For me, 2022 was a year of prioritising the new films, filmmakers and national cinemas. I tried to forego all cinematic prejudices, approaching films and genres without any preconceived expectations. I viewed multiplex blockbusters and art house indies as equal partners, two sides of the same coin, a coin we call cinema. According to my … Continue reading BEST OF 2022
TV Review: Andor, Episodes 8-9 (Disney +)
Episodes 8 and 9 of Andor see the titular character endure the authoritarian restraints of an ISB prison, having been sentenced to six years for non-existent crimes against the Empire in Episode 7. The clinically white institution tethers its inmates to the ground by means of an electrified floor that prisoners are forced to walk … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episodes 8-9 (Disney +)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 7 (Disney+)
Episode seven of Andor - 'The Announcement' - marks a moment of reflection for our key characters. Having lost the majority of the rebel crew that undertook the heist on Aldhani, Cassian returns to his adoptive mother Maarva (Fiona Shaw) on Ferrix to find his local community broken and oppressed by the freshly entrenched Imperial … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 7 (Disney+)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 6 (Disney+)
***Spoiler Warning*** In just a few short episodes, Andor has introduced us to a band of rebel characters, fleshed them out into complicated and psychologically-defined heroes, and made me (and a whole host of other fans) fall in love with them and their cause. Episode six of Andor, titled 'The Eye', finds the rebel group … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 6 (Disney+)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 5 (Disney+)
Andor (Luna) and Nemik (Lawther) Episode five of Andor - 'The Axe Forgets' - seemingly marks the calm before the storm; a moment's breath before the rebel heist spearheaded by Skarsgård's Luthen, but executed by the undercover rebels we met for the first time alongside Cassian last week. In disguise as 'Clem', Cassian integrates himself … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 5 (Disney+)
TV Review: Andor, Episode 4 (Disney+)
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor In episode four of Andor, titled 'Aldhani', we delve further into the company of the fledgling rebellion, a disparate but radicalised group of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to frustrate and dismantle the operational stability of the ever-growing Empire. Having fled from the Pre-Mor's 'corpo' forces on Ferrix, … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episode 4 (Disney+)
TV Review: Andor, Episodes 1-3 (Disney +)
Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) In the concluding moments of its third episode, Andor gives us a time-jumping montage that effortlessly sets the stage for the show and its key characters: alongside Cassian Andor himself, we see Stellan Skarsgård's mysterious off-worlder Luthen Rael, proto-fascist Inspector Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), Andor's adoptive … Continue reading TV Review: Andor, Episodes 1-3 (Disney +)
Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark
My second entry into the new Star Wars 'publishing initiative', Into the Dark by Claudia Gray is an intriguingly detailed and engaging Star Wars yarn which benefits from its relatable and interesting characters more than its arguably bare-bones narrative. Although the novel collects a number of characters and subplots - Jedi masters, padawans, rogues, politicians … Continue reading Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark
Notes from the Multiplex 