Tag: Paul Mescal

Gladiator 2 (2024) | REVIEW

Denzel Washington as Macrinus in Sir Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR 2 — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Sir Ridley Scott (The Last Duel; Alien) — Screenplay by David Scarpa (All the Money in the World).

Set around fifteen or sixteen years after the events of the original film, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 follows Lucius Verus (played by Paul Mescal) who has built a new life for himself in Northern Africa, where he goes by the name ‘Hanno.’ When his new home is invaded by the Roman Army, led by General Acacius (played by Pedro Pascal), his wife is killed, he is taken as a slave, and is later acquired as a gladiator. He is forced to return to the capital region of the Roman Empire, which he was once a prince of but now holds hatred for. Lucius’ services as a gladiator are bought by the ambitious Macrinus (played by Denzel Washington), who aspires to control all of Rome, and Macrinus promises Lucius that, if they work together, he will work towards giving Lucius the opportunity to fight and take down General Acacius, who Lucius blames for the death of his wife. Unbeknownst to Lucius, however, General Acacius is married to Lucius’ mother, Lucilla (still played by Connie Nielsen), and he, in fact, has secret plans to start a revolution, restore power to the Senate, and remove the dangerous co-emperors of Rome, Geta (played by Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (played by Fred Hechinger).

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All of Us Strangers (2023) | REVIEW

Jamie Bell and Claire Foy in ALL OF US STRANGERS. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

Directed by Andrew Haigh — Screenplay by Andrew Haigh.

Loosely based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel titled Strangers, Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers follows Adam (played by Andrew Scott), a lonely screenwriter living in a high-rise London apartment building. One night, a drunk neighbor, Harry (played by Paul Mescal), knocks on his door hoping to have a good time with Adam that night. Though Adam refuses, Adam starts getting closer to Harry in the days to come. This is in part because he’s starting to work through some of his issues. Why now all of a sudden? Well, when, one day, Adam takes the train back to his hometown to look at the town he grew up in and around, he is approached by a man (played by Jamie Bell) who turns out to be his father. Adam’s parents died in an accident when he was just a young boy, and yet here is his father — at the exact same age that he was when he passed away. His father invites Adam back to his childhood home where he finds his mother (played by Claire Foy), who is also the same age that she was when she died. Overjoyed to reconnect, Adam and his parents gradually start to open up about things once left unsaid. 

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Aftersun (2022) | REVIEW

Frankie Corioo (L) and Paul Mescal (R) in Charlotte Wells’ AFTERSUN — PHOTO: A24.

Directed by Charlotte Wells — Screenplay by Charlotte Wells.

There is no getting around the fact that I am extremely late to the party when it comes to Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun. Frankly, there are two reasons for that. Firstly, the 2022 film was released in February of 2023 in my region, so I would always be late to the party for this film which was first released at the Cannes Film Festival in May of last year (and which was already one of the most celebrated films in critics’ circles long before Danes would even get the chance to see it). Secondly, its local release back in February was inconvenient for me, as it came out at a time when I was preparing myself for something quite time-consuming (and potentially draining) in the first half of the year, as well as the fact that I was also scrambling to cover new 2023 releases at that time. I was, honestly, overwhelmed at that time — both in my daily life and by the hype that had snowballed rapidly for months with no end in sight. 

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8th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards – 2020

It’s finally time to reveal what films, shows, songs, performances, and games were my absolute favorites of the year 2020. Look, I know what you’re thinking, we’re already in July of 2021. But, to be perfectly honest with you, the last twelve-to-sixteen months or so have for obvious reasons made everything a bit unclear to me. Let’s just say, it was a weird year, as was also evident by the fact that AMPAS decided to push the eligibility window for their recent awards ceremony (which both honored 2020 films and select films from early 2021). I’m not doing that, though. I still have my strict year-end deadline, but, unlike the last seven I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards, I’m announcing both the nominees and winners of each and every category in this very post. So strap in, folks, and let’s talk about the best and most memorable culture of 2020.

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