The Cynical Cinephiles

Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins Nominated for a dizzying total of thirteen Academy Awards - one less than the record breaking La La Land the previous year - Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water has arguably one of the most unusual premises for a film so highly anticipated, and so deeply praised by the Academy. The year is 1962 and mute Elisa (Hawkins) works as a caretaker beside long-time friend Zelda (Spencer) at a high-security government facility, and resides above a movie theatre along with her homosexual neighbour Giles (Jenkins). Her meticulously routine life is thrown off kilter when she forms an unlikely romance with an amphibious sea creature referred to as ‘The Asset’ (Jones), who is captured by the sadistic Colonel Strickland (Shannon), and moved to the laboratory for experimentation. Meanwhile, resident scientist Dr Robert Hoffstetler (Stuhlbarg) is actually ...

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville It's been over 10 years since the release of There Will Be Blood , the first collaboration between director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis. The film garnered many Oscar nominations (including a win for Ddl) and has since been heralded as one of the best films of the 21st century. Fast forward a decade and two of the most masterful artists in their respective fields have re-teamed for  Phantom Thread , an emotionally complex period drama. Sadly, this will be Day-Lewis' final acting role as he announced his retirement in 2017, but he leaves the industry on an inarguable insurmountable high. Set in 1950's London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is at the pinnacle of his career, dressing royalist and other important figures with his sister Cyril (Manville) at his side. Woodcock is a confirmed bachelor until he meets Alma (Krieps), a headstrong young woman...

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Obendirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys Steven Spielberg. Meryl Streep. Tom Hanks, It's hard to believe, but the three titans of tinseltown have never before collaborated together on a project - until now. The trio have combined forces to tackle a landmark moment in modern history, seemingly with the hopes of altering our current political course. Based on the true story, The Post details the attempts by journalists at The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers, classified documents that the United States government have refused to divulge in regards to the country's 30-year involvement in the Vietnam War. Editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee (Hanks) is intent on printing the Papers, but the newspaper's publisher Katharine Graham (Streep) is torn between her family legacy and commitment to journalistic integrity. Although the events of The Post took place almost...