Director: James Gray Stars: Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland We all live, for the most part, on the surface. We deal with what's in front of us and we get through the day and we enjoy the people we decide to share our time with. There's a world underneath that, though. That inner place, … Continue reading Review: Ad Astra
Director: Quentin Tarantino Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margaret Qualley Quentin Tarantino is a fan of stories. Tall ones. Stories with a shade of truth but... embellished, stretched out, shaggy 'round the edges. Anyone who's seen his Inglorious Basterds can attest to that. He prefers a romanticised version of history; one he can reshape. In … Continue reading Review: Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood
"Where the fuck did that come from?" Yeah. There's a statement. One many of us thought or maybe even vocalised in 2007 when the world economy folded up like a deckchair as it became apparent that the banks had acted with such self-interest and short-sightedness that it seriously beggared belief. In hindsight why were we so … Continue reading Review: The Big Short
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
Full disclosure upfront: my favourite author is Cormac McCarthy. Suttree. Blood Meridian. All The Pretty Horses. The Crossing. There's four masterpieces right there. Give me time and I'll make cases for Outer Dark and The Road too. As an aspiring writer, his is the level of ability I measure my own attempts against, and its no wonder I find … Continue reading Review: The Counsellor
Expectations and assumptions. They can make or break a film. World War Z, based on the popular novel by Max Brooks, has been rolled out as a zombie movie. Now, there are several expectations and assumptions one makes when approaching a zombie movie; scares, gore and - thanks to George A. Romero - some biting … Continue reading Review: World War Z
To these eyes and ears, Andrew Dominik’s 2007 western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was one of the finest films of the last ten years. A stately, elegant piece of work, it quietly commanded respect and elevated Dominik into that higher tier of filmmakers who’s every subsequent work becomes noteworthy … Continue reading Review: Killing Them Softly
***originally written 13 July 2011*** The first 15 minutes of The Tree Of Life, Terrence Malick’s new Palme D’Or winning opus, may put you off, dealing as they do, quite frankly, with the intense grieving process that parents go through at the sudden death of a child. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain – the parents … Continue reading Review: The Tree Of Life
***originally written 16 August 2009*** Quentin Tarantino's latest cartoon is a wicked and idiosyncratic romp through Nazi-occupied France. I say cartoon because that's the mindset of the piece. It's colourful, silly, frequently aiming for laughs, mocks realism (and history) at every turn, and - as some cartoons are able of being - occasionally unexpectedly poignant. … Continue reading Review: Inglourious Basterds
