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Author: Rachael Kaines

Film Review: The Islands and the Whales

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

A thoughtful, measured, and unbiased look at a myriad of issues facing modern man through the lens of an isolated archipelago with an unusual and controversial culture. The Islands and the Whales manages the impressive feat of illuminating a society that has, until now, largely escaped the many effects of globalisation, but they are on the brink of change. Pollution, overfishing, global warming, animal rights, and gender equality are all offered up for thought without commentary or criticism.

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Film Review: The Third Murder

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

The Third Murder is a frustrating and intriguing drama that asks many more questions than it answers. The truth is unknowable in this atmospheric and atypical offering from Japanese auteur Hirokazu Koreeda.

The story follows Tomoaki Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama), a lawyer who is defending a client, Misumi (Kōji Yakusho), in a murder trial. Misumi was previously convicted for two murders, but sentenced to years rather than the death sentence by Shigemori’s father, a judge. Misumi changes his story constantly throughout the film, so Shigemori, and the audience, is never quite sure what to believe.

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Film Review: Peter Rabbit

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

The new Peter Rabbit film has many tell-tale signs of an absolute stinker. Take some beloved British children’s stories, written by a woman who refused to sell out her characters to Disney, add a few much derided actors (one in particular who has made a leap across the pond that has stoked this disdain ever further), plus live action animation of animals telling jokes and singing and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting with Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit. Apart from the fact that you will be wrong.

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Film Review: Mary Magdalene

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

Mary Magdalene is a disarming portrait of someone who — the film argues — is an often misrepresented figure. This retelling is unashamedly feminist and augmented by astounding performances from both Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix. Mary Magdalene is not self-indulgent, self-righteous, or gratuitous, and all the better for it, resulting in a deeply profound and humanist revision to a well-worn history.

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Oscars 2018: Our Predictions

Rachael Kaines shares her Oscars 2018 wish list.

The Oscars are here again. After the snafu of last year and the extremely unlikely event of the voters actually picking the best film for best film, all bets are off this year. “Oscar bait” films seem to be doing worse year on year, which makes for much better pickings and increasingly harder to predict winners.

Here are some predictions, or rather a wish list of sorts. (predictions are in bold)

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Film Review: The Nile Hilton Incident

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

Tarik Saleh delivers with The Nile Hilton Incident a compelling and taut thriller, that manages to remain engaging and unpredictable right up to its end. The transportation of the specific Scandi thriller style, with all its preoccupation with corruption and mistreatment of unseen minorities to Egypt works very well. A lot of the issues this type of thriller tends to deal, corruption and accountability for crimes, with are tangible and pervasive in the pre-revolutionary Cairo in which the film is set.

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Film Review: Finding Your Feet

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

Finding Your Feet, the new film directed by Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon), features an all-star cast in a predictable, but fun flick. Great performances and funny moments make up for a story that loses momentum partway through. Finding Your Feet is an enjoyable, but flawed comedy/drama.

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Film Review: The Shape of Water

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

With The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro has finally returned to form. A charming and beautiful romance as well as a tale (tail) of underdogs (fish) of all shapes and sizes. del Toro manages to represent many marginalised aspects of society in the setting of America during the cold war (even a group we never knew were marginalised — fish men).

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Film Review: Phantom Thread

Reviewed by Rachael Kaines

Not quite the harrowing experience some might be expecting, Phantom Thread is closer to a perverse romantic comedy than a serious or dark drama. If the idea of watching people throw beautiful barbs at each other over a breakfast table sounds appealing, then Phantom Thread is your film.

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