Female Film Critics 24/375
Jovanka Vuckoic’s stylish direction, Kathrine Collins’ solid tale of female empowerment, Madison Iseman and Paloma Kwiatkowski’s convincing chemistry, spot-on musical selections that drive the film’s themes and action, and the strong contributions of a largely female production crew make Riot Girls a fun, cathartic and entertaining experience.
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Fully embracing the idea that it’s never too late to follow a dream or try something new, Edie introduces us to a tenacious octogenarian who refuses to close the book on her life without — literally — climbing one last mountain. Sheila Hancock delivers a compelling lead performance as the titular Edie in director Simon Hunter’s poignant British dramedy about life, aging, friendship, and regret.
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It’s never too late to embark on an exciting adventure to fulfill a lifelong dream, even if it means taking a few risks along the way. In Simon Hunter’s inspiring Edie, Edith Moore (Sheila Hancock) regrets not climbing Mt. Suilven in the Scottish Highlands after her Dad proposed they do it many decades ago but her authoritarian husband disapproved.
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Moody and atmospheric, Kim Farrant’s Angel of Mine is part psychodrama, part thriller. Thanks to Farrant’s strong storytelling and confidently convincing performances from stars Noomi Rapace and Yvonne Strahovski, the film brings depth and nuance to its compelling tale of a woman convinced that her long-dead baby is actually alive and being raised by another family.
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From beginning to end, Angel of Mine is a stunning American-Australian psychological thriller with galvanizing, empathetic performances by Yvonne Strahovski and Noomi Rapace. It’s masterfully directed by Kim Farrant who collaborated with Luke Davies and David Regal on the beautifully crafted script inspired by the 2008 French film L’Empreinte de L’Ange.
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Angel of Mine sets us up to expect a nightmarish conclusion, something that is a cross between Vertigo and Fatal Attraction. Except the object of desire is a child and her obsessed stalker is a grieving mother whose life fell apart after her baby daughter died in a hospital fire seven years ago. That director Kim Farrant and writers Luke Davies and David Regal actually deliver a surprise ending that crazily unfolds in a white-bread Melbourne suburb is one of their maternal thriller’s greatest strengths.
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Gritty and raw, Issa Lopez’ dark urban fairy tale Tigers Are Not Afraid (titled Vuelven in Spanish, which translates to They Come Back) centers on the devastating consequences of the drug trade, showing how the cartels’ criminal ways affect everyone in their path — including children, whose innocence disappears as quickly as the grown-ups in their lives.
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Tigers Are Not Afraid, written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Issa Lopez, is a gripping and often hard to watch fantasy-clad drama that revolves around a group of Mexican tweens — a girl and four boys — whose ‘disappeared’ parents were victims of the ongoing drug-related violence that is decimating communities across the country.
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When Tigers Are Not Afraid is not busy scaring you, it’s breaking your heart. Social activism meets horror meets coming-of-age in this bracing, gorgeously shot, intense multiple award-winning film that’s both written and directed by famed and favored Mexican filmmaker Issa Lopez.
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Tigers Are Not Afraid, infused with a sense magical realism and featuring some rather gripping performances by child actors, is a gritty cinema-verite crime drama that feels like Peter Pan, the Lost Boys and Wendy met in Pan’s Labyrinth while protecting each other on the mean streets of Mexico. As drug wars regularly break out and gunfire is a regular occurrence, young children define themselves as warriors and fend for themselves in a parent-less jungle where crime, corruption and danger lurk around every corner.
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