by Mattie Lucas
Cinema from a Decidedly Queer Perspective
Flow | 2024
After surviving a devastating flood, a cat finds itself clinging to safety on a boat with a capybara, a crane, a dog, and a lemur. The five of them can't communicate, and each has unique needs as they fight for survival in this watery new world, but they soon realize that through their combined strengths, they can only survive together.
Memoir of a Snail | 2024
Adam Elliot's 2009 film, Mary and Max, felt like something of a minor miracle at the time, a work of stop-motion animation that dealt, both seriously and humorously, with decidedly grown up themes of depression, loneliness, and mental illness. Memoir of a Snail is Elliot's first feature since his acclaimed feature debut, and while it doesn't quite reach the heights of Mary and Max, it's still a lovely film in its own right.
There's something agreeably no-nonsense about Alex Parkinson's Last Breath, a straight-down-the-middle, meat-and-potatoes true-life rescue thriller we rarely see anymore. Perhaps I'm looking at the past through rose-colored glasses, but there once was a time when mid-budget actioners like this were multiplex staples. Nowadays, you're more likely to see movies like this relegated to streaming rather than playing on a big screen.