Calvary is John Michael McDonagh's second film with Brendan Gleeson following 2011's modest cult hit comedy The Guard. The reunion is a welcome one, and it's heartening to see McDonagh maturing - good as The Guard was, this is certainly a superior offering - though fans of that film's broadly jovial stride may find themselves at a loss when … Continue reading Review: Calvary
Influence hangs heavy in the air in Richard Aoyade's darkly comic second feature The Double. An adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novella, it tells the tale of one man, Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), who feels invisible within a hermetically sealed world. He is but a gear in a great, ungainly machine, a cypher within a bureaucracy that is fast forgetting … Continue reading Review: The Double
Jonathan Glazer made a name for himself in the 90s with music videos for the likes of Radiohead and Massive Attack, before directing Sexy Beast and Birth. Both of those features were distinctive; the former for its standout performance from Ben Kingsley, the latter for its pronounced Kubrickian sterility. Now, nearly a decade later, Glazer brings us Under … Continue reading Review: Under The Skin
Playing in a quagmire of murk, both visual and structural, the new film by Claire Denis fleetingly suggests a number of somewhat provocative, interesting ideas but ultimately takes the lot of them and chucks them in the river like a sack of unwanted kittens. It's a sad surprise to see a project fail so completely … Continue reading Review: Bastards
With the possible exception of Harmony Korine, Jim Jarmusch is about as hipster as American independent cinema gets. It's a shame that this carries such a negative connotation, as the man has made some great films over his career, yet they have remained doggedly under the radar. Even his breakout 'hits' (Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The … Continue reading Review: Only Lovers Left Alive
Year: 2007 Director: Andrew Dominik Stars: Brad Pitt (Jesse James), Casey Affleck (Robert Ford), Sam Rockwell (Charley Ford), Sam Shepard (Frank James), Jeremy Renner (Wood Hite), Paul Schneider (Dick Liddil), Garret Dillahunt (Ed Miller), Mary Louise Parker (Zee James) Genre: Western With my local cinemas stuck in a loop giving victory laps to the big … Continue reading Why I Love… #65: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Year: 1985 Director: Larry Cohen Stars: Michael Moriarty (David 'Mo' Rutherford), Andrea Marcovicci (Nicole), Garrett Morris ('Chocolate Chip' Charlie), Scott Bloom (Jason), Paul Sorvino (Col. Spears) Genre: Horror / Comedy / Science Fiction In less than 2 minutes and before any credits have rolled, Larry Cohen's superb 80s 'B-picture' The Stuff announces its shrewd, prescient ethos. During … Continue reading Why I Love… #64: The Stuff
The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest film from that gentleman of American cinema Wes Anderson. His is the dapper sensibility that has previously brought us the immense pleasures of Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and most recently the popular Moonrise Kingdom. Of all of the auteurs presently active in the states, his aesthetic is the most starkly recognisable. … Continue reading Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel
On paper I should be against something like this. Product placement in movies is - almost always - the form's artistic nadir. Intrusive, unwanted, soulless and often downright irritating, it pollutes the medium and at its most invasive (I, Robot or Wreck-It Ralph) does considerable damage to the final film*. Then there's the smaller stratosphere of … Continue reading Review: The Lego Movie
