See cinema differently
Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska Stars: Michalina Olszanska, Marta Marzurek, Kinga Preis The prospect of an independent horror movie being seriously about mermaids is a lure in and of itself. Make it Polish and also a musical and curiosity goes into overdrive, especially with the striking artwork that accompanied promotion of Agnieszka Smoczynska's 2015 debut feature. And …
Director: Steve Martino This Christmas, going back home, I found myself staying in my old childhood bedroom. While it hasn't been kept as an eerie museum piece, some accoutrements of my early years still remain. Largely the books. Among these, I was pleased to discover, where a few editions of Peanuts. Flicking through these, sat cross-legged …
Director: S Craig Zahler Stars: Matthew Fox, Patrick Wilson, Kurt Russell While we wait with varying levels of impatience for Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, another western starring Kurt Russell has crept its way onto UK shores with little fanfare. Writer / director S Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk is a rich find in the present cinematic landscape, though you …
Director: J. J. Abrams Stars: Harrison Ford, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley This is one of the toughest reviews I've chosen to write for this blog. How to position my stance on the hugely hyped and already widely loved latest entry in the Goliath Star Wars franchise? A film which, for a while there, didn't seem …
The top ten Inside OutInherent ViceCarolIt FollowsMad Max: Fury RoadGirlhoodSelmaKumiko, The Treasure HunterPhoenixThe Look Of Silence Film Of The YearInside Out "Inside Out runs headlong into talking about the consequences and reasons behind early-onset depression, yet wraps this conversation up in the dressing of an adventure story… There’s a wonderful lesson here about self-acceptance which raises the …
Director: Sean Baker Stars: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian You know how it is. It's Christmas Eve, you're a transgender prostitute fresh out of lock-up and looking to turn a trick out where Santa Monica meets Highland, when all of a sudden your girlfriend (who's playing a show tonight singing at some dive …
Director: Gaspar Noé Stars: Aomi Muyock, Karl Glusman, Klara Kristin Oh man, it is good to be able to write one of these on a laptop again. Everything posted since the Crimson Peak review has been done on a Sony Xperia phone. Up to the job, patience permitting, but I've banked a whole load of finger …
Director: Francis Lawrence Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson "Nothing can prepare you for the end". So says the poster tagline for (deep breath) The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 2; a tagline evidently written by someone miraculously unaware that these movies are based on a series of bestselling novels, making preparing for the …
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Director: Charlie Lyne Earlier this year I wrote a somewhat critical appraisal of Charlie Lyne's documentary on high school movies Beyond Clueless, bemoaning what I felt was a lack of depth. However, in the months since I've found myself revisiting the feature on more than one occasion. While I still find some of the insights …
Director: Lisandro Alonso Stars: Villbjørk Malling Agger, Viggo Mortensen, Adrián Fondari How is a man undone by his own will when determined to dominate or control either other beings or the Earth itself? This seems to be one of the (many) significant questions at the heart of Jauja (pronounced 'How-Ha'), the latest film from minimalist …
Director: Céline Sciamma Stars: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Idrissa Diabaté For one reason or another I missed Céline Sciamma's superb Girlhood (aka Bande De Filles in its native France) when it hit UK cinemas on a far too limited release a few months back. So now, as mediocre box office Goliath Spectre stalls releases from …
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Stars: John C. Reilly, Rachel Weisz, Colin Farrell How important is having a partner? We live in a society that puts great value in the notion that we must all pair off for life. Any deviation from this is somewhat stigmatised. If you haven't found a partner by a certain age, there …
Director: Sam Mendes Stars: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci Much has been made, since he took up the mantle, of how Daniel Craig has rejuvenated Bond, bringing Ian Fleming's super spy kicking and scowling into the 21st century. And, yes, the series has felt fresher. It was there in the hot-blooded callousness of (the …
Director: Steve Oram Stars: Tom Meeten, Lucy Honigman, Steve Oram Two grown men emerge from some undergrowth, ambling in a simian manner. They rest at a fallen tree. The dark-haired man, Keith (Tom Meeten), massages the knees of the more dominant Smith (writer / director Steve Oram). Smith fetches a framed photograph of a woman in a …
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson Stars: Taissa Farmiga, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Middleditch Meta horror is always in vogue. Few if any other genres have the capacity for so much self-reflection and self-deprecation. Horror folds in on itself every few years, acknowledging it's icons, celebrating them and lambasting its own repetitions. Hell, you could argue it does so …
The Lost Highway Hotel 