On a rainy Sunday evening, The McGill Tribune Arts & Entertainment team convened for one purpose and one purpose only: To watch the much-hyped Robert Eggers film The Lighthouse. Starring ex–Twilight cast member Robert Pattison and ex–Mr Bean’s Holiday villain Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse has captivated audiences since its release. Whether or not[Read More…]
Tag: film review
‘Logan’ is a fitting finale to the Wolverine franchise
X-Men films are a standard of the superhero genre, dating back to the first film, X-Men, in 2000. Over the course of the series, the original trilogy of films was joined by multiple spin-offs, including X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), a weird quasi-reboot that confused many fans. One of[Read More…]
“Jackie” delivers a haunting biopic of an enigmatic icon
Pablo Larrain’s Jackie is first and foremost concerned with history. This is not to say that the film’s objective is a mere chronological depiction of historical events. Rather, contrary to more conventional biopics, Jackie is concerned with the conscious role of individuals in creating history—which in the case of Jacqueline[Read More…]
Two Lovers and a Bear portrays explosive love affair against icy landscape
Writer-director Kim Nguyen has never been conservative in his creative choices. The Montreal-born, Concordia graduate’s recent films have taken him to shooting locations in Tunisia (La Cité) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (War Witch). Historical drama, horror, and magic realism are just a few of the genres Nguyen[Read More…]
Flashback: Ikiru (1952)
“A man dying of cancer searches for life meaning.” When condensed into this single phrase, the plot of Ikiru seems trite and simple. Yet renowned director Akira Kurosawa is an original storyteller who uses this familiar narrative to create an existential masterpiece. The opening shot of the film is an[Read More…]
Fokus Film Festival showcases student creativity
Time and time again McGill students prove that the lack of a formal visual arts department is in no way an obstacle to fantastic productions. Fokus Film Festival is just one example of the wealth of creativity at this school, and as the only festival of its kind the submissions[Read More…]
Movie Review: Embrace of the Serpent
After an Oscar season that was packed to the brim with survivalist epics, viewers could be forgiven for not wanting to see yet another “man vs. nature,” movie. However, if there’s one film that weary audiences should make room for, it is Embrace of the Serpent. Sure, it doesn’t boast[Read More…]
Flashback: Pretty Baby (1978)
“Storyville, New Orleans, 1917.” This is the title card that opens Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby. The film tackles the scandalous topic of child prostitution in a strikingly elegant and elegiac fashion through chronicling an upscale brothel in one of New Orlean’s most notorious red-light districts. Madame Nell (Frances Faye) is[Read More…]
Ingrid Bergman: A captivating look into the life of one of Hollywood’s greatest stars
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words, a documentary directed by Stig Björkman, honours the life and art of actress Ingrid Bergman. The film offers an inside look into the life of the Swedish actress who embodied the Golden Age of Hollywood and starred in iconic films worldwide, including Casablanca (1942)[Read More…]
Sisterly love: Mustang gives nuanced portrayal of female coming-of-age stories in patriarchal societies
Content warning: This film features elements of sexual abuse. The coming-of-age stories that frequently grace movie screens are those of teen rebellion, unrequited love, and summer adventures. Deniz Ergüven’s Oscar-nominated film Mustang contains qualities of all of these aspects, but adds nuanced maturity and an overwhelmingly poignant storyline. At the[Read More…]
