God Bless You, Mr Kopu may unfold like a darkly comic genre piece about ambition, desperation and the seductive promise of success, but beneath its increasingly twisted surface, writer-director Alex Liu is asking a more personal question: how much of yourself are you willing to surrender to become the person you think you’re supposed to…
Charm can be its own form of menace in God Bless You, Mr Kopu, the feature debut of Tongan Kiwi writer-director Alex Liu, a darkly funny, increasingly sinister thriller that uses the seductive promise of success to explore power, race and belonging. Mafu (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a struggling Tongan immigrant whose fortunes seemingly change when…
A narrative throughline present in Zoë Kravitz‘s daring debut directorial feature is that “Forgetting is a gift.” Given the trauma and suffering many of the characters are holding onto in Blink Twice, it would appear a wise coping mechanism, but Kravitz’s script – written alongside one of her High Fidelity television scribes, E.T. Feigenbaum –…
Zoë Kravitz is stepping behind the camera for Blink Twice, a twisted, sinister thriller that is sure to raise a few questions about its certain topicality. Originally titled “Pussy Island”, Kravitz – who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum (TV’s High Fidelity) – directs Channing Tatum as tech billionaire Slater King, who charms (or…
For someone who’s receiving unanimous praise and deserved award chatter about his latest performance, Simon Rex is an actor that’s keeping things remarkably cool. Humbled by the reception he’s earning for his role in Sean Baker’s acclaimed comedy Red Rocket as a washed-up former porn star looking to get back on his feet, Rex is…
When we are first introduced to Red Rocket‘s lead subject – washed-up porn star Mikey (Simon Rex) – writer/director Sean Baker frames him in such a manner that alludes to him being one of those scrappy anti-heroes whose undeniable charm is enough for us to forgive his indiscretions. And indeed, Mikey is that (in a…
When we are first introduced to Red Rocket‘s lead subject – washed-up porn star Mikey (Simon Rex) – writer/director Sean Baker frames him in such a manner that alludes to him being one of those scrappy anti-heroes whose undeniable charm is enough for us to forgive his indiscretions. And indeed, Mikey is that (in a…
When Lucas (Pedro Correa) learns that his father has passed away and subsequently left him an entire apartment complex in Los Angeles, he’s emotionally perturbed, to say the least. Learning of such tragic news and such a vast inheritance in the one sitting would be enough for anyone to re-evaluate their existence, but given…
