Author page: mrqe

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE Review: Third Time’s Sort of The Charm

Given how the Marvel stranglehold on entertainment has been loosened as of late, it can be hard for fans to know what to expect from a current Marvel film. It’s become clear that having to be an expert across multiple stories and platforms is no longer accetable to many people (as it shouldn’t be, people only have so many hours in the day and very few want to devote all their entertainment time and money to the company); and yet, some knowledge is going to be necessary, especially in sequels. But can someone still be entertained, even within these limitations? Venom: The Last Dance does its best to keep its audience entertained in its little corner of the Marvel Universe, and for the most part,…

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MAGPIE Review: Daisy Ridley Delivers Knockout Performance in Marital Neo-Noir

When Daisy Ridley (Sometimes I Think About Dying, The Marsh King’s Daughter, the Star Wars sequel trilogy) last appeared on screen in Young Woman and the Sea earlier this year, she was literally and figuratively swimming for her life. She’s no longer swimming or anywhere near a large body of water in her latest film, Magpie, but her character, Anette, isn’t far from drowning metaphorically if not in real — or rather, reel — life. As scripted with surprising, not entirely unwelcome, bluntness by screenwriter Tom Bateman’s (Ridley’s real-life husband), Anette fails into a familiar category, the woman on the verge of a public and/or private breakdown, of letting slip the thin veneer of societal norms, asserting her singular agency, and acting/reacting against those norms,…

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Praise His Soul: Greta Lee Toys with Willem Dafoe in Kent Jones’ ‘Late Fame’

Praise His Soul: Greta Lee Toys with Willem Dafoe in Kent Jones’ ‘Late Fame’

Six years after transitioning from film criticism, programming and docu features to narrative with Diane (2018), Kent Jones is gearing up for his sophomore project. Titled Late Fame, it was announced just prior to Cannes with Sandra Hüller onboard, however, Past Lives Greta Lee has replaced her and will now joining Willem Dafoe. This should be another fascinating character study – as the drama was penned by Samy Burch (Haynes’ May December – read review). Filming was planned for the fall – so this will be packaged and complete for the fall festival season in 2025. Killer Films’ Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon are producing.… Read the rest

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HOUSE OF ASHES Exclusive Clip: Maybe Ghosts Aren’t so Stupid, Marc?

By all accounts the premiere of Izzy Lee’s debut supernatural and topical horror flick, House of Ashes, was a rip-roaring success. Word from our friend and fellow Anarchist, Lee, is that the screening at Brooklyn Horror went very well. No one left after the screening and stuck around for a Q&A that spilled out into the lobby of the cinema after their time was up. Reviews are coming in hot – far more eloquent than mine – and the love is real.    Our mission today is two-fold. One, Izzy gave us an exclusive clip to share with you today. Two, remind everyone else on the festival circuit and for distributors out there who you should talk to if you want a slice of this…

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2025 IFFR: First Wave of World Preems include Latest by Hicham Lasri, Daniel Hoesl & Alexander Kluge

2025 IFFR: First Wave of World Preems include Latest by Hicham Lasri, Daniel Hoesl & Alexander Kluge

Out of the gate early, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (30 January – 9 February 2025) have unveiled the first wave of titles that make up the upcoming 54th edition with a baker’s dozen titles populating the Bright Future and Harbour sections. The complete programme will be launched on the December 17th – a couple of weeks after Sundance unveil their edition.

    BRIGHT FUTURE

1 GIRL INFINITE (World Premiere)
Director: Lilly Hu
United States, Latvia, Singapore
Two teenage girls, Yin Jia and Tong Tong, live together in this colour-drenched vision of Changsha, China. When Tong Tong drifts away and falls in with a drug dealer, Yin Jia’s love for her means she’ll risk everything to keep Tong Tong by her side.… Read the rest

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The Indie Awards Launch With Nominees Including Free Time, The People’s Joker, and Atikamekw Suns

With many annual awards ceremonies, even those that brand themselves celebrators of indie filmmaking, seemingly highlighting films that don’t necessarily need the boost, it’s refreshing when one truly highlights the indie spirit. Enter The Indie Awards, “an annual event dedicated to celebrating the spirit of truly independent filmmaking,” backed by Slamdance. Ahead of a ceremony […]

The post The Indie Awards Launch With Nominees Including Free Time, The People’s Joker, and Atikamekw Suns first appeared on The Film Stage.

La cocina | Review

La cocina | Review

Soap Kitchen: Ruizpalacios Underwhelms & Over Bakes Food Drama

Alonso Ruizpalacios La cocina ReviewMaking his English language debut with fourth feature La Cocina, based on the notable stage play by Arnold Wesker, Alonso Ruizpalacios presents an absurd, impulsive microcosm of oft invisible experiences. Taking place behind-the-scenes in what appears to be a mediocre tourist mainstay in Times Square (set in an era before cellphones), a teeming community of workers tossed together like a makeshift family goes about the daily grind. As circumstances dictate, the focus is one particularly grueling lunch shift in which various coinciding dilemmas come to a show stopping head.

Much like his exceptional 2018 title Museo, Ruizpalacios gravitates towards the power of process, drifting into tangentiality of the narrative to collect the milk of human experiences.… Read the rest

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