(2018—Director: Alex Garland) — by Renard N. Bansale — High ★★★★ (out of 5 stars) “Almost none of us commit suicide, and almost all of us self-destruct.” — Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to Lena (Natalie Portman) Potential spoilers below Few writers have demonstrated versatility with regards to artistic medium like Alex Garland. The English writer had three novels and …

— by Renard N. Bansale — Potential spoilers below The 90th Academy Awards take place this Sunday. Betting contests on who will win and debates on who should win rage until the moment each category’s presenter reads the card from the sealed envelope. I prefer to just stick by my personal picks (strictly from the final list of nominees), accept …

(2018—Director: Ryan Coogler) — by Renard N. Bansale — ★★★½ (out of 5 stars) “A man who has not prepared his children for his own death has failed as a father.” — T’Chaka (John Kani) to T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) Potential spoilers below Greetings, cinema of 2018! It is hard to believe that I have jumped from watching around fifty …

— by Renard N. Bansale — Potential spoilers below In life as well as in sports, we root for the underdog, either because we are underdogs ourselves or because we cannot stand even the smallest of injustices. That is why, along with my overall top ten films, I make a list of the most underrated films of each year (see my …

— by Renard N. Bansale — Potential spoilers below Another year in cinema, another belated top ten films list. Again, my apologies to all those who prefer top ten lists published within a week or two on either side of New Year’s Day. Cinema in 2017, in response to the chaos of the year before, seemed exhausted and bleak. The ideological …

(2017—Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi) — by Renard N. Bansale — ★★★½ (out of 5 stars) “What’s done is done until it’s undone.” — The Incantation for “the Spell to Undo All Magic” Potential spoilers below It saddened the animation world in 2014 when Japan’s famous Studio Ghibli announced that it will go on an indefinite hiatus. This followed the announced retirement …

(2017—Director: Paul Thomas Anderson) — by Renard N. Bansale — High ★★★★ (out of 5 stars)  “Kiss me, my girl, before I’m sick.” — Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) to Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps) Potential spoilers below When news broke that writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson was going to make a period romantic drama starring Sir Daniel Day-Lewis in what may end …

(2017—Director: Rian Johnson) — by Renard N. Bansale — Low ★★★★½ (out of 5 stars) “What do you know about the Force?” … “It’s a power that Jedi have that allows them to control people…and make things float.” … “Impressive. Every word in that sentence was wrong.” — Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) Potential spoilers below What …

(2017—Director: Steven Spielberg) — by Renard N. Bansale — High ★★★½ (out of 5 stars) “You know, my husband once said that ‘the news is the first rough draft of history.’” — Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) to Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) Potential spoilers below To say that Steven Spielberg has had a storied career is one of cinema’s greatest understatements. …

(2017—Director: Michael Gracey) — by Renard N. Bansale — Low ★★★½ (out of 5 stars) “You don’t need everyone to love you, Phin. Just a few good people.” — Wife Charity Barnum (Michelle Williams) to husband P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) Potential spoilers below When La La Land made its splash and won many hearts towards the end of 2016 (including …