Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke Perhaps its fitting that Hirokazu Kore-Eda's first film outside of Japan should concern artifice and the cinema itself. Following his Palme d'Or win in 2018 with Shoplifters, Kore-Eda relocates to France, and presents us a fractured family that is intrinsically connected to the movie business. Spinning … Continue reading Review: The Truth
Director: Paul Schrader Stars: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Philip Ettinger Paul Schrader has directed many films over the years and written many more, including Taxi Driver. Unquestionably the film he is most often praised for, Scorsese's realisation of his screenplay, together with Robert De Niro's iconic performance, locked it's status as a cinematic classic. Whatever Schrader may … Continue reading Review: First Reformed
Director: Luc Besson Stars: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Rihanna "Two hours alone with me? What a drag." "More like an eternity." I'm paraphrasing lines from Besson's script here, but they're about as close to a self-diagnosis as Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets gets. With a budget in the region of $170 million, Besson … Continue reading Review: Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets
Director: Antoine Fuqua Stars: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Haley Bennett Denzel Washington - doggedly the least-interesting A-list actor working today - heads up the cast of this wholly unnecessary retread of John Sturges' 1960 film, itself a derivation of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai; a film which frequently finds itself in the top end of critics' polls of … Continue reading Review: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Director: Rebecca Miller Stars: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore I've been thinking of drawing up bingo cards for the genre staples of the New York indie relationship dramedy. A box full of boxes each one containing a different recognisable trope. The studio apartment. The academic novelist. The charming park bench scene. Piles of books. The … Continue reading Review: Maggie’s Plan
It often feels as though Richard Linklater is taken for granted. Early features such as Slacker and Dazed And Confused earned him respect, but of a particular kind. A seeming begrudged acceptance that, yes, he'd done quite well for a guy who, really, isn't the sort who becomes a cinematic auteur. Linklater appeared too easy-going. As if … Continue reading Review: Boyhood
There's something extremely satisfying about watching Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) growing older together. From the full-blown romantic flush of their first meeting in 1995's Before Sunrise, through the more pragmatic (but beautifully balanced) 2004 reunion Before Sunset, and now with Before Midnight, their lives reflect the passing of time in our own. How much they've … Continue reading Review: Before Midnight
What’s in a name? Quite a lot, actually, especially when it comes to horror movies. A title can conjure up all sorts of associations, and perhaps more-so than in any other genre, setting a tone is vital to horror. So the name of your film is quite important. Suspiria, for instance, is a great title, … Continue reading Review: Sinister
