The general of a West African royal army leads the fight against an oppressive empire in league with slavers in The Woman King. In 1823 West Africa, the Kingdom of Dahomey, led by King Ghezo (John Boyega), is projected by the Agojie, an all-female military regiment led by General Nanisca (Viola Davis). Nawi (Thuso Mbedu)…
The backstory of the villain of X is told in Pearl. Set during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, Pearl (Mia Goth) is a farmgirl with dreams of being a star, though she is held down by her strict German mother, Ruth (Tandi Wright). While in town, Pearl visits the local moviehouse and befriends its seductive…
Environmental activists plan to disrupt an oil pipeline in How to Blow Up a Pipeline. Orphaned after a freak heatwave claimed her mother’s life, Xochitl (Ariela Barer) sets a plan to destroy an oil pipeline in Texas. She is joined in this effort by Shawn (Marcus Scribner), Theo (Sasha Lane), Michael (Forrest Goodluck), Alisha (Jayme…
A police detective goes undercover an a phone-sex app to catch a killer in Nightalk. Brenda (Ashley Bryant) is the lead investigator of a murder case where a woman was found strangled in her apartment. Brenda discovers that was a regular user of a phone-sex app called Nightalk and Brenda goes undercover to see if…
Here is a red carpet soundbite of me speaking to director Ti West about shooting Pearl back-to-back with X during COVID. This is a public episode. If youd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit skonmovies.substack.com/subscribe
Here is a red carpet soundbite of me speaking with director Martin McDonagh about reuniting with Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson for The Banshees of Inisherin. This is a public episode. If youd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit skonmovies.substack.com/subscribe
Update (9/16/2022): Since I wrote this review, Vera Drew posted a tweet clarifying the whole situation: This is a review of a film that will never be seen again, at least not in the form it premiered as part of Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival. Mere hours after the premiere, it was…
A pair of human traffickers are joined by an unwanted baby’s mother to find new parents to sell it to in Broker. So-young (Lee Ji-eun) is a young mother who drops her baby off at a box at the Busan Family Church, who is then intercepted by church worker Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) and laundry-owner Sang-hyun…
Two friends on a self-isolation trip during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic find themselves pursued by a knife-wielding killer in Sick. Parker (Gideon Adlon) is a COVID-denying teenager who decides to self-isolate at her family’s cabin, accompanied by her best friend Miri (Bethlehem Million). However, it isn’t long until a knife-wielding attacker disrupts…
A hotel heir’s attempt to fire his dominatrix leads to a vicious battle of the sexes in Sanctuary. Hal Porterfield (Christopher Abbott) is on the cusp of taking over his late father’s hotel empire. He has one final session with his regular dominatrix Rebecca (Margaret Qualley), before letting her know that he will no longer…
