay has crafte…
The Electric State is the $320 million proof that when money talks, it says nothing at all
An unbelievable $320 million USD is reportedly how much the Netflix Russo brother’s streaming title The Electric State cost. It’s expensive in the manner that a Chanel boomerang is expensive: a produc…
The terrible absurd reigns supreme under The Rule of Jenny Pen
Though an impressive headline pairing alone ought to make James Ashcroft's The Rule of Jenny Pen appointment viewing, this unusually thoughtful genre exercise’s comment on tyranny and the absurdit…
Empathy Now and Forever: Agnieszka Holland on Green Border and Fighting for Humanity
Agnieszka Holland has always led a political life. She has witnessed the impact of multiple occupations and dictatorial regimes. She was present for the 1968 Soviet invasion of Prague. She is consider…
Saïd Belktibia's Hood Witch is an erratic, but powerful, contemporary "witchcraft" thriller
Saïd Belktibia’s suburban Paris set contemporary “witchcraft” thriller Hood Witch starring Golshifteh Farahani as the desperately broke single mother Nour who takes to smuggling restricted animals fro…
Black Bag is a slick, flirtatiously entertaining chamber piece
Steven Soderbergh is giving Ridley Scott a run for his money by showing how quickly a big-named director can whip up a consistent number of movies in a short space of time. After the intriguing experi…