Judas and the Black Messiah
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH doesn’t quite ascend to divine status, but it uses its lead actors’ bright performances to shine a new light on the infernal actions of intolerant institutions.
All posts by Jim Ross
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet
A beautifully shot film, THE DOG WHO WOULDN’T BE QUIET is a cinematic ballad to how humans are tested (often unfairly), how we adapt to even absurd circumstances and how we develop connections – or, indeed, do not – with those around us.
Alex Camilleri Interview
LUZZU premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Award in acting for the film’s lead, Jesmark Scicluna. Jim Ross spoke with director Alex Camilleri about the making of the film. You can read Jim’s review of the film here. Jim Ross: So, first of all, thank you for the film. I … Continue reading Alex Camilleri Interview
Mass
Fran Kranz’s intense chamber piece is a devastating and formally accomplished story on the nature of forgiveness, guilt and vindictiveness. Jim Ross reviews at Sundance 2021.
Luzzu
Alex Camilleri’s feature directorial debut is a melancholy lament on the decline of traditional ways of life. Without romanticising an often difficult daily life, his story of a Maltese fisherman is naturalistic but beautiful.
John and the Hole
There is plenty to commend the technical and performance aspects of JOHN AND THE HOLE. Still, the storytelling choices and structure fill in the intriguing gaps with narrative quicksand, into which the film’s potential slowly sinks.
Synchronic
SYNCHRONIC joins the dense history of time travel films with an intriguing mechanic and clear character motivations to attach to it. However, Benson and Moorhead’s film zips by at a pace that means our attachment to those characters never develops the film into the emotionally engaging feature it could have been.
Stardust
STARDUST isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t seem to strive for much more than that. The Bowie biopic lacks the cryptic charisma of its subject; something that might distract from a disjointed and inconsequential narrative.
Tenet
TENET ends up something of a Rube Goldberg machine of a film: a wondrously complex set of mechanics that is fascinating, but also an incredibly convoluted way of masking what is, in essence, a thin and poorly executed story.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of the August Wilson play is a demonstration of captivating and powerful acting. Although it never seems to flourish visually, the chamber-piece story and powerful performance of the late Chadwick Boseman and the supporting ensemble carry it far.