See cinema differently
Directed by: Lucia Aniello Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Zoë Kravitz Having been denied the opportunity to check out the well-liked Girls Trip last month thanks to its selective distribution in this part of the country, I opted to take a chance on Rough Night as a sort of consolation prize, this despite the advance buzz that when …
Director: Kôji Fukada Stars: Mariko Tsutsui, Tadanobu Asano, Kanji Furutachi While it is not wholly inaccurate to describe Kôji Fukada's latest as a quiet film, the use of loud sounds to punctuate and ratchet tension proves repeatedly integral. Take a key scene from the second half. By this time a malaise has settled firmly over the …
Director: Tate Taylor Stars: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans The Girl On The Train is the latest bestselling 'girl' thriller to get squeezed through the Hollywood machine, but it's the one that comes sputtering out the other end with the least amount of grace, presented to us as a clumsy assemblage of plot holes, …
Director: Shane Black Stars: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice Having penned the Lethal Weapon films, Last Action Hero and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (also his directorial debut), Shane Black has already proved himself wise to the tropes and the traps of the Hollywood action movie. He's got a proven track record of jimmying open a tired cliché and …
Director: Brian Helgeland Stars: Emily Browning, Tom Hardy, Christopher Eccleston When I think of great dual performances, there are two that spring instantly to mind. First, Jeremy Irons as the Mantle twins in David Cronenberg's 1988 surgical drama Dead Ringers (one of the best films in a cluttered career), and then also Nicolas Cage portraying both …
Director: Ridley Scott Stars: Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Michael Fassbender 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 …
Director: John Michael McDonagh Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong ***originally written 12 September 2011*** The Guard doesn’t appear to have had a lot of publicity, or perhaps I’ve just not been in the right places to see it. But there doesn’t appear to have been much buzz about it. Mentioning to several people …
Director: Ben Affleck Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner So it's a film called The Town and it's directed by Ben Affleck. Not only does Ben Affleck direct the movie, he co-authors it's screenplay and he's the lead. You'd forgive me for not going weak at the knees over this proposition. But hold on. …
The Lost Highway Hotel 