the-celluloid-correspondent

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Together Review. 2 Become 1 Literally

The idea of soul mates is a theory as old as time, and it still manages to sit at the center of how we think about relationships today. Are soul mates actually real, or is it just another result of society’s wildly unrealistic dating standards? Who’s to say. One of the more fascinating theories about soul mates traces back to Ancient Greece. In Symposium, Plato suggests that humans were once…

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Eddington: A Covid Satire Sure to Stir Audiences

Ari Aster remains one of the most peculiar filmmakers to emerge over the past decade. He came charging out of the gate with 2018’s Hereditary, a grief-soaked horror drama that took the world by storm and helped solidify the so-called “elevated horror” wave that A24 would come to define. In 2019, he deepened his preoccupation with loss and emotional devastation through the bright, sun-drenched…

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Superman: A Review. Mostly There

Superman is one of the most iconic superheroes of all time. That said, he’s also a character that no one has ever quite gotten right. I’ll admit up front that I haven’t seen every adaptation, like Smallville, Superman & Lois, or any of the animated versions. But what’s widely considered the best take on the character are the Richard Donner films from the late 1970s and early 1980s, with…

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Squid Game: Season 3 Review. Well, That Was Pointless.

In the lead-up to the season finale of the Korean drama that completely took over the world, fans were buzzing with theories about how Squid Game might wrap up. One of the more popular ideas floating around was that Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) would step into the role of the new Front Man. After witnessing the sheer cruelty and desperation of the players around him, he’d come to understand the Front…

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The Bear: Season 4 Review. Beginning to Feel Burnt Out

FX’s hit drama series (it’s a drama, not a comedy, fight me), The Bear has returned for its fourth season. After receiving a mixed review from the Chicago Tribune, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White). Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Syd (Ayo Edebiri), and the rest of the crew are racing against the clock to turn their restaurant into something actually profitable, as the financial safety net from Uncle…

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F1: The Movie. VROOM VROOM

I wouldn’t call myself a full-blown petrolhead. Most of my car knowledge comes from watching Top Gear with Clarkson, May, and Hammond. The same can be said with Formula 1. I keep up with the races, I know the drivers, and I’ve definitely yelled a pit strategy or two, even if I’m not glued to the screen every race weekend. I’ve even applied to a few roles with F1 teams, thanks to my degree in…

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28 Years Later: A Thrilling Ride That Took an Unexpected Turn

One of the most terrifying zombie films ever made remains Danny Boyle’s 2002 masterpiece, 28 Days Later. Set against the eerie emptiness of a desolate London, it introduced the Rage Virus. A brutal infection that takes hold in seconds, turning victims into relentless, feral beings driven by pure rage and hunger. The film breathed new life into the zombie genre, offering one of the most horrifying…

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Reviews from Tribeca: The Documentaries of the Festival

An Eye for an Eye An Eye for an Eye is an eye-opening documentary about the brutality of Sharia Law in modern Iran. Years after killing her abusive husband in self-defense, Tahereh now faces execution, unless she can pay the diya, or blood money, demanded by her abuser’s family. With the clock ticking and public sympathy wearing thin, her son Mohsen is thrust into a desperate race to save his…

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Reviews from Tribeca: A Tree Fell in the Woods

Let me pose a question: if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound? Of course it does. Now consider this: during a secluded holiday in the wilderness, two best friends uncover their spouses’ infidelity. Do they confront them directly or stay silent, hoping guilt will force a confession? This moral dilemma lies at the core of A Tree Fell in the Woods,…

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Reviews from Tribeca: Dog of God. An Unforgettable Psychedelic Experience

Latvian sibling directing duo Lauris and Raitis Abele have cooked up an unforgettable cinematic experience, for better or worse, with their latest feature, Dog of God. With hyperstylized visuals and trippy rotoscope animation, the brothers deliver a horror-soaked fever dream steeped in psychedelia, throwing it all the way back to the early, edgier days of animation. In a small Livonian village…

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Reviews from Tribeca: The Wolf, The Fox, and The Leopard.

Is our humanity something we’re born with, encoded in our DNA? Or is it something we acquire. Taught to us through civilization, education, and experience? That question sits at the heart of David Verbeek’s latest film, The Wolf, The Fox, and The Leopard, a years-in-the-making epic that overflows with themes and genres, resisting any easy classification. And yet, within all that chaos, Verbeek…

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Oh, Hi! Everyone Behind This Movie Should be Ashamed of Themselves

Every single person behind Sophie Brooks, Oh, Hi!, should be ashamed of themselves. In the day and age of the Me Too Movement and raised awareness regarding consent and sexual assault, you would expect a film like Oh, Hi! to be a thing of a past. But sadly, Hollywood still treats sexual assault and the mistreatment of men at the hands of women as a joke. Which is especially surprising from…

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Materialists: A Messy Romance About the Toxic Dating World

Celine Song’s Materialists is not what you think it is. From the marketing you would expect this to be a throwback to the early 2000s. A glossy and sexy romantic comedy about a woman torn between her imperfect ex-boyfriend and the man of her dreams. However, in reality this film is a commentary about the world of modern dating. How unrealistic expectations, entitlement and a twisted view of love,…

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Reviews from Tribeca: Deep Cover. A Stupidly Fun Movie

I don’t have all that much to say so I am going to keep this short and sweet. There are some movies that, on paper, sound like a complete trainwreck. And yet, by some act of God, they are not just watchable, but genuinely fun. That’s exactly the case with Tom Kingsley’s latest film, Deep Cover. We follow Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard), a down-on-her-luck improv comic scraping by in London while…

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Reviews from Tribeca: Reflections in a Dead Diamond

With perhaps the most evocative title at this year’s Tribeca Festival, Reflections in a Dead Diamond marks the latest stylish venture from husband-and-wife auteurs Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. The film centers on John Diman, played by Fabio Testi in his twilight years and Yannick Renier in flashbacks, a retired spy whiling away his days in a lavish hotel on the French Riviera. When a…

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Reviews from Tribeca: A Second Life. A Quiet Yet Powerful Story Set in the Chaos of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Games are often hailed as a unifying force for all of humanity. A time when people from around the globe, regardless of religion or background, put aside their differences to come together and play sports. Most of the stories we hear about the Olympics are told from the perspective of the athletes. But what about the everyday people just trying to get through the chaos of those two…

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Review from Tribeca: On a String. A Promising but Frustrating Directorial Debut.

Comedian Isabel Hagen has a lot on her plate in her directorial debut, On a String. Not only is she directing the film, but she is also writing it, starring in it, and is a producer on the project. As history has shown us these debuts are either one massive trainwreck or a masterpiece. And as for On a String, it lies somewhere in between. It has the foundations for something special as it mixes…