Reel Encounters

When “Love, Simon” premiered in 2018, it made headlines as the first major Hollywood studio film to focus on a gay teenage romance.

The opening moments of “Tragic Jungle” feature its best sequence. We hear, before we see, the forested jungle that will define the narrative to come.

In the climax of Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!”, Nicole Kidman’s distraught Satine sings out a verse to her retreating lover, Christian, in a moment of affecting metatextuality.

“Cruella”, like many recent Disney live-action films, does not exist on its own – it’s signalling to the past and to the future in a kind of never-ending state of prolepsis.

Zack Snyder’s enthusiasm has always been his most distinctive characteristic as a filmmaker.

“French Exit”, Azazel Jacobs’ new film takes place in a world removed from our own.

About a decade ago I took my nephew, a child at the time, to see a rare live production of “Sesame Street” that was touring the region.

There’s a recurring scene in “The Disciple” that presents a critical window into its desolate world.

Later tonight the Academy Awards will – finally – close the curtain on the strange year in movies that was 2020.

There’s a scene in “Thunder Force” that’s been on my mind since I saw it.

Structure is everything in the Emma Seligman’s feature directorial debut, “Shiva Baby”.

I miss going to the movies. The cinematic experience has been one of the many things that have undergone serious transformation as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

For long stretches of “Saint Maud”, writer-director Rose Glass’ feature directorial debut, the psychological horror seems to be on the cusp of something.

Every film teaches you how to read it. The way a filmmaker encourages you to pick up on clues, references, motifs, is a key part of the way we engage with cinema.

At the end of “The Mauritanian”, Kevin Macdonald’s legal drama, a series of images and clips play over the credits.

There’s often a disconnect that comes with films that seek to present the lives of the poor.

Directorial debuts from actors are always interesting for the insight they give into performers and their creative instincts.

Mona Fastvold’s “The World to Come” had its world premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Queer Lion for best LGBT-themed film.

There’s a scene in the second hour of “I Care A Lot” where unrepentant awful person Marla Grayson is threatened with death.

What are the limits of the traditional (white) nuclear family? By pure coincidence, two films from Sundance this year investigated the breakdown of the nuclear family in ways that seemed to reflect the increasingly fractured socio-cultural dynamics of life in the 21st century.