Queer | Review by: Gal Balaban

Visionary director Luca Guadagnino excels in capturing raw human connection, in all its beauty and discomfort. Queer focuses on Lee, an American living in Mexico City who wanders the streets, and soon strikes up a romance with a younger man (Drew Starkey) in a bar. The first act is filled with that unpredictable energy that makes Guadagnino’s films stand out, including excellent cinematography and truly inspired soundtrack choices. Craig is giving his best dramatic performance yet. Lee is a truly lonesome man with a hole inside him that he has no idea how he’ll ever fill. Craig truly lets us feel the character's soul in the quietest moments of the film. Jason Schwarzman entertains in a humorous supporting role, and Lesley Manville plays a particularly fantastic part.

Where the film truly falters is its dreadful pace. It loses much of its energy in the aimless second and third acts which feel like such little drama stretched so thin. Craig’s performance and his chemistry with Drew Starkey take a backseat to the uninteresting atmosphere building that takes too long. By the time you reach the end, it feels more like a cliched downer than an earned journey to this complex and sad character’s journey. Mileage may very in this surreal yet uneven and indulgent film from Guadagnino, but it feels to maintain its hold on its audience and say something truly meaningful, instead, begging to drag on and on past its breaking point.

2.5/5

Review by: Gal Balaban

The Mandalorian Season 3 Review

Listen, I love Star Wars. I will always love Star Wars. The original and prequel trilogies were a big part of my childhood, and helped shape my love of cinema. While The Mandalorian isn’t among my favourites in the franchise, I thought it had a promising first season and a significantly stronger season two. Season three had so much potential, but a frustrating lack of focus held it back from greatness. This show’s always had a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s never been as clear as it is here. Does it want to be a procedural-style adventure of the week, or tell an epic, multi-season spanning arc? Season one leaned toward the former, while Season two found a satisfying balance of both. Season three tries to find that balance, but the overarching story it wants to tell is bigger than the few episodes allotted to do so. There are only 8 chapters, some barely over 30 min. That’s a fair...

Boss Level Film Review

Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation. Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...

Better Man | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

What at first feels like a CGI gimmick allows Better Man to climb and swing it’s way beyond standard biopic conventions. This larger than life musical is worth a watch even if, like me, you needed to ask “Who the hell is Robbie Williams?”. A pop icon in the UK who didn’t quite make a household name for himself in North America, Robbie Williams bares his life (the good the bad and the drug fueled ugly) in this dazzling account of his rise to fame. Musician biopics often focus too heavily on the creation of the artist’s work, and not enough on the actual artist. Better Man gives audiences a sobering portrait of the man behind the monkey, with his songs placed in pivotal life and career moments to move the narrative forward. This works especially well if you aren’t entirely familiar with Williams’ work, because you won’t find yourself waiting to hear specific needle drops. Instead they flow organically into the story, with gorgeously choreographed musical numbers. And bo...

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