The Foreigner (2017) Movie Review

November 8, 2017 Steve Baqqi

The Foreigner is adapted from English author Stephen Leather’s The Chinaman, which he wrote while working for The Times during an IRA bombing campaign. The director, Martin Campbell, a veteran filmmaker, wastes little time getting going, and I appreciated it. We’re introduced to Ngoc Minh Quan (Jackie Chan) and his daughter Fan (Katie Leung) and not 10 minutes go by before the shop Fan enters explodes, killing her instantly. A grief-stricken Quan languishes about his home and business in a daze before leaving his friends behind and vowing to find and punish the people responsible for Fan’s death.

Image Via: Pure Fandom.

Brooklyn (2015) Movie Review

January 4, 2016 Steve Baqqi

I’m not keen on romantic films so I was initially going to skip this film despite its sizable Oscar buzz. But my good friend told me to go see it because he felt it was worth my time, and he was correct. Brooklyn is a sweet and touching story of an Irish immigrant coming to America in the early 1950’s based on Colm Tóibín’s novel of the same name. Built on the foundation of a strong period romance, Brooklyn flourishes magnificently. The film is a love letter to both Ireland and America in the 1950’s and the process of acclimating to American society (warts and all).

Image via: Vanity Fair