SPL!NG Movie Review: Totally Under Control
‘Totally Under Control’ chronicles the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Through interviews with public health and inside political officials, the filmmakers contrast this discussion with South Korea’s much more effective response.
SPL!NG Movie Review: The Last Victims
‘The Last Victims’ is a mystery drama thriller set in South Africa, directed by Maynard Kraak and starring Sean Cameron Michael and Kurt Egelhof. It centres around a former death squad member and a survivor.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Dust
‘Dust’ is a slow-burning dystopian crime drama thriller from writer-director, Pieter du Plessis. While a feature film debut as director, du Plessis has a spectrum of experience as a filmmaker and shows remarkable restraint.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Santana
‘Santana’ is an action thriller set in Angola, tracking two brothers who decide to take down the drug cartel linked to the death of their parents.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Anna
‘Anna’ is the latest film from prolific filmmaker, Luc Besson. A spy action thriller, it recalls his earlier films ‘La Femme Nikita’ and ‘The Professional’, echoing many of his trademark elements as a writer-director.
SPL!NG Movie Review: My Octopus Teacher
‘My Octopus Teacher’ is a nature documentary about a tender relationship between a man and an octopus. It’s actually quite difficult to talk about the film without it sounding a little bit funny.
SPL!NG Movie Review: I’m Thinking Of Ending Things
It’s important to contextualise ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ within Charlie Kaufman’s film career because his previous work will serve as a guide as to whether this film is for you or not.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Da 5 Bloods
‘Da 5 Bloods’ is a Spike Lee joint. The story follows the surviving members of Da 5 Bloods, four African American war veterans, who return to Vietnam to recover the remains of their fallen squad leader and a buried fortune.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Good Hope
Beautiful yet broken, South Africa’s a democratic society on a journey of healing… struggling to overcome deep-seated economic inequalities 25 years after the first free and fair elections.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Project Power
‘Project Power’ is a supernatural action thriller from the mind of Mattson Tomlin, a bold new Hollywood screenwriter who also co-wrote ‘The Batman’ with Matt Reeves.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Bellingcat – Truth In A Post-Truth World
‘Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-truth World’ is a documentary about the investigative work and team behind Bellingcat, an international media watchdog agency of citizen journalists.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Influence
This death knell for ‘Bell Pottinger’ is the crux of ‘Influence’, an incisive rise and fall documentary co-directed by journalists and directors, Richard Poplak and Diana Neille.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Bigger
The American dream and pursuit of happiness is a popular film narrative, which forms the basis for ‘Bigger’.
SPL!NG Movie Review: First Reformed
‘First Reformed’ is a film from American screenwriter, film director and movie critic, Paul Schrader. You’ve probably never heard of him but he’s the guy who wrote ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘Affliction’.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ is a French coming-of-age romance drama that should have been nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Picture along with ‘Parasite’.
SPL!NG Movie Review: 8
While it’s early days yet, there have been several horror films that demonstrate South Africa has what it takes. ‘8’ is the latest local horror to echo this sentiment.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Escape From Pretoria
‘Escape from Pretoria’ is a gripping thriller inspired by the life of South African political activist Tim Jenkin and his autobiography, ‘Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison’.
SPL!NG Movie Review: The Show Must Go On – The Queen + Adam Lambert Story
Before Rami Malek won an Oscar and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ reignited old fans and introduced a new generation to Queen’s music, the renaissance had already begun. ‘The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story’ chronicles that journey.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Late Night
‘Late Night’ is a fish-out-of-water comedy drama about a chemical plant worker pursuing her dream of joining the writer’s room behind a popular talk show. Starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, it’s a strange brew.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Thoroughbreds
Thoroughbreds is an intriguing, enigmatic and elegant crime drama thriller that recalls Funny Games, American Psycho, Fierce People and Heathers.
SPL!NG Movie Review: The Lighthouse
‘The Lighthouse’ is the much-anticipated follow up to ‘The Witch’ and deserved more acknowledgement over awards season.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Destroyer
‘Destroyer’ allows Kidman to let it all hang out as cantankerous, unhinged LA cop, Erin Bell. This is a surprisingly Australian film when you consider the shared heritage of director-actor duo of Karyn Kusama and Nicole Kidman.
SPL!NG Movie Review: It All Begins With A Song
‘It All Begins with a Song’ is a music documentary dedicated to the Nashville songwriter. The Tennessee capital is also regarded as America’s musical capital when it comes to songwriting.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Circus Of Books
Karen and Barry Mason may seem like an ordinary married couple. A former journalist and special effects wizard, the straight Jewish couple led a pretty typical American life, with one exception…
SPL!NG Movie Review: Bad Education
‘Bad Education’ follows the attempts of a beloved superintendent of New York’s Roslyn school district, who tried to cover up the single largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Planet Of The Humans
‘Planet of the Humans’ is a climate change documentary presented by Michael Moore. The prolific ‘Bowling for Columbine’ and ‘Sicko’ documentarian served as executive producer on this environmental documentary.
SPL!NG Movie Review: How To Steal A Country
‘How to Steal A Country’ is the latest documentary from prolific film-maker, Rehad Desai. The acclaimed Emmy-winning director has made definitive documentaries on Marikana with ‘Miners Shot Down’ and the #feesmustfall movement in ‘Everything Must Fall’.
SPL!NG Movie Review: The Sisters Brothers
‘The Sisters Brothers’ is in no way related to ‘Brother Sun, Sister Moon’ about the life of St Francis of Assisi. This is cleared up in the first few minutes of this unusual western in a haunting metaphor as a horse canters away… in flames.
SPL!NG Movie Review: Rage
We don’t have Spring Break… we have ‘Rage’, the first big dose of freedom school-leavers undertake to shed their uniforms and frighten their parents. Based on this rite of passage comes local horror movie, ‘Rage’.
SPL!NG Movie Review: I Am Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger is gone but in his wake he’s left a wonderful legacy as an actor, director and human. ‘I Am Heath Ledger’ explores the late actor’s life story and career in greater detail through accounts of family and friends.