August 2020 Edition
Looking for something to watch tonight? Don’t worry, we have got you covered with our monthly pick of great movies old and new without the long review. Instead, these quick recommendations offer a summary of our thoughts alongside details of the movies length, certificate and genre. So settle back for this months selection, including Clemency, Loveless, The Kid, First Reformed, Studio 54, El Angel and Jongens (Boys).
Clemency (2019)
Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Cast: Alfre Woodard, Richard Schiff, Aldis Hodge, Wendell Pierce
Runtime: 112 minutes
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Certificate: 15
One of the most compelling dramas of the year. Chukwu slowly unpicks a penal system built on suppressed emotion, oppression and hopelessness. The final hours of one man’s life colliding with the corruption of individual humanity. This is a drama impossible to walk away from without debating America’s ongoing use of the death penalty.
Cinerama Film Online
Loveless (2018)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Cast: Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov
Runtime: 129 minutes
Language: Russian (English Subtitles)
Genre: Drama
Certificate: 15
Family drama doesn’t get anymore more powerful than Andrey Zvyagintsev’s chilling journey into breakdown and loss. The camera not only reflecting, but becoming a part of the emotion, anger and turmoil on screen. As pulse-racing drama envelops the audience, edged with loss, vulnerability and pain.
Cinerama Film Online
The Kid (1921)
Director: Charles Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan
Runtime: 68 minutes
Language: Silent
Genre: Comedy
Certificate: U
While not being as widely celebrated as Chaplin’s later work. The Kid is nothing short of a masterpiece; transcending the year of its release in its ability to pull new audiences in with its beautiful and tender story of companionship and love. As Chaplin effortlessly switches from slapstick comedy to heartbreaking emotion in a heartbeat.
Cinerama Film Online
First Reformed (2017)
Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric the Entertainer, Victoria Hill, Philip Ettinger
Runtime: 113 minutes
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Certificate: 15
Gritty, edgy and at times brutal in vision and scope, First Reformed submerges the audience into a sea of faith, loss and community action. With Schrader slowly unravelling Ethan Hawke’s Reverend Toller. The fragmentation of religious beliefs once held dear, wrapped within a community of hidden social control.
Cinerama Film Online
Studio 54 (2018)
Director: Matt Tyrnauer
Runtime: 98 minutes
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Certificate: 15
Charting the rise and fall of New York’s now-legendary Studio 54. Tyrnauer’s documentary captures the heat, excitement and sexuality of 54, while jointly exploring the men behind the legend. Wrapping the journey in the brief but intoxicating sexual freedom of the 1970s just before the horror of AIDS emerged.
Cinerama Film Online
El Ángel (2018)
Director: Luis Ortega
Cast: Lorenzo Ferro, Cecilia Roth, Luis Gnecco, Malena Villa, Chino Darín
Runtime: 118 minutes
Language: Spanish (English Subtitles)
Genre: Crime/drama
Certificate: 15
Argentina’s infamous baby faced killer Carlos Robledo Puch takes centre stage as director Luis Ortega delivers a beautifully shot portrait of the sexually ambiguous and complex killer. Where surrounded by 70s fashion and disco, we are taken on a thrilling ride into friendship, jealously, crime, and murder. The dangerous and deadly allure of Carlos cut against his heinous acts of violence.
Cinerama Film Online
Jongens ‘Boys’ (2014)
Director: Mischa Kamp
Cast: Gijs Blom, Ko Zandvliet, Jonas Smulders, Ton Kas, Stijn Taverne
Runtime: 78 minutes
Language: Dutch (English Subtitles)
Genre: LGBTQ+ / Drama
Certificate: 15
Boy meets boy in the heat of the summer sun as first love gently transforms everything in its path. In a tender, beautiful and honest portrayal of sexual awakening, confusion and peer pressure. During a summer of endless possibilities, where friendships change and relationships blossom.
Cinerama Film Online
Quick Read returns with seven more recommendations in September.
While you are here why not check out the following collections…
