TMINE's publisher and Official Movie Reviewer in Residence. I've written for numerous magazines, including Death Ray and Filmstar, and I've been a contributor to TMINE since I was at university and first discovered I really wanted to write about movies, oh so many years ago. Sob.
In which Nat talks briefly about the movies she’s been watching this week for no particular reason and that probably don’t warrant proper reviews, but hey? Wouldn’t it be nice if we all chatted about them anyway?
That’s basically me, to every person who pays me, every time I’ve tried to write anything at all for the past month.
It’s going to be a quick trip through all the screens of the TMINE Multiplex this week, almost like when you’re trying to find your screen but you can’t see the number so end up going to each screen in turn to find the movie you booked.
So here we go! In no particular order at all, here’s what currently showing in the TMINE Multiplex.
I’m really going to get better at this. Promise. Just in case you were wondering, I have actually managed to watch all these films since I last reviewed anything:
Belfast (2022)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2022)
A Few Good Men (1992)
Wasp (2003)
Dave (1993)
The American President (1995)
Down With Love (2003)
The Love Witch (2016)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
See! I’m not shirking!
You’ll notice, I really, really hope, that at least two of those – okay, I admit it, just two – have featured here, so I’m not leading you astray, honest.
Let’s stick to one movie per service, though. Is that okay?
In 1920s New York City, a black woman finds her world up-ended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who’s passing as white. Rebecca Hall’s feature directorial debut
In the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against a cabal plotting a war to wipe out millions. Yes, it’s a prequel to the Kingsman movies, all of which are now on Disney+.
An accident will force Vivien and Roy to come to a stop and reclaim their lives, one minute at a time, and finally start living in a present that perhaps will prove to be more exciting than any predefined.
The Eastern European masseur Zhenia possesses an almost magical gift. Working in a gated community in Poland, he quickly becomes a guru-like figure to his wealthy clients. However, Zhenia’s background remains a mystery—leaving the residents to wonder what secrets he might be carrying with him.
In his deeply personal directorial debut, Gosha Kutsenko explores the high-wire life of a neurosurgeon. Dr. Yury Mikhailovich spends his day in and out of the operating theatre, with only brief interludes to comfort patients’ relatives. As he distracts himself from the realities of his job with multiple love affairs, he is haunted by one thought: is he truly saving lives, or just prolonging suffering? Dedicated to his mother, who lost a two-year battle with brain cancer, Doctor is at once a personal thank you to medical professionals, and an honest acknowledgement of the crushing responsibility that comes with this line of work.
Oscar-winning thriller about the bigoted sheriff in a small Mississippi cotton town who finds himself forced into collaboration with a black homicide expert from Philadelphia.
Sparta, Mississippi is a small, quiet town broiling on a steamy September night. At the train station Virgil Tibbs, a solitary black man from out of town, is arrested for the murder of a rich northern industrialist. Police chief Gillespie has no experience of a murder inquiry and subjects Tibbs to a bigoted, insolent interrogation. But when Tibbs reveals himself to be a top city homicide cop, his is just the assistance Gillespie can do without.
All the movies added to streaming services in the past week that Natya has added to her watchlists and hopes to watch. But might not
Not such a big list of additions to my watchlist this week, but here’s what I really think might be fun or interesting to watch. I chose one from each service that most people will have!
Netflix
Emma. (2020): In 1800s England, a well meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends – come on, it’s Jane Austen. You know this one! (Trailer)
Apple TV+
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021): A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power – come on, it’s Shakespeare. You know this one! Plus it’s directed by Joel Coen (Trailer)
MUBI
Galveston (2018): Starring Elle Fanning and Ben Foster, this striking thriller is the English-language debut from Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds). With hardboiled pedigree in True Detective creator Nic Pizzolato’s source novel, and a stunning one-take set-piece, Galveston is a prime slice of pulp fiction. (Trailer)
Disney+
The Last Duel (2021): King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jodie Comer and Adam Driver (plus Matt Damon) (Trailer)
In which Nat talks briefly about the movies she’s been watching this week for no particular reason and that probably don’t warrant proper reviews, but hey? Wouldn’t it be nice if we all chatted about them anyway?
Heya! How have you all been this week? Get up to anything nice at the weekend? I didn’t manage to make it to the cinema, unfortunately, because honestly, none of the films really interested me.
I’d have quite liked to have seen The 355 (2022) – lots of famous older actresses, including Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger and Lupita Nyong’o get to be international spies, plus I’m always partial to Sebastian Stan – but my local preferred indie didn’t have it, which would have meant a trip to the (literal) depths of the Vue. Blurgh!
So I didn’t. Fortunately, the goddesses – bless them all – invented pubs and restaurants for a reason, which made my weekend pass very nicely indeed all the same!
But I have watched a whole bunch of movies, at least. More or less one for each of my supposedly regular screens.
In Screen 1, we have a Netflix original, Good on Paper (2021), which is written by and stars my favourite stand-up Iliza Shlesinger, and is based on both a real-life event and one of her sets.
In Screen 2, it’s Russian cinema time with Доктор Лиза (Doctor Liza) (2020), a biopic of sorts about real-life heroine Елизаве́та Петро́вна Гли́нка.
In Screen 3, it’s time to rewatch a ‘classic’: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), despite it being the bane of redheads everywhere for more than three decades now.
And finally, because I didn’t manage to watch Boiling Point (2022) as I wanted, I decided to take in another single-shot movie for our short-movie screen, Screen 4: Händelse vid bank (Incident by a Bank) (2010).
See you after the jump! But first, can I see your tickets, please? Sorry, is the app not working? Yeah, the WiFi down here is really bad, isn’t it? Soz. If you swipe… yes and then… is it not in your wallet app? Maybe your email? You know what, just go in, hey?
Am I doing something wrong? Probably. I’m usually doing something wrong.
But at the moment, all I’m trying to do is promote film, particularly Russian film, yet no one wants to tell me about their lovely new Russian film festivals until it’s almost too late. Guys! I can help! I really can! Just let me know that you’re doing a Russian film festival and I’ll tell everyone else! I might even buy tickets and turn up!
The BFI was the previous “let’s not tell the Russian film girl about our Russian film festival” culprit, just before Christmas. Now it’s the Institut Français who’ve taken against me. To be honest, scanning their web site, they don’t seem to want to publicise it very much at all, so maybe it’s not personal — I actually found out about it through Russian Art & Culture. Maybe I’m being just a little bit paranoid? What do you think?
Anyway, I’ve got you intrigued now, haven’t I? Want to know more about it? I do hope so.
Soviet 60s: A Turning Point in Cinema
This will be a monthly film series at the Ciné Lumière (in association with Russian language film charity Kino Klassika) that runs from 18 January to 30 June and that spotlights “a selection of films from the decade that changed both cinema and the world: from beloved Soviet comedies to rarely-screened New Wave classics”.
Here’s the programme
After the jump, I’ll give you full details of all the films, as well as trailers and even a short TV programme about one of them. As you can probably guess, the trailers are all in Russian (and there’s an even an Armenian one!) so you might have to turn auto subtitles on.
