In a time when your average blockbuster centres around the fictitious and the fantastic, a film about devastating winds is a breath of fresh air. There are no space aliens, witches, or super people bringing along the burden of dull lore and...
In the last 14 years, Gru has certainly been through a lot. The reformed super villain put aside his dastardly ways to become a family man, and now sits pretty with three “gworls”, a wife, and a bouncing baby boy. Life couldn’t be better for the...
When it comes to film festivals in Jamaica, you’re likely to find them held in the usual spaces. Kingston is the place to be for JAFTA’s The Shot List, and for the annual staging of GATFFEST. On the west coast you can find film fanatics at the...
In a little over a year, the Jamaican short film A Shade Of Indigo has come a long way. Beginning its journey with a debut showing at the 2023 staging of The Shot List film festival, the story of a young girl’s struggle with self-acceptance and the...
A sequel to Inside Out doesn’t fill me with instant excitement. The idea of returning to a film so creative and thoughtful feels like a set-up for disappointment. Then again, Riley, the young girl whose innermost thoughts and feelings are at the...
After months of secrecy, an under-construction cinema, and teasers on their social media pages, Palace Amusement finally unveiled their newly renovated 4DX cinema at their Carib 5 location. For those not in the know, 4DX is an immersive cinematic...
Lovers of film found common ground this past Sunday at the third staging of The Shot List. The transatlantic collaboration between JAFTA and We Are Parable continues, giving patrons a day to appreciate the short film offerings from across the...
When 2024 began, I did not anticipate writing reviews for two films about imaginary friends. Certainly, the subject matter has overwhelming potential, but after the release of the underwhelming Imaginary, IF was not exactly on my most anticipated...
The original Planet of the Apes carries some formidable weight. A sci-fi classic that stands the test of time, and a tough act to follow. Yet followed it was by a series of prequels that bring forward their own emotionally charged stories, and...
It’s long been understood that sex sells. The marketing of Challengers seems to evoke that adage as philosophy. The scandalous love triangle at the centre of the film is touted as the draw for audiences, and for once, the film delivers as...
Every time you see an action movie, or even just a movie with action elements, what you’re seeing is the underrated field of stunt work. People devote so much to the craft of film-making, they’re willing to suffer actual bodily harm. While they...
When a young girl is kidnapped by a group of, well, kidnappers, she’s forced into an evening of imprisonment. Seemingly no older than eight, young Abigail is frightened, petrified under the threat of violence from her abductors. The premise has the...
In times like these the nightly news doesn’t provide much comfort. In largely every area there seem to be drastic and existential threats. For many, the cinema will be a means of escape, a chance to be transported into a world where problems are...
I just cannot fathom it. An international icon like Winnie the Pooh is finally available for public use. Boundless possibilities rest on the shoulders of film-makers large and small, who could take a world-renowned silly old bear and create...
The Faculty of Humanities and Education of The University of the West Indies recently assembled a panel of experts to discuss Bob Marley: One Love. Aspiring actors, writers, and film-makers all listened with keen ears as the panel explored topics...
It’s not hard to understand why the titans Godzilla and King Kong have stood the test of time. The gargantuan beasts provide the very spectacle that is only done justice when seen at the very least on a 30-foot-high screen, and whose booming...
Imaginary opens with the exact sequence one wants from a horror film focused on a vengeful spirit disguised as a teddy bear. Jessica, played by DeWanda Wise, has fled all manner of monsters throughout the halls of her childhood home. When all...
In what felt like the wait of a thousand-year prophecy, Dune: Part Two is finally unleashed upon the cinema-going public. The story of Paul Atreides and his fight for the Fremen continues, pulling him in all manner of directions. Is he the messiah...
Being a film critic has its ups and downs. One day, you’re on the red carpet talking to stars at a world premiere, and the next, you’re in a near-empty cinema watching the latest attempt at kick-starting a superhero franchise. It’s a long and...
In writing a review for Bob Marley: One Love, I must acknowledge a smidge of bias. At one point the film makes mention of young Nesta’s birthplace of “rural St Ann”. It’s a fact that carries a lot more weight when you know what rural St Ann looks...
At the 20-minute mark of Due Justice is when I first checked my watch. The first time check of many, as after a bloody opening scene, the Kellan Lutz-led action film had become overwhelmingly dull as it sets up its lead character’s backstory. Max...
With the new year now in full swing, highly anticipated films are getting ready to hit the big screen. Here’s a list of 10 movies you should look out for. 1. Mean Girls The comedy classic gets a musical makeover. Mean Girls defined a generation...
If there’s anything to take away from 2018’s Aquaman, it’s to disregard anything but the flashing lights. The world of Atlantis and its undersea inhabitants gave the Jason Momoa-led original a feeling of vibrance and scale. The story and characters...
Action movies are not known for great dialogue. Granted, some of the cheesiest lines in action films go on to have a life of their own, but they’re more enjoyed for how bad they are than being any good. To tell its no-nonsense story of grief...
Many will say a new Willy Wonka is unnecessary. With an iconic performance in the Gene Wilder original, and source material that has aged poorly through a modern lens, it’s easy to want to leave Willy well enough alone. What isn’t easy is coming...
