Reviews - Contra Zoom Pod

Reviews: The Rule of Jenny Pen

March 10, 2025

In some ways James Ashcroft’s The Rule of Jenny Pen holds up a dark, funhouse mirror to recent octogenarian heist film Thelma.

Reviews: Parthenope

February 24, 2025

Final Rating: 3/5 Set primarily in director Paolo Sorrentino’s home city of Naples, A24’s Parthenope follows a girl from her birth in 1950 until…

Reviews: Dark Match

February 17, 2025

Final Rating: 1.5/5 In Dark Match, directed by Lowell Dean, a wrestling company takes a well-paying gig in a small town but they soon…

Reviews: I’m Still Here

February 10, 2025

Final Rating: 4/5 In 1996, Eunice Facciolla Paiva, a Brazilian lawyer and activist, was issued a death certificate for her husband, Rubens Paiva. Rubens,…

Reviews: Universal Language

February 6, 2025

Final Rating: 3/5 Ed. note: read out original review of Universal Language by Jeff Bulmer from TIFF 2024. Universal Language, director/star/co-writer Matthew Rankin’s homage…

Reviews: Blue Rodeo: Lost Together

February 3, 2025

Final Rating: 3/5 In 2025 the Canadian band Blue Rodeo is celebrating their 40th anniversary and director Dale Heslip was given access to make…

Reviews: Hard Truths

January 30, 2025

Final Rating: 3.5/5 Director Mike Leigh’s poignant family drama, Hard Truths, revolves around mental health, the value of family, and all the pain and…