Variety (1983) - What If Travis Bickle Was A Woman?

When a naive girl named Christine (played by Sandy McLeod); down on her luck in 1980’s New York City; decides to take on a job at a porno cinema as a ticket taker; her self inflicted boredom leads her into a dangerous investigation.

1983’s Variety directed by Bette Gordon is most definitely the female take on Taxi Driver. As Travis Bickle is the creepy male counterpart misanthrope, who’s in need of a job, deciding to drive Taxi’s and taking people where they need to go, all the while noticing what he hates the most about New York City and taking his obsession of a woman to the idea that she’ll love him if he proves himself worthy. Christine on the other hand, is a more sympathetic character, she doesn’t look down on the New York City or anyone. Christine already knows her worth and through the female perspective Christine’s obsession with a man is about what’s wrong with the man himself as oppose proving herself to get the man to care. Variety paints a picture of a world where Christine’s innocence exposures the unfortunate cynicism of males and people alike. Christine gets preyed upon and gocked at just being a ticket taker at a cinema and has to watch her back constantly, while Travis Bickle is the predator and no matter how much he feels put upon, he’s still very much the one who would prey upon Christine. Ironically enough, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver frequents a porno theatre daily as a place of solace, as Variety shows with Christine’s customers. In a way Travis Bickle spends his time waiting to control a woman as Christine spends her time trying not to be controlled by a man. Taxi Driver displays that power generally consumes men, as men being the main proprietors of power in the world. As Variety displays that women generally have love in their hearts, and would rather spend their time learning and understanding a person or system, than dominate it. Variety is the answer to the clumsy masculinity of Taxi Driver, and is much more heartbreaking and unique. Both though are great films exposing the common flaws of capitalism and the woes of loneliness, but out of the two, Variety was ahead of it’s time. 9/10. Check out Variety (1983).

• Maurice Jones

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

When a talented Pennsylvania teen named Autumn (played by Sidney Flanigan) finds out she’s pregnant, she has no choice but to go to an abortion clinic in New York City with her cousin Skylar (played by Talia Ryder), when Autumn realizes she has no support in her small Pennsylvania town.

Eliza Hittman’s third feature film Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a harrowing, heartbreaking, matter of fact, absorbing observation of teen pregnancy in rural Pennsylvania. Shot Guerilla style under a grey color plate of grey/gloomy skies, Eliza Hittman accurately captures the mundane limitations of Autumn’s life. To her abusive ex boyfriend, her busy/ removed mother, her abrasive disinterested step father, and her empty grocery store job. The camera stays with Autumn at every frame displaying her thoughts straight from her face, as she tries to comprehend the situation she’s trapped in, while keeping it all from her family. This is a character study of a broken girl who’s in a desperate place; Autumn is a girl whom loves to sing and write music, but without support and love when in need of an abortion, being a teenage makes that choice even harder. Never Rarely Sometimes Always properly depicts how a teenage would handle getting an abortion in New York City from rural Pennsylvania. From not having a place to stay to sleeping on the subway waiting for an appointment, to not having the money for the procedure, to discovering the next to impossible steps that need to be taken in getting an abortion from how long the procedure takes to the questions that need to be asked to a patient for their own well being. Eliza Hittman’s film also looks set in 2007, but that’s cause that’s how life is in certain rural Pennsylvania towns. Things aren’t as affordable or adaptable with current items and looks due to the economic state of a town, which gives an interesting insight within the film about the assumptions of all of America and the expectations of all pregnancy clinics in America as well.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is importantly about the historical and systematic forcefulness towards young women and women in general, to do things they don’t want to do for the pleasure of others, especially for men. Whether it be to have sex, take a wage decrease or to be banned from getting an abortion or forced into getting one. Women/girls have always been forced into something with disregard towards their well being and will. Never Rarely Sometimes Always shines a sobering, disturbing light on those ongoing facts of society, as well within the pregnancy clinic community, exposing the truth that some clinics don’t want women to have an abortion and give them false information to delay the process of getting an abortion. Sad but true. Never Rarely Sometimes Always wants us to feel Autumn’s pain in the abortion system but also wants us to remember that Autumn is a teenage. A teenage with hopes and dreams and a creative spirit that will always be there when times are at their toughest.

Sidney Flanigan is an incredible actress that will no doubt be seen in many great roles to come. Her attention to detail when showing hurt, pain, apathy or happiness through her face, is extremely accurate, and her depiction of a teenager with unsure questions and bashful secrecy and having a wall up, feels too real. On top of that Sidney Flanigan’s singing voice is a treasure you’ll be glad to be exposed to, and her singing in the film is the shining light amongst the film’s gloomy oppressive atmosphere. The whole cast is incredible, including Autumn’s cousin Skyler played by Talia Ryder, who plays Autumn’s one and only support, helping and leading Autumn to her appointments and making sure things work out, even to her own physical expense. The acting is real as can be and has reminiscent feels of certain Canadian film making and of the Guerrilla style of directors Harmony Korine or Gary Burns.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is beyond powerful, and though about a depressing but important subject matter, involving depressing scenes; The film is ultimately about the teenage spirit and female bond, empowerment and support, in a world where women face abuse from every which way from men of all kinds, and with the fact that we live in a society where women/girls can have their rights taken away from them at a moments notice. Never Rarely Sometimes Always will leave you sobered and heartbroken, but informed knowing some of the scary/overwhelming ins and outs of pregnancy/abortion politics that keep women from living the life they choose, on the hard headed/bullshit “Pro Life” side of things, and the importance of abortion clinics existing in general. Eliza Hittman though, leaves us with the important feeling of two teen girls who support each other through thick and thin, giggling it out through impossible feats.  10/10. The best film of 2020.

-          - Maurice Jones

Vivarium (2020) The romantic dramedy version of Cube

When couple Gemma and Tom go house searching, they stumble upon an idyllic housing neighbourhood that looks as identical as the next house and as it’s next house. Pulled into the promise of their would-be home being ideal forever, Gemma and Tom soon learn a lesson in starting the Nuclear Family, as they soon realize they can’t seem to physically leave the neighbourhood they just visited.

Lorcan Finnegan’s and Garrett Shanley’s Vivarium is an immediate allegory for a hetero couple settling down before they’re ready, and having kids in suburbia amongst the ever-changing housing market. Going through the motions of raising a family, the cliché of adult hood and parenthood and your kids becoming the negative parts of you.  Your independence is stolen from you when having a child.  Preventing your kids from watching tv all day. The father getting away from the family and the mother being the main caretaker thus their relationship moving apart, as the father -figure becomes traditionally the abusive parent of the two, seeing a child as a threat to his Manhood. 

Lorcan Finnegan’s direction in Vivarium uses Irish sensibilities and comedic dryness, displaying a grey disposition amongst a clean green neighbourhood landscape of fake pink clouds, primary blue skies and green spotless grassy yards. This style creates a biting, sharp templates for the satirical conversations the film contemplates, between Gemma and Tom; A rejection of perfection in Suburbia, the young taking over the old, retired being another word for dead, the idea people raised in suburbs are sent out to inhabit cities with the same regurgitated values of their broken parents, continuing corporate structure in a capitalist wheel of profit from assembly line fixtures. Though these ideas are a little on the nose, they are effective, and the films focus is intended and poignant on the truth about the societal pressures of housing, marriage and kids.

Vivarium has touches and attributes of films reminiscent of David Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977), in the idea of an exaggerated degree of parenthood, expressing the extreme transformation from not having a child to having a child and the fear, trials and tribulations of parenthood. All presented in a comedic yet disturbing and sardonically odd, manic and twisted picture; much like a Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. As the Vivarium goes on, your feel the anxiety and anger encroach upon Gemma and Tom as they bicker between each other like a married couple, and then notice hopelessness and drain become them.

Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg do perfect work, with Jesse Eisenberg at his darkest acting yet since The Squid and The Whale (2007) and The Social Network (2010). And Imogen Poots finally gets to shine in her original British dialect, as strong as can be in a lead role that takes her from optimistic, frustrated, strategic, apathetic, determined and defeated in another great horror adjacent role.

Vivarium is perfect parts dark and satirical, classically telling a tale about something most of us go through or will go through. The type of satire that expands the Horror/SciFi genre and makes it better, as well as being the exact fuel both genres thrive on. Kids aren’t easy, finding the perfect home isn’t easy and neither is marriage. Lorcan Finnegan’s direction and Garrett Shanley’s screenplay conjure up the right pin point of what going through these milestones of society, feel like on the inside. Vivarium reminds us that genre pictures can never die as they are the glue of films that not only entertain us, but make us think. Vivarium is a must watch for any genre fan and especially for anyone trying to buy a house and start a family. 8/10.

-        -   Maurice Jones

THE CHANGE: Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) V. Bloodshot (2020) – A film essay

As times change movies are expected to be a little more aware of the world we live in and the people that live in it. This is definitely more expected of mainstream films as they reach a wider audience through and through - this however leaves most independent film to wallow in its our filth if no one is really watching, especially now a days. This hasn’t been clearer than with recent releases - Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) and Bloodshot (2020).

Back in the day, you could rely on indie dramedies to share a important social message that brings certain struggles to light, mainly because indie films don’t have to rely on pleasing the public, but a certain subsection of indie films have become increasingly stagnant and offensively antiquated - Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) for instance is about a young white male protagonist who is trying to find himself, while living back with his parents, while getting the girl and having a black best friend for support; i.e. the David O. Russell Oscar nominated king of all these - Silver Linings Playbook (2012). This very tired and pointless formula positions women as prizes, relationships as escapes and minorities as characters white people look down on,

to laugh at, to educate about their own culture to and to treat as servants; i.e. - a scene where the joke is that an Indian man working as a subordinate to the protagonists sisters, is casually treated like dirt and seen as goofy and weird because he has an Indian accent; as if it was necessary to the film makers to have a character that has an accent, so that dumb white people viewing the movie can laugh. Another strange scene features Billy Crystal asking an Asian man if he wants to sing, Domo Arigato Mr Roboto by Styx at Karaoke - this isn’t too subtle. In an earlier scene, Billy Crystal tells two black characters what “real” Hip Hop is. These tone-deaf excuses for “funny” scenes paint the picture that some independent films have chosen to go the way of the 90's/2000's romantic comedy, where white people are the ones who matter and where there is no need to do anything different.

Bloodshot (2020) - What would seem to be a big dumb mindless action film, and it is. Bloodshot is at least mindful enough to feature a brown person of color as the protagonist, a brown female as the female lead and several side characters whom are black and brown people of color, and guess what? Aren’t used as stereotypes and/or treated to elevate the protagonist with their ethnic backgrounds. Bloodshot has an East Indian computer genius, a black computer genius at the helm, and a completely platonic relationship between the male protagonist and the female lead - Also not to mention the film is extremely entertaining to boot. How is a film made for teenagers, designed to make millions and starring Vin Diesel, more responsible and morally sound than an indie flick starring Billy Crystal about finding your true voice? This, maybe the change we’ve been seeing in mainstream movies like: Get Out (2017), Black Panther (2018), Yesterday (2019), Escape Room (2019), Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), etc. These film trends have been bringing ethnic identity and ethnic normality to the front of pop culture, pushing the reality that everyone no matter what race, is the lead, the villain and the best friend, free of the limitations of stereotypes and harmful old school scenarios involving people of color in film.

Independent film Standing Up, Falling Down seems like it was made in the mid-2000's, and is a relic of where we use to be in film, but more importantly the mainstream has begun to catch up intelligently, and therefore between the two, Bloodshot is shockingly the better film in a world where indies are still seen as the only intelligence and progression in cinema.

• Maurice Jones

The Assistant (2020)

Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse (2019) displayed workplace struggles in the Horror genre, but Kitty Green’s The Assistant (2020) displays the horrors of the workplace in the real life genre.





When Jane (played by Julia Garner), an entry level secretary at a production office, goes about her stressful and degrading tasks, her concerns rise, as evidence piles up that her boss is taking advantage of young women who dream to be actors.





Kitty Green’s debut full length feature is the ultimate combination of her past documentary features, all based on the objectification and gaslighting of young women in the entertainment industry. The Assistant patiently displays an entire day of college student Jane, as she comes to grips with the disturbing reality that her boss uses young women for his own pleasure, promising them their dreams. Underpaid and under appreciated, Jane has to show up first and leave last at her entry level office job that shes constantly told to be thankful to have. As she cleans up after everyone, covers up for her boss and endures constantly taunting and belittlement from her male coworkers, Jane discovers that there is no reward in going to College or working towards your dream job, and people will take advantage of their positions in a company because they can. The Assistant reminds us that money has a strong on hold on us all, that were forced to take an opportunity if it means survival, and the most vulnerable are students and young women. These scenarios for these demographics lead to being talked down to and being gaslit, by “higher ups” who should know better who just wanted to cover their financial gain and positions for better or for worse. What’s so frightening in The Assistant, is that it’s subject matter is reality, and the protagonists involved can’t do a thing about it in these workplace/film institutions, where analyizing a woman's looks is paramount . This is what makes #metoo such an important movement, as it not only protects young women and women alike but confronts workplace abuse and gaslighting in general.





Julia Garner does perfect work playing an entry level worker going through the motions of her day to day in an office, and awkwardly and timidly dealing with the heinous and apathetic actions of her co workers and bosses in the cold backdrop of the film industry. Julia Garner accurately matches the mood and tone of the films direction and colour plate, of greyish green tint among thankless and carelessly sardonic characters, as Jane drowns in a sea of hopelessness and numbing. 


Kitty Green's direction is key as she even takes an interesting notion with clothing, using Jane's outer wear as somewhat protection from lechery in a scene with an HR representive that turns into a gaslighting attack, and ends in belittlement with the shaming of a scarf.





Kitty Green’s frighteningly yet calmingly sobering The Assistant is a reminder that everyone who gets taken advantage of in the workplace is somebody’s mother, father, son, daughter, parent, loved one and/or child. And the importance of change is so everyone has protection and solace under the law, and amongst decent people wherever they are. The Assistant is 2020's first important film of the year. 9/10.

• Maurice Jones

One Sentence Reviews: Parasite (2019)

Best Picture Award Winner Parasite is ultimately about the push and pull between the rich and the poor and how that dynamic will never end due to Capitalism. What a nightmare. 9/10.


- Maurice Jones

1917 (2019)

If the Irishman is about the passage of time ,1917 is about the immediate passage of time.

When British two soldiers stationed during World War One, are ordered to send a message to a battalion of 1600 British soldiers to stop an ambush by the German army. For the two Soldiers, the distance of the journey is the least of it. 

Sam Mendes’ 1917 is the most realistic World War One theme park ride you’ll attend at the movies, with bombs going off you can feel, deafening shots you can absorb and real fear you carry for it’s two protagonists who are carefully walking the grim terrain of No Man’s Land. This paired with the idea of one shot, Roger Deakin’s sparklingly haunting cinematography and the co-writing of Krysty Wilson-Ciarns story of the human spirit and experience, 1917 is the saviour of cinema. 

Created into one shot, 1917 makes the rest of the film as it goes on, feel like memories of the protagonists as your following the protagonists so closely and succinctly. You feel apart of them and as their experience, the film feels like those moments when you’ve driven somewhere and you can’t remember the drive, or when you find something you’ve been looking for and you can’t fathom how you found it. The experience is scary there being only two characters you’re following, knowing these soldiers are hungry and impatience, and when it’s all said and done, you imagine this being in this time period more, and outside of it you ask, how is this film making possible. 

1917 is very much about the grip of the military forcing you to do things you shouldn’t in the malice of grain, but it ultimately adding up to nothing. The emotion is there from moment to moment as you know these soldiers deserve to be home with their loved ones as oppose working towards sudden death in the name of a country. 10/10.


- Maurice Jones