Best International Film Reviews: Croatia, Italy, and Portugal

by Cláudio Alves

Let's continue our travels through the Best International Film Oscar submissions, with a focus on Southern European cinema this time. Specifically, today's subjects are the films from Italy, Croatia, and my beloved Portugal. This is a tale of one victor and two persevering losers who still manage to send in new films for consideration every year. While Italy is the category's reigning champion with eleven wins, Croatia and Portugal have yet to be nominated. They've never even made it into the shortlists. In the latter case, the country holds the record for the most submissions without a single nod. With great sadness in my heart, I must say that Portugal's Oscar fate is unlikely to change this season…

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Review: "The Menu"

Dining with Chef Slowick (Ralph Fiennes) is a dangerous experience in "The Menu."By Christopher James

The subgenre of class warfare comedy is alive and well in 2022. Most recently, movies like Bodies Bodies Bodies and Triangle of Sadness have smeared the 1% with blood and excrement, respectively. Director Mark Mylod (of Succession fame), opts for the former with his all-star comic thriller, The Menu. The film effectively entertains, even if it doesn’t ultimately add much to the conversation.

We meet Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) at a dock about to be picked up for an elite dining experience. Right from the beginning, we see a disconnect between the two, as if they were newly dating. Tyler is beyond excited for the dining experience, documenting every moment. On the flip side, Margot couldn’t care less. Tyler and Margot travel alongside nine other illustrious guests to an island restaurant run by celebrity Chef Slowick (Ralph Fiennes)...

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Review: "Holy Spider" weaves a web of provocations

by Cláudio Alves

"Holy Spider" | © UtopiaThe world's obsession with true crime is as old as crime itself. With every new format and possible presentation, another wave of such media arises, making us think, each time, that the collective obsession is a new phenomenon. Oh, how wrong we are, for as much as things change, they remain the same. One aspect constant with every iteration of the true-crime craze is the glorification of the killer. False equivalencies manifest, equating human monsters to criminal geniuses. Great purposes are projected unto them, ideas of grandeur and abstract magnetism. From popular podcasts to Netflix's Jeffrey Dahmer show, true-crime narratives make celebrities out of murderers and exploit truth into legend.

Ali Abbasi's latest film challenges this state of affairs. Reenacted violence and political commentary are at the center of Holy Spider's controversial reputation, but its demystification of the serial killer figure constitutes the picture's most radical provocation…

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Review: "The Good Nurse"

By Christopher James

Talented actors can only take a project so far. Netflix’s latest feature, The Good Nurse, lives up to its title, but not by much. Based on a true story of a nurse who poisoned a large number of patients across ten hospitals, the source material is perfect for a true crime obsessive. However, what usually makes those stories interesting are the odd details that lodge into a viewer’s brain, making the story unable to shake off. The Good Nurse is an aggressive play straight down the middle, as it opts to be more of a character piece. Oscar winners Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne do plenty of heavy lifting in the lead roles, but can’t turn an okay movie into a great one.

Our titular “Good Nurse,” Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) is what we call a trope magnet...

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Review: 'Ticket to Paradise'

By: Christopher James

It's an Ocean's Eleven reunion, as George Clooney and Julia Roberts headline "Ticket to Paradise"They don’t make them like they used to.

I’m talking about movie stars, not movies. From frame one of Ticket to Paradise, Universal’s new romantic comedy, George Clooney and Julia Roberts have not just expertly defined their “love to hate” relationship. They’ve also reminded the audience that movie stars like them don’t exist anymore, and it’s a damn shame. Clooney’s twinkly eye and Roberts’ infectiously wide grin both make them instantly recognizable. However, both actors are shrewd enough to know how to use their movie star gifts for maximum effort. Ticket to Paradise hardly reinvents the wheel, but it is a breezy enough excuse to reunite the Ocean’s Eleven co-stars for an incredibly fun and funny trip to Bali.

The stage is set pretty quickly.

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