Two daring Jesuit priests encounter immense persecution when they travel to Japan in the 17th century to spread the word of Christianity, while also attempting to locate their missing mentor, Father Ferreira (Tetsuro Tanba) – a man rumoured to have lost his faith within the country. An emotionally charged, impactful flick that will appeal to some viewers, more than others.
Led by their demanding father, Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), and their more conservative mother, Doris Von Erich (Maura Tierney), the inseparable Von Erich brothers chase championship glory within the brutal world of professional wrestling, while also battling their own personal demons and emotional struggles along the way. As fame, pressure and tragedy begin to consume the family, the cracks slowly start to show. An incredibly well-made, emotional and deeply moving picture that comes highly recommended.
Set within the crime riddled Gotham City, The Batman follows a young Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson), who has spent his early years as a masked vigilante, striking fear into criminals. When a sadistic killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano) begins targeting important figures across the city, Batman is pulled into a complicated web of corruption that runs deeper than expected. A darker, effective, albeit more grounded take on the Batman character, with this flick leaning heavily into the detective style of filmmaking, rather than outright action and violence.
An accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick (Paul Newman) arrives in the small Mississippi town of Frenchman’s Bend, before quickly integrating himself with its richest family, the Varners, headed by Will Varner (Orson Welles), who owns just about everything worth owning in the town. Seeing potential in Ben’s ambition and ruthlessness, Will begins to consider him as a suitable match for his daughter, hoping to inject fresh blood into his family. What unfolds is a slow-burning character study of family, power and pride in the deep American south setting. A memorable release stemming back almost seventy years.
Following Tsar Nicholas II (Michael Jayston) and his wife Alexandra (Janet Suzman), Nicholas and Alexandra tells the story of Russia’s last royal family during the years leading up to the Revolution, where their reign crumbled and their family were eventually imprisoned, and consequently executed. The pair struggle to balance their royal duties with the challenges of parenthood, all while becoming increasingly isolated from their own people and the changing world around them. An important and powerful film that captures one of the most pivotal and tragic moments in modern European history.
When the experienced and equally as tough bounty hunter, Morgan Hickman (Henry Fonda), rides into a small frontier town with an outlaw’s body with him, tensions start to simmer. Initially, he only planned on collecting the reward for his bounty, but quickly crossed paths with Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins), a young and inexperienced sheriff, struggling to find his footing within the town. Together they navigate the threats and moral dilemmas around keeping the town safe. In my eyes, an iconic and somewhat underappreciated classic American western that is certainly worth a watch.
The DC Review Blog - EST. 2020 