aaron jones
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Review by Aaron Jones | Dec 14, 2024
A young woman, Janice, is living with her conservative, working-class parents, who become concerned at her rebellious behaviour, and are shocked when she becomes pregnant. At a time when pregnancy when unmarried was widely considered shameful, they insist she has an abortion, but this has terrible emotional and mental effects on her. The film won FIPRESCI Prize at Berlin International Film Festival.
Review by Aaron Jones | Nov 29, 2024
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader. Kinds of Kindness had its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where Plemons won the Best Actor award.
Review by Aaron Jones | Nov 18, 2024
The pain of growing up, as seen by three Turkish youths: Ömer, the son of the local imam, who wishes the death of his father; his best friend, Yakup, who's enamored with the village schoolteacher; and Yildiz, who is forced to balance her studies with the needs of her demanding mother. It won the Best Turkish Film of the Year Award at the Istanbul Film Festival.
Review by Aaron Jones | Oct 20, 2024
A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself. The Substance was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, where it received a standing ovation. The film is the latest addition to the New French Extremity movement.
Review by Aaron Jones | Sep 24, 2024
An American travels to Bhutan searching for a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with a young monk who wanders through the serene mountains, instructed by his teacher to make things right again. It was selected as the Bhutanese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, and was one of the 15 finalist films in the shortlist.
Review by Aaron Jones | Sep 11, 2024
In an English boys’ boarding school, social hierarchy reigns supreme and power remains in the hands of distanced and ineffectual teachers and callously vicious prefects in the Upper Sixth. Three Lower Sixth students, Wallace, Johnny and leader Mick Travis decide on a shocking course of action to redress the balance of privilege once and for all. The film was the subject of controversy at the time of its release, receiving an X certificate for its depictions of violence.
Review by Aaron Jones | Aug 29, 2024
Following the everyday lives of a group of young theater performers from rural Fenyang, spanning the late 70s to the early 90s in the aftermath of China's Cultural Revolution, the film explores the country's rebuilding and transition. Platform has garnered wide acclaim from critics in the years since its release, and is often named one of the greatest films of the 2000s.
Review by Aaron Jones | Aug 19, 2024
The world has been ravaged by nuclear war. The planet is frozen and radiation kills anyone that ventures outside of ‘The Dome’. Soft is a shepherd for the last remnants of humanity who have gathered together as they await rescue from a mysterious craft known only as ‘The Ark.’ He wanders among the masses, performing his regular daily tasks - keeping morale from plummeting, wooing prostitutes, squashing rebellions, and sometimes feeding the hungry.
Review by Aaron Jones | Jul 29, 2024
In this classic thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert’s heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice. It is widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, and an indispensable influence on modern crime and thriller fiction.
Review by Aaron Jones | Jul 15, 2024
Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship. Ghost World debuted at the Seattle Film Festival in 2001. It had little box office impact but received critical acclaim, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Today it is a well known cult film.