When it comes to schmaltz in music, you can’t find anything that embodies it more than “Ebony & Ivory”, the often-parodied duet by Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, two undeniable musical geniuses that found themselves reduced to a saccharine, heavy-handed message about racism and the importance of finding common ground, regardless of background, proving…
Tag: movie-reviews
All My Friends Hate Me (2022)
We all know that familiar feeling of walking into a room, and suddenly being struck by a truly intrusive thought – “everyone here hates me”. Perhaps some have been lucky enough to have avoided such irrational and nonsensical delusions. Still, the vast majority of us have felt insecure from time to time, especially in arbitrary…
The Legend of Ochi (2025)
We all search for a sense of belonging – regardless of our background, there is always a desire to find a place where we feel comfortable and safe, whether physically or emotionally. We often find that there are interesting observations made by artists when it comes to exploring this idea, with entire genres being built…
In a Year of 13 Moons (1978)
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they are supposed to make the decision as to who they want to be, or at least this is the social mandate that has been consistently communicated for as long as we have been sentient. As society has grown, so has the tendency to place individuals into…
National Anthem (2024)
Some people are born to be a part of a community, others have to spend their formative years navigating a hostile world to find a sense of belonging. In both cases, it is clear that we all exist to fit in somewhere, even if only on the margins, and finding the right place for ourselves…
Snack Shack (2024)
Friendship is something that comes and goes with time, and the connections we form in our younger years do not always carry through as we grow older and begin to move on separate paths. This doesn’t necessarily invalidate those who manage to hold onto those lifelong friendships. Still, it does lend itself to some very…
Willie Dynamite (1973)
Much like any art form, cinema is usually crafted as a response to the social and cultural milieux in which a particular artist exists, which means that we usually find every film contains some degree of commentary, even if only in the most subtle cues. We usually find that crime films in particular contain the…
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
The term “revolutionary” is thrown around far too much these days, and is often not quite as deserving when associated with certain artists, something that even the most generous of individuals can agree on, particularly since anyone who is seen as even slightly challenging the artistic status quo is given such a label. However, there…
The Friend (2025)
Grief is a peculiar concept, insofar as it is universal in principle, but yet is so singularly impossible to define or even accurately describe. It is ever-changing and takes on so many different forms, emerging from an infinite number of scenarios and being different for every one of us. For some, it is a series…
The Well-Digger’s Daughter (1940)
When it comes to sharp but meaningful satire, few writers were more adept at capturing the social and cultural milieu more than Marcel Pagnol. As both a playwright and filmmaker, he is responsible for several of the most important texts in the history of French literature, being an influential artistic force in both theatre and…
The Postmodern Pelican 