Shiva Baby
SHIVA BABY, the feature debut from director Emma Seligman, is a whirlwind of anxiety where a conflict between the personal and the familial erupts at a shiva while surrounded by relatives, community, and salmon and cream cheese bagels.
All posts by Simon Bowie
Cowboys
COWBOYS is a touching story about accepting who your children are, that uses the masculine norms of the cinematic depiction of cowboys to situate its discussion about gender identity and gender presentation.
Colors of Tobi
COLORS OF TOBI is a beautiful and intimate documentary that says something important about the family’s potential to be a locus of support, love, and trust for LGBTIQ+ people.
Dramarama
DRAMARAMA is a comedy-drama about the secrets within a clique of conservative Christian theatre-kids. The film has a real truth to how it represents the drama of puritanical Christian teenagers that unfortunately makes all the characters quite annoying.
Possessor
Brandon Cronenberg’s POSSESSOR offers a glimpse into a same psychedelic world where human bodies are mannequins and the banality of physical existence is a visceral horror.
Wolfwalkers
WOLFWALKERS, the latest film from Cartoon Saloon, is a stunningly animated family film deeply embedded in a sense of Irish history and Irish identity.
Dick Johnson Is Dead
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD uses its juxtapositions to create a bright and vibrant depiction of coming to terms with death that takes grieving outside the confines of the hospital or the hospice.
Relic
RELIC masterfully anticipates the fears and ideas of the audience, leading to a powerful conclusion about what we owe our family despite their mean, monstrous, or horrifying aspects.
Honeymood
HONEYMOOD stands apart from other entries in the genre with its dark edge, its sense of the absurd and fantastic, and empathy for the film’s flawed, imperfect characters. Simon Bowie reviews.
Grey Matters: Black and White Re-releases
As PARASITE returns to cinemas in black and white, Simon Bowie looks at the growing trend and some of the motivations for presenting different entertainment forms without the full colour spectrum.