Esohe 

The Magician's Elephant has a strong multicultural cast and a heartwarming story about bringing two long-lost siblings back together

An attempt to capture nostalgia that unfortunately just doesn’t work

An anti-war film denouncing the valorization of senseless violence, 'All Quiet on the Western Front' is (unfortunately) all too relevant in 2022.

The Gates, John Burr’s new thriller film, is a disturbingly realistic portrayal of three Black twenty-somethings - Derek (Mason Gooding), Kevin (Algee Smith), and Tyon (Keith Powers), as they accidentally take a wrong turn into a gated community that’s more like a modern-day sundown town. The three friends witness a variety of crimes in their new surroundings, including an attempted homicide and an attempted rape. As they attempt to alert the authorities and do the right thing, they are thwarted at every turn by the worst horror stories of American conservatism - racist white suburbanites, reckless gun violence, corrupt police, religious mania, and a megalomaniacal pastor. 

The film does not add anything to its own conversation or genre, and falls flat once it’s about to end and must declare some sort of conclusion.

If you enjoy Japanese cinema, absurdly violent action films, gangster flicks, or joyfully strange cinema, 'Why Don’t You Play in Hell?' is a must-see.