pop culture
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan In the age of complete cultural penetration for superhero properties, where audiences are familiar with and eager for more of the most bizarre corners of these comic-book universes, one question seems to gnaw at the Distinguished Competition – how can we sell Superman? Nearly a hundred years on from his inception, how…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan In the opening scene of Wes Anderson’s new film The Phoenician Scheme, a man is killed in a manner that is both uncharacteristically brutal and completely in keeping with the director’s sensibilities – Benicio Del Toro turns and looks at the unsuspecting victim, there is a beat of confused calm, and then…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan From the moment Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 was first announced and people learned of it’s sci-fi premise, a cloning mishap resulting in two versions of the same expendable worker co-existing, there was one question that was always on the forefront of people’s minds during the long, oft-delayed wait for the film’s…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan I’ve got the Oscar Fever – hope you’ve got it too! At least, I wish I could say I have the Oscar Fever this year. We were spoiled with the offerings of 2022 and 2023, where robust lists of nominees made for exciting and satisfying awards races. This may is just one…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan How can a film so massive, so utterly bloated with money and special effects and action, feel so incredibly slight? So impermanent, insignificant, intangible? My main impression of Marvel’s latest effort to course correct was that it felt mercifully brief, coming in just under two hours and feeling even less than that.…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan Monday – Octopussy Let us consider, if you will, a climactic action scene from the film Octopussy. Roger Moore’s Agent 007, having tumbled from a train while chasing down the villains, has rushed across Germany by hitchhiking and stealing cars. Upon finally reaching the military base that is soon to be obliterated…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan Monday – Love Lies Bleeding Would you rather watch a sincere outcast love story, a surreal body horror or a traumatic gang thriller? With Love Lies Bleeding, you get all three at once – which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Each component is well-done and full of memorable moments, but it never…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan Monday – The Man With The Golden Gun Fun fact if you weren’t already aware – not only was Christopher Lee the first choice of author Ian Fleming for the role of Bond, he was also Fleming’s cousin and one of the real-life inspirations for the character. Lee served as an intelligence…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan WARNING – this review will get into some major spoilers for Gladiator II. I normally prefer not to do this with newly-released films, but a lot of what I want to dig into would be impossible to discuss without getting into the final act. Personally speaking, I don’t think the film offers…
-

by Oscar O’Sullivan While I have your attention, why not watch my Youtube video after you’re done reading these reviews? Go on, you know you want to. Monday – The Sixth Sense A film that surely needs no introduction. Um. The Sixth Sense. M. Night Shyamalan’s breakthrough hit is famous for having a twist that…