Nikki Baughan – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

ON THE ROCKS – Review by Nikki Baughan

October 14, 2020October 25, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Bill Murray, Jenny Slate, motw, Movie of the Week, on the rocks, rashida jones, sofia coppola

The reteaming of filmmaker Sofia Coppola and star Bill Murray is a tantalising proposition for the many fans of their previous collaborations, such as A Very Murray Christmas (2015) and, of course, Lost in Translation (2003). The two have developed an easy rapport over the years, with Coppola knowing how to let Murray’s charisma shine through without overwhelming everything around him; and that balance, together with the addition of the always-excellent Rashida Jones into the mix, makes On the Rocks a hugely appetising confection.

Reviews

THE GRIZZLIES – Review by Nikki Baughan

August 4, 2020August 9, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Ben Schnetzer, canadian films., inuit, miranda de pencier, motw, Movie of the Week, the grizzlies

While this poignant true life story of a young teacher who changes the lives of the troubled indigenous students he encounters may initially seem like another white saviour narrative, sensitivity and realism ensure it never succumbs to that cliche.

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THE OLD GUARD – Review by Nikki Baughan

July 2, 2020July 5, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments charlize theron, Gina Prince-Bythewood, greg rucka, kiki layne, motw, Movie of the Week, netflix, the old guard

In the hands of director Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Old Guard is a far more subtle and introspective superhero movie than we’re used to seeing. That may have something to do with the fact that it’s a straight-to-streaming Netflix original, but its focus on the emotional and physical toll of saving the world offers a welcome change from the consequence-free carnage that usually heralds the arrival of the summer blockbuster season.

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THE OTHER LAMB – Review by Nikki Baughan

March 29, 2020April 5, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Malgorzata Szumowska, motw, Movie of the Week, Raffey Cassidy, the other lamb

As the audience knows from the off and as Selah comes to realize, this is ultimately a familiar earthbound story of one man’s heinous abuse of power, and the danger of blind faith. And while Selah’s journey to realization and empowerment may not hold many narrative surprises, it’s nevertheless one that commands attention. Powerful performances and a commanding aesthetic make this an arresting watch.

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DARK CITY BENEATH THE BEAT (SXSW)2020 – Review by Nikki Baughan

March 19, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments AWFJ SXSW2020 Project, baltimore, Dark City Beneath The Beat, documentary, issa rae, TT The Artist

Baltimore itself is the stage where rappers and poets perform on street corners, dancers hotfoot their way across bridges and through buildings, clubs host sweaty dance-off competitions, where crowds gather to watch those with the best moves crowned King or Queen. And in one poignant sequence, a tulle-clad dancer performs a beautiful mixture of ballet and club moves in the graveyard where Tamika Ray (aka FatGirl), a pioneer of Baltimore dance, lays buried.

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PARADISE HILLS – Review by Nikki Baughan

October 21, 2019December 15, 2019 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Alice Waddington, awkwafina, eiza gonzales, emma roberts. danielle macdonald, milla jovovich, paradise hills

An off-kilter, steampunk blend of Disney, The Handmaids Tale and The Stepford Wives, writer/director Alice Waddington’s feature debut is entirely as intriguing as that sounds. A visually unique, narratively striking study of society’s attempts to control women, to mold them into an acceptable version of femininity, its determinedly fantastical elements are anchored by its strong themes and excellent performances.

Reviews

TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM – Review by Nikki Baughan

July 10, 2019June 7, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments biodocs, documentaries, motw, Movie of the Week, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, toni morrison the peces i am

Photographer/filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders brings his keen eye for portraiture to this exploration of the life and influence of African American author Toni Morrison, touching on her experiences with segregation, her realisation that the literary discourse was the realm of the white male, her decision to concentrate on the everyday “interior pain” of racism and her determination to fight systemic racial prejudice with the power of her words.

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BIRD BOX – Review by Nikki Baughan

December 15, 2018December 16, 2018 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments bird box, motw, Movie of the Week, sandra bullock, susanne bier

Susanne Bier is a filmmaker with an innate ability to mine the painful truths of the human experience in a way that is both deeply intimate and profoundly universal. And so it is with Bird Box, her first foray into genre filmmaking, that distills the daunting responsibility of parenthood into one woman’s seeming impossible journey of survival in a world overrun by unseeable monsters.

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CAPERNAUM – Review by Nikki Baughan

November 27, 2018December 2, 2018 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments capernaum, lebanese films, motw, nadine labaki, novie of the week, oscars

Joining a host of recent works of both fact and fiction – such as Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy and Gabrielle Brady’s Island Of The Hungry Ghosts – which highlight the refugee crisis engulfing the globe, Capernaum is a gut-punch reminder that the rise of isolationist politics is leaving swathes of human casualties in its wake. Devastating but utterly essential cinema

Reviews

HERE AND NOW – Review by Nikki Baughan

November 1, 2018November 4, 2018 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments fabien constant, here and now, laura eason, motw, Movie of the Week, sarah jessica parker

Writer Laura Eason’s screenplay effectively mines the anonymity and isolation of modern life, where people connect more easily through technology than face-to-face; we often see Vivienne surrounded by people but utterly, desperately alone. And if Fabien Constant’s direction sometimes over-eggs the pudding, the emotional truth of the story, and Parker’s nuanced, sympathetic performance, prevent it from straying too far into melodrama.

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