Rebel Without a Pause Button

Since 2012 I have been posting reviews and opinion pieces on this blog and I hope you have all enjoyed reading them as much as I have writing them!  But my frustrations with Google's Blogger platform have grown worse throughout the years and I've decided its finally time for a change. So I am excited to announce that I am moving the blog to a new website at rebelwithoutapausebutton.com ! This will allow me to have a greater amount of control over the design of the blog, which will hopefully mean a better visitor experience for all of you. So thank you for sticking with me and see you on the new site, where I have just posted a new piece on Godzilla vs. Kong.  I have also created new social media accounts on Instagram @rebelwithoutapausebutton  and Twitter @rebelpauseblog ! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the new site,  rebelwithoutapausebutton.com . Rob.

2013's Gloria was a joyous celebration of a free-spirited divorcee, a film pulsating with an irresistible energy and warmth that made it a certified arthouse hit and foreign language nominee at the Oscars. So it was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that we learned director Sebastian Lelio, fresh from the success of A Fantastic Woman and Disobedience, would be returning to direct an American remake, with an all-star cast to boot. But it is a relief to report that, contrary to popular fears, Gloria Bell  is a triumph of a film. And this is all down to one key ingredient : Julianne Moore. This is her film from beginning to end and she is simply sensational. It is impossible not to be instantly captivated by her presence on screen, and, rather than simply rehashing Paulina Garcia's wonderful performance that so electrified the 2013 original, Moore brings her own unique energy to the character of Gloria to more than justify the existence of this remake.  ...

Following a 4 year gap since her highly successful debut film The Babadook , Jennifer Kent returns with The Nightingale , a wildly different project that traces the horrors of colonial rule through the eyes of a young Irish convict. Set in Tasmania during 1825, and written and directed by Kent, the film premiered at Venice late last year to rave reviews, along with some controversy over the level of violence depicted. This criticism largely surrounded the opening of the film, which sees British officer Hawkins (Sam Claflin, The Hunger Games, Me Before You ) committing several horrific acts of sexual violence against the young Clare (Aisling Franciosi, Game of Thrones, The Fall ). We thus follow Clare as she ventures through the dangerous Tasmanian undergrowth to seek revenge on Hawkins. Perhaps the biggest point of praise for Kent’s film is that it has brought to the screen a bright new star in the form of Franciosi. Previously known from several TV roles, Franciosi delive...

The m ost obvious influence that comes to mind when watching The Perfection is Brian De Palma and the several notoriously shocking thrillers that helped him become a household name in the early 80s. There are clear shades of Dressed to Kill’s erotic energy and Blow Out’s frenzied paranoia running throughout this Richard Shephard (previously known for his TV work on Girls + Ugly Betty ) directed, Netflix released thriller. Coupled with several uses of De Palma’s signature split diopter shot , it becomes pretty apparent that Shephard likes to wear his influences firmly on his sleeve. The pulpy shock and awe nature of many of the film’s sequences, including an early scene involving bugs and a meat cleaver (you get the picture), also musters any number of comparisons ranging from Funny Games to Eden Lake, particularly as the story begins to escalate and become a very different beast. However, The Perfection is a film that is better off watched with little prior knowledge of the p...