Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City Review (from Someone Who has Played the Video Games)

Year: 2021 Runtime: 100 mins Director: Johannes Roberts Writer: Johannes Roberts, Greg Russo Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Avan Jogia, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper By Mique Watson Alas, the Hollywood machine’s unhinged devotion to cold, hard capitalism persists. I should preface this review by stating that I have played “Resident Evil 1 & 2”, the games which this film is based on (and I love … Continue reading Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City Review (from Someone Who has Played the Video Games)

Review: Underworld Blood Wars

Year: 2017 Runtime: 91 minutes Actors: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver Director: Anna Forester By Mique Watson Just in case you haven’t been keeping track, we’re five movies into this franchise. Five movies. Yes, five movies. If you think I’m being repetitively redundant, let me just make myself perfectly clear once again: we’re five movies in. In this latest entry, you’d think … Continue reading Review: Underworld Blood Wars

Review: Mortal Kombat

Year: 2021 Runtime: 110 minutes Director: Simon McQuoid Writers:  Greg Russo, Sean Catherine Derek, David Callaham, Drew McWeeny, Scott Swan Actors: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Max Huang, Ng Chin Han, Daniel Nelson, Sisi Stringer By Mique Watson The year 1995 saw the first attempt at adapting this uber-violent game for the silver screen, yielding middling results. Among the … Continue reading Review: Mortal Kombat

Nomadland: see you down the road documentary Analysis

By Mique Wilson The empathy machine of cinema rarely works as well as it does in Chloe Zhao’s latest, “Nomadland”(2020). This masterful ode to the human spirit showcases landscapes of visual and interpersonal poetry in the story of Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, finds herself on a solo journey through America. Dwelling in her van, she meets … Continue reading Nomadland: see you down the road documentary Analysis

Promising Young Woman

Why the Ending of Promising Young Woman Works

By Mique Watson **This piece contains spoilers for the end of “Promising Young Woman.” If you have not seen the film, you may want to check out this piece afterwards.** “Promising Young Woman” (2020) premiered last year at the Sundance film festival. It debuted with a whopping 99% approval rating on the Tomatometer, and was associated with much anticipation. In reality, this was one of … Continue reading Why the Ending of Promising Young Woman Works

Summer of 85

review: Summer of 85 (2020)

Year: 2020 Runtime: 100 mins Writer/Director: Francois Ozon Stars: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin By Mique Wilson Francois Ozon’s latest offering opens up with Alex (Félix Lefebvre), promising us that the story we are about to see will not end well. Though how could anything end well at the precarious age Alex is in? An age where even the most infinitesimal problems are manifestly larger than … Continue reading review: Summer of 85 (2020)

Noirvember Retrospective Review: as tears go by (1988)

This strange age we’ve found ourselves in–lockdowns and quarantines abound–has granted me the opportunity to dive deep into the oeuvre of Hong Kong’s cinema god, Wong Kar-Wai. “As Tears Go By” marked Wong’s debut to film two decades ago; with it, was the emergence of an auteur–as well as a resounding Honk Kong new wave. I saw this film for the first time yesterday. Seeing as this month’s Their League theme is “Noirvember”, a piece on this gem appeared to be apropos . Continue reading Noirvember Retrospective Review: as tears go by (1988)

Review: Death Of Me

On paper, this latest flick by Darren Lyn Bousman sounds terrific. It’s essentially “The Hangover 2” meets “Rosemary’s Baby”–in tropical Asia! We’re touring the spiritual locales with Christine (Maggie Q) and her photographer/journalist husband Neil (Luke Hemsworth). We first meet them waking up after a wild Friday night. Neither can seem to remember the happenings that had transpired the evening prior–though one thing is certain; Christine’s passport is missing, and without it, neither can get back to the mainland. What ensues is two-thirds of an interesting film; interesting setup, disastrous finale. Continue reading Review: Death Of Me

Review: “This Is Paris”

Year: 2020 Runtime: 107 Minutes Director: Alexandra Dean Stars: Paris Hilton By Mique Watson “That’s hot.” Need I say anything else? This is a phrase that belongs to Paris Hilton, a woman whose name alone has sold oceans of perfume, mountains of skin care products, and a lifestyle of obscene materialism. Paris is the first woman — perhaps ever — to be famous for merely … Continue reading Review: “This Is Paris”