Tag Archives: Tilda Swinton

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Killer (2023) Movie Review

December 18, 2023 Alex Brannan

The quiet, ruminative introduction of David Fincher’s latest presents a haggard Michael Fassbender – the eponymous killer. An assassin staking out his target, he is disillusioned and tired, and his voiceover reiterates lines familiar to this genre, bromides regarding one’s luck if they never meet this cold-blooded killer, regarding the absence of true justice in this world, regarding luck being a false construct. Fassbender looks like a genre convention through most of this sequence, too, with an outfit that looks like it was pulled from Le Samourai. The opening scene could be considered a riff on Rear Window. These allusions, whether intentional or not, come off as unimportant as they would to the “Killer” himself – they are empty gestures to spectacular fictions regarding how crime operates.

As the V.O. monologue goes on, it bleeds into something more intriguing, something Continue reading The Killer (2023) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Souvenir (2019) Movie Review

August 8, 2019 Alex Brannan

Honor Swinton Byrne is phenomenal in The Souvenir. The film from Joanna Hogg presents a coming of age story for Swinton Byrne’s Julie, who is in the process of making a feature for film school. If you don’t recognize Swinton Byrne’s talent by this late juncture of the film, then you will see it when she looks directly at you, through the camera, following filming a take of her own. It is a shot that really shouldn’t be this powerful. It is too reflexive, too direct. But Swinton Byrne carries the weight of the film that has played out before her, and she puts that weight on you when she goes direct-to-camera.

Julie’s relationship to the audience may be as fraught as her romantic relationship with Anthony (Tom Burke) is. For one, it becomes increasingly hard for Continue reading The Souvenir (2019) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Love It, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Okja (2017) Movie Review

July 4, 2017 Alex Brannan

Okja is an elephant-sized genetically modified pig, raised for 10 years by Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn) and her grandfather in the Korean mountains. To one, Okja is a giant teddy bear of a pet. To another, namely the head of the company that created him Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton), it is a massive money-making food commodity.

Okja is, once it gets going, a chase film involving three (eventually two) parties. This chase cuts through a narrative with tropes of coming of age and satire, neither of which reach their full potential.

If the indelible adorableness of Okja does not get to your heart, then this story may Continue reading Okja (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

War Machine (2017) Movie Review

May 30, 2017 Alex Brannan

Glenn McMahon (Brad Pitt) is a celebrated, if not eccentric, United States Marine General tasked with leading NATO forces in 2009 Afghanistan. In 10 minutes, David Michod’s War Machine introduces McMahon’s team, none of which appear as appealing as Pitt’s left-eye bulging, tight-lipped officer of the people.

McMahon is tasked with handling relations with Afghanistan while the war winds down under the Barack Obama administration. It is a “nation-building exercise,” one which McMahon takes on with gusto.

Pitt’s character is, in delivery, an aged version of Lt. Aldo Raine. A gruff southern accent and a high degree of eyebrow expressivity control them both. Except, here, Pitt’s McMahon is Continue reading War Machine (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Doctor Strange (2016) Movie Review

November 3, 2016 Alex Brannan

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a cocksure neurosurgeon with the mind of a savant, becomes victim to a (rather excessive) car wreck. His hands smashed through the windshield and succumbing to massive nerve damage, he may never practice surgery again. Wonderful parallel shots show his fall from grace in a shot structure that seems almost too elegant for a Marvel film.