Oscar 2025: Which Live-Action Short Will Take Home Gold?
As usual the five Oscar-nominated short films were a great mix of stories from around the world, each tackling compelling themes with unique styles. Read on to know which was my favourite and which one will most likely win. The first film, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent by Nebojsa Slijepcevic, takes place in […]
Emilia Pérez: A French Director’s Daring Trans Musical in Spanish
Film Review by Julian Liurette, Toronto, January 28, 2025* I just re-watched Emilia Pérez, the latest film by French director and screenwriter Jacques Audiard, on Netflix—though I first saw it two months ago at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. Even then, I knew I had witnessed something unconventional: a musical about a notorious drug cartel […]
The film Nickel Boys: A Bold POV Experiment That Doesn’t Quite Hit the Mark
Nickel Boys is a film directed by RaMell Ross and adapted from the book by Colson Whitehead. The film tells its story visually and audibly through the perspective of its main characters, something reminiscent of Son of Saul which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2015. Advances in camera technology make such technical […]
Thoughts written in Spanish on Parallel Mothers, Almodóvar’s latest uneven but thought provoking film
Mis reflexiones después de haber visto la nueva película de Pedro Almodóvar, Madres Paralelas. Como gran parte de las películas de Pedro Almodóvar, la historia de Madres Paralelas sucede en el presente y en la ciudad de predilección del director donde él vive, Madrid. No es su mejor película, pero como todas sus películas es […]
Dolemite is my name, fun comedy with Eddie Murphy and Wesley Snipes
You got to give it to Netflix, they are firing in all directions to create original content. Although this is not groundbreaking stuff à la Roma, Dolemite is my name is a fun heartwarming comedy starring Eddie Murphy in the role of real-life Rudy Ray Moore, a man who never gave up his dreams of […]
2020 vintage: Strong Oscar-nominated short films
The Oscar-nominated live-action short films are always surprising, inspiring and this year’s five nominees did not disappoint. From the instagram-filtered to the politically charged, the films offered a glimpse into some of the issues facing our contemporary world. The films take place in the late 2010s in northern Africa, in Europe, North America and Central […]
Parasite, too clever for its own good
I discovered Bong Joon-Ho a few years ago when I saw his 2013 movie Snowpiercer. I was taken away by its power and imagination. It seamlessly mixed action and science fiction. Just like Snowpiercer, Parasite’s story revolves around confronting different classes of society, the rich vs. the poor, except this time, it’s not set in […]
Shoplifters, 2018 Palme d’or winner is simple, neutral, not that touching
Shoplifters, a Japanese film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.Seen on March 26, 2019 Impressions before seeing the film I decided to see this film at the last minute for 5 dollars at a local cinema in Toronto. The film won the Palme d’or in May 2018 when Cate Blanchett was the jury president of the Cannes […]
Roma, landmark feast for the eyes and ears but uneventful
“Roma” (2018, 2 h 15 min) was written, directed and produced by Alfonso Cuarón 6.5/10 Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film is another technical tour de force by the Mexican director. It’s “Gravity” set in Mexico. And, just like his previous films, “Roma” tells a meandering story that occasionally soars but is mostly banal and undramatic. The […]