The definition of “epic” is a work of narrative art in an elevated style that recounts the deeds of a legendary or historical hero. Such a hero tends to be legendary because of the backdrop, their individual acts taking place within a context that shapes or reshapes the world. Therefore, a truly epic realization of…
Son of Monarchs, a feature film written and directed by Alexis Gambis, a microbiologist and film director/screenwriter, is not the type of work likely to be appreciated — or perhaps even tolerated — by moviegoers that prefer tightly constructed, thematically succinct cinema. It is multi-layered in its storyline with a mélange of styles that range…
The 1960s. A time of new fashions, innovative music and escalating tensions. In both glamorous opera houses and drab subways, business opportunities intermingled with the Cold War. As world leaders like John F. Kennedy and Nikita Krushchev made grand speeches that could promise destruction or peace, depending on the mood of the time, the covert…
Quoting the statistic that 152 million children in the world are forced to work to support their families, Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Sun Children focuses on the street kids of Tehran — children of absent, addicted, or unemployed refugee parents, forced to sell trinkets on trains or buses, work in jobs that require manual labor…
In the pantheon of Bond, James Bond, there are shots that strike from a golden gun and others that leave one neither shaken nor stirred. One film often regarded as being among the latter is 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” infamously featuring George Lazenby as 007 who never returned to don the tuxedo. Despite…
Censor is a film that works on multiple levels. It is an enveloping and chilling horror that both disturbs and shocks. It is a meticulous period piece that creates a sense of the past while also treating the politics and attitudes of that period with a sharp satirical edge. It is a brilliantly designed, shot…
Lady of the Manor marks Justin Long’s directorial debut after an illustrious career in many high-profile mid to late-2000s comedies. He co-directs the film with his brother Christian, who also makes his directorial debut. Together, they craft a rather middling and recycled comedy with . . . well . . . middling and recycled results….
