‘The Birthday Party’ Depicts Ugliness Beautifully
Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s The Birthday Party is a captivating and beautiful exploration of the ugly side of human beings.
Paul Risker
While technically an English-based film critic and interviewer, PopMatters Contributing Editor Paul Risker shows his political disgruntlement towards his homeland by identifying instead as a European writer. You’ll often find him agreeing with the late great French filmmaker, François Truffaut, preferring the reflection of life to life itself – he’ll even tell you that the cinema is more important than life. Often mistaken for a cynic, he prefers to think of himself as a disappointed idealist. Unsurprisingly he likes skulking in the sanctuary of the dark confines of the cinema.Described as "philosophically inclined", he has a broad taste in cinema. His film writing has been published by academic and non-academic publications, including amongst others: PopMatters, Little White Lies, Cineaste, DMovies, VideoScope, Eye For Film, Film International, The Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and Filmmaker Magazine. He’s also on the advisory board of Mise-en-scène: The Journal of Film & Visual Narration (MSJ), the official film studies journal of Kwantlen Polytechnic University and serves as interview editor. He regularly contributes to the Arrow Films blog, the FrightFest festival programmes and online blog.
‘The Scout’ Takes the Form of a Matryoshka Doll
Paul González-Nasser’s debut drama The Scout lingers thoughtfully on the struggle and awkwardness of human connection.
Fantasia Film Festival 2025 Will Twist Your Mind
Fantasia Film Festival caters to those who will explore the darkest and most extreme corners of genre cinema, while juxtaposing milder and more traditional genre works with dramas and comedies.
‘Sunfish’ Is a Near-Perfect Anthology Film
Sierra Falconer’s anthology film Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), is quietly impressive, workmanlike storytelling.
David Lynch Nailed and Skewered Us
On the passing of legendary director David Lynch, we share five films that nailed us in our hearts and guts and skewered us to our soft, squishy, emotional cores.
London Film Festival 2024 Brings Mindfulness Amidst a Bustling Metropolis
Mindfulness is integral to cinema; thus, it’s fitting to emphasize time in 2024’s London Film Festival Festival, because every story is running out of it.
Teen Horror Film ‘Cuckoo’ Is a Deliriously Fun Mess
For his teen horror film Cuckoo, director Tilman Singer tries to tame his wild and creative imagination into something more commercially friendly, with mixed results.
The Family-Friendly ‘Bookworm’ Is a Reunion – with a Twist
Ant Timpson and Toby Harvard’s Bookworm effuses charm and humour, and reveals the Jekyll and Hyde-like sides of their creative personas.
Thriller ‘The White Rabbit’ Ensnares Viewers in Hitchcockian Fashion
Thriller short film The White Rabbit ensnares viewers with a joke, a nightmare, and an illusion in a sly interplay that evokes Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
A Mind-Opening Preview of Fantasia Film Festival 2024
Our preview of Fantasia Festival 2024 highlights ten films that stimulate viewers’ emotional, cultural, and social intellect.
‘Bad Shabbos’ Revels in Its Black Comedic Soul
A dead body adds to the lively mix of family dysfunction and the pressure of making a good impression in Dan Robbins’ affable black comedy, Bad Shabbos.
Is ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ An Act of Surrender?
After her psychological-horror debut Saint Maud, cinema took Rose Glass’ bright new voice in genre filmmaking and, with Love Lies Bleeding, clipped her wings.