Come True is a nightmarish lo-fi horror film which explores the boundaries between dreams and the real world, occupying a space somewhere between Inception and the collective hallucinatory works of David Lynch. Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone) is a teenage runaway who is plagued by insomnia and, when she is able to sleep, enigmatic but oppressively … Continue reading Film Review: Come True (Burns, 2020)
Film Review: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
It's here. Five years on since the release of the original theatrical cut, Zack Snyder's Justice League has arrived with full force on streaming services across the world, coming in at a staggering runtime of almost four hours. Following the fan-driven #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign, ZSJL has had an extraordinary journey to the screen, one which will … Continue reading Film Review: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Film Review: Cowboys (Kerrigan, 2020)
Writer/director Anna Kerrigan's Cowboys is a sensitive drama which tells the story of father Troy's (Steve Zahn) attempt to empower and understand his transgender son Joe, despite mother Sally's (Jillian Bell) desire to ignore or even supress her son's true identity. Pieced together through flashbacks and memory, Kerrigan's film is truly brilliant in its sympathetic … Continue reading Film Review: Cowboys (Kerrigan, 2020)
Book Review: Later by Stephen King
'Like I said, this is a horror story...' So says Jamie Conklin the narrator of Stephen King's slender novel, Later, a pulpy thriller which sees the author combine his tried and tested tropes to mostly riveting effect: a child protagonist with special powers, facing horrors originating from both the real world and the supernatural, set … Continue reading Book Review: Later by Stephen King
Film Review: She Dies Tomorrow (Seimetz, 2020)
She Dies Tomorrow plays out as a fever dream of doom ideation and reflection upon the nature of depression, but its central premise which sees the sudden notion that one is going to die the following day, infecting people like some sort of contagion, perhaps limits the film's more serious implications. The film's cast - … Continue reading Film Review: She Dies Tomorrow (Seimetz, 2020)
Comic Review: Joker #1 (2021)
James Tynion is on a roll. Between his regular Batman series and creator-owned titles like Department of Truth and Something is Killing the Children, Tynion has to be one of the most exciting and prolific talents working in comics right now. The first issue of his new series Joker boasts all the promise and excitement … Continue reading Comic Review: Joker #1 (2021)
Film Review: The Owners (Berg, 2020)
Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones, The Falling) stars alongside British screen icons Sylvester McCoy and Rita Tushingham in this home invasion horror/thriller which packs a nasty visual punch, if not a fully coherent plot. When Williams' boyfriend Nathan (Ian Kenny) and his two lads-in-crime plan to rob an elderly couple's house in their absence, only … Continue reading Film Review: The Owners (Berg, 2020)
Film Review: Moxie (Poehler, 2021)
Moxie is a film with heart, ambition and a clear sense of what it wants to say. It is also a film that perhaps plays it too safely in some respects. Amy Poehler's high school comedy-drama sees self-proclaimed introvert Vivian (a star turn from Hadley Robinson) take on the everyday sexism and misogyny of her … Continue reading Film Review: Moxie (Poehler, 2021)
Film Review: Capone (Trank, 2020)
Much like Hardy's turn at the titular gangster, Trank's Capone is messy and unfocused; a peculiar blend of straight-laced biopic and hallucinatory psycho-drama. Following the Chicago mobster in his final year of life, slipping between memory and nightmare as a consequence of his diagnosed neurosyphilis, the film's portrayal of Capone is perhaps uncertain of exactly … Continue reading Film Review: Capone (Trank, 2020)
Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark
My second entry into the new Star Wars 'publishing initiative', Into the Dark by Claudia Gray is an intriguingly detailed and engaging Star Wars yarn which benefits from its relatable and interesting characters more than its arguably bare-bones narrative. Although the novel collects a number of characters and subplots - Jedi masters, padawans, rogues, politicians … Continue reading Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark
Film Review: I Care A Lot (Blakeson, 2020)
I Care A Lot: Rosamund Pike as “Martha”. Photo Cr. Seacia Pavao / Netflix Rosamund Pike steals the show in this strange comedy/thriller/drama which sees her sociopathic anti-hero Marla Grayson exploit the elderly through a devious scam. Utilising a network of complicit and corrupt doctors, residential care home managers and lawyers, Grayson makes a killing … Continue reading Film Review: I Care A Lot (Blakeson, 2020)
TV Review: WandaVision Season 1 (2021)
As a reasonably recent convert to the superhero genre, both in comics and film, and as an more of a self-proclaimed DC fan than a Marvel one, WandaVision at first glance seemed too much of a deep dive for someone with only a passing familiarity with its central characters. The post-modern 'show within a show' … Continue reading TV Review: WandaVision Season 1 (2021)
TV Review: Tribes of Europa – Season 1 (2021)
The six part first season of Netflix's Tribes of Europa manages to draw upon and balance a number of genre and textual influences in a manner which, whilst derivative, nonetheless makes for an enjoyable binge watch. The six part first season of Netflix's Tribes of Europa manages to draw upon and balance a number of … Continue reading TV Review: Tribes of Europa – Season 1 (2021)
Film Review: Apples (Nikou, 2020)
Screened as part of the Glasgow Film Festival 2021 Apples, the debut feature from Christos Nikou, offers an insightful and heartfelt take on the nature of memory, identity and loss in a quiet, almost meditative drama. The film follows an unnamed man who has seemingly lost his memory, a condition which seems to be spreading … Continue reading Film Review: Apples (Nikou, 2020)
Film Review: Lynn + Lucy (Boulifa, 2020)
To reveal too much about Lynn + Lucy would be to detract from the impact of this heartbreaking tale of friendship, parenthood and loss. Suffice to say, Fyzal Boulifa's feature length directorial debut is an emotional gut-punch reminiscent of the work of recent British directors like Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant, The Arbor) and Andrea … Continue reading Film Review: Lynn + Lucy (Boulifa, 2020)
Film Review: The Old Guard (Prince-Bythewood, 2020)
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s comic book adaptation The Old Guard offers some entertaining moments of action and sci-fi curiosity, but is ultimately undermined by its by-the-numbers blockbuster narrative structure and predictable third-act twists.Despite having not read the comic book upon which the film is based, it’s easy to pick up on its comic roots with a story that blends John … Continue reading Film Review: The Old Guard (Prince-Bythewood, 2020)
Film Review: The Vast of Night (2019)
In many ways the opening shot of The Vast of Night encapsulates everything we need to know about the film. A slow zoom towards a retro 1950s television tuned into a Twilight Zone-like sci-fi series named 'Paradox Theater'. The TV set sits in a room filled with similarly mismatched furniture. Is this the present day? … Continue reading Film Review: The Vast of Night (2019)
Review: The Gift (Edgerton, 2015)
In the midst of a summer filled with mediocre blockbusters, The Gift offers an intriguing alternative to those fed up with superheroes and spies as a surprisingly engaging psychological thriller from first time writer/director Joel Edgerton. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) have moved to Los Angeles from Chicago to start a new life. Simon has a … Continue reading Review: The Gift (Edgerton, 2015)
(Re)aquainting Ourselves With Atticus Finch
For bookworms across the world the release of Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman posed an insurmountable problem for fans of the author's iconic work To Kill a Mockingbird. The problem presented, as it were, was the new novel's revelation that Atticus Finch - father of Scout and Jem, protector of the innocent and all round good guy - … Continue reading (Re)aquainting Ourselves With Atticus Finch
Review: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (McQuarrie, 2015)
Tom Cruise is back fighting the shadowy world of international espionage in this globetrotting fourth sequel to the original 1996 hit. Boasting everything one would want from the increasingly preposterous franchise - car chases, futuristic gadgets and a hell of a lot of Cruise himself - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, even if it is a big dumb blockbuster, shows … Continue reading Review: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (McQuarrie, 2015)
Review: Southpaw (Fuqua, 2015)
Despite a solid performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, Southpaw amounts to little more than an exercise in clichéd, by the book scriptwriting; it's a film which has all the simplicity and predictable linearity of a child's connect-the-dots drawing. But then, what would you expect from the director of Olympus Has Fallen? Like that film's clear indebtedness … Continue reading Review: Southpaw (Fuqua, 2015)
On Location: The Third Man in Vienna
There is nothing more surreal for a film fan than to find themselves following in the footsteps of their screen heroes. On a recent visit to Vienna I found myself doing exactly that. Whilst many films have been shot there, Vienna is a city which is still haunted by the ghost of Harry Lime to this … Continue reading On Location: The Third Man in Vienna
Frames in Focus: Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
Watching a film you've seen many times before still often brings new elements to light, particularly a film as cinematically rich as Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece Vertigo. It could be that with a repeat viewing your attention is drawn more towards the psychologically nuanced performances of Stewart or Novak on one occasion, or perhaps Bernard … Continue reading Frames in Focus: Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
Review: Lost River (Gosling, 2014)
For all its flaws, you can't deny that Lost River shows a director with an ambitious personal vision for his artistry. Ridiculed at Cannes when it was released, Ryan Gosling's directing debut frequently suggests a film-maker more concerned with style than with substance, but I for one feel there is more lurking under the murky waters of … Continue reading Review: Lost River (Gosling, 2014)
Indie Review: Time Lapse (King, 2014)
Blending the single location claustrophobia of Rear Window with the obligatory genre twists and turns of Saw and its ilk - and all with a sci-fi twist - Time Lapse offers an interesting take on sci-fi storytelling that gets back to the basics of the genre itself without pretending to be anything more than it is: a competent B-movie thriller. In a small apartment complex … Continue reading Indie Review: Time Lapse (King, 2014)
Review: While We’re Young (Baumbach, 2015)
The entirety of Noah Baumbach's pitch-perfect cast shine in his latest feature While We're Young, a charismatic ode to life in transition and the inevitability of generational irrelevance. Ben Stiller plays Josh, a documentary film-maker supposedly past his prime, fast approaching fifty and living in the shadow of his wife's father Leslie Breitbart (Charles Grodin), a legendary documentarian in … Continue reading Review: While We’re Young (Baumbach, 2015)
Review: Jauja (Alonso, 2014)
Jauja's opening shot is of a father and daughter alone in a desolate and unfamiliar landscape discussing their eventual return home to their native Denmark. At its core this is a film about their relationship set within the context and iconography of the Western genre. But it is also a film which transcends the boundaries … Continue reading Review: Jauja (Alonso, 2014)
Pieces of Time – A Short Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaywRWTgwc4 This short compilation celebrating the power of cinema was created to accompany a screening of Cinema Paradiso for Fleet Film. http://www.fleetfilm.co.uk
Frames in Focus: The Paleface (Keaton,1922)
Buster Keaton is perhaps most remembered for his extraordinary stunt-based chases and moments of physical comedy, many of which involved leaps from moving vehicles, rotating houses and other physics-defying antics. This frame from The Paleface, however, demonstrates how brilliantly witty Keaton could be in those quieter moments between the bigger setpieces. After being assimilated into a tribe of Native Americans early … Continue reading Frames in Focus: The Paleface (Keaton,1922)
Review: The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Takahata, 2013)
Studio Ghibli's latest film The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a stunning fantasy told with an effortless and enchanting beauty, captured through its impressionistic animation style, that marks a departure from the more familiar feel of Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki's works. Based on a 10th-century Japanese folktale, the film blends historical drama with an hugely relevant modern sentiment. Like the best … Continue reading Review: The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Takahata, 2013)
Review: When Animals Dream (Arnby, 2014)
When Animals Dream is a charmingly atmospheric take on the werewolf myth which strikes an admirable balance between intelligent storytelling and the obligatory use of genre tropes. A young woman called Marie lives a quiet life in a Danish fishing village, where we are introduced to the character as she visits a local doctor after noticing some surprising bodily changes. 'Nothing … Continue reading Review: When Animals Dream (Arnby, 2014)
Review: Wild Tales (Szifrón, 2014)
Wild Tales boasts a collection of six unconnected stories focused around acts of revenge or extreme frustration boiling over into violent action. Whilst technically proficient and stylistic, this Pedro Almodóvar-produced anthology suffers from a lack of intelligence behind its immediate shock value, paired with an inability to sustain its comedic elements through the crude and indulgent episodes … Continue reading Review: Wild Tales (Szifrón, 2014)
Review: Chappie (Blomkamp, 2015)
For a director who once showed so much promise, it is an undeniable shame that Neil Blomkamp's so-called 'South African' trilogy has continued its sliding trajectory down from the heights of his debut feature District 9, through the heavy-handed mess that was Elysium towards the twisted pile of cinematic absurdity that is his latest feature, Chappie. There are things … Continue reading Review: Chappie (Blomkamp, 2015)
Look Into My Eyes…
It's a peculiar moment when the person you have been intently watching appears to stare right back at you, piercing through the supposedly protective barrier of the screen: the same screen that had initially facilitated your voyeurism. Regardless of whether your fading knowledge of film theory kicks in and you immediately label the occurrence as an instance of the so-called 'fourth … Continue reading Look Into My Eyes…
Frames in Focus: A Hijacking (Lindholm, 2012)
127 days after the Rozen was first hijacked, the ship's crew are brought up on deck and into the light of day. There is an excruciating sense of tension accompanying the pirates' decision to move their hostages. Something important is about to happen, but the ship's cook Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk) and his crewmates have no idea what that may be. … Continue reading Frames in Focus: A Hijacking (Lindholm, 2012)
NFTM’s Oscar Picks (Updated)
Post-Oscars Update: Well, what did I say? 'A very predictable night with, perhaps, one or two surprises thrown in for good measure.' The biggest surprise has to be Boyhood losing out in both of the categories most assumed would be guaranteed victories. I could see Linklater's film losing out on the Best Picture front, but to lose … Continue reading NFTM’s Oscar Picks (Updated)
Review: Inherent Vice (Anderson, 2014)
Los Angeles, 1970: the light drug haze of the summer of love has spilled over into a new decade, fostering an environment in which paranoia and conspiratorial nightmares are no longer just the realm of Hippiedom, but the day to day reality of 'Straight-land' USA. Charles Manson's crime lingers over the city, as does the echoing gunfire … Continue reading Review: Inherent Vice (Anderson, 2014)
Review: American Sniper (Eastwood, 2014)
American Sniper is no longer a film but a point of discussion, debate and political commentary. Regardless of where you stand in relation to the film's politics, it should be acknowledged that such debate is something to be admired - films should encourage discussion. That said, I'm not sure what I could add to said discussion in addition to … Continue reading Review: American Sniper (Eastwood, 2014)
Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (Vaughn, 2015)
I have never walked out of a film but Kingsman: The Secret Service tempted me to leave with every agonising minute of its runtime. I managed to make it through the whole sordid, mind-numbing affair, hoping that at some point the film would redeem itself. It didn't. It may just be one of the most morally corrupt, inane … Continue reading Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (Vaughn, 2015)
Review: Ex Machina (Garland, 2015)
With Ex Machina, long-time Danny Boyle collaborator Alex Garland proves that he is up to the task of directorial duties with a sci-fi thriller that stresses ideas above simple set-pieces. Minimal and at times subdued, Ex Machina's contained and claustrophobic narrative ramps up from the initial audience 'meet and greet' with it's imagined A.I. technology towards its underplayed but gripping denouement. A tense interplay … Continue reading Review: Ex Machina (Garland, 2015)
Review: Whiplash (Chazelle, 2014)
Frenetic, frantic, full-on: Whiplash is a film which will leave any spectator in a disorientated daze, ecstatically searching for the nearest makeshift drum kit to pound out a jazz-infused rhythm on as soon as they walk out of the cinema. For a film which tells the story of a young wannabe jazz drummer, whose main passion in life is … Continue reading Review: Whiplash (Chazelle, 2014)
Review: Wild (Vallée, 2014)
Despite it's bold title, Wild is a film which never feels particularly adventurous or enthralling - the stakes never seem to be that high and neither its protagonist or its style of film-making seem to venture much off the beaten track. Set in the 1990s, the film relates the 'based on true events' tale of a woman named Cheryl Strayed (Reece … Continue reading Review: Wild (Vallée, 2014)
Review: Foxcatcher (Miller, 2014)
This review contains spoilers. Despite few directing credits to his name, Foxcatcher announces Bennett Miller as a true contemporary American auteur, not yet ready to compete with giants like Paul Thomas Anderson or the Coen Brothers, but equally adept at handling the topic of that ever elusive American Dream. Yet, like those aforementioned directorial masters, the possibility of … Continue reading Review: Foxcatcher (Miller, 2014)
Review: Enemy (Villeneuve, 2015)
In his follow up to the critically acclaimed Prisoners, Denis Villeneuve offers an intense and enigmatic mood piece in the hallucinatory thriller Enemy, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal - twice over. Set in a version of Toronto doused in an almost putrid, acidic yellow light and mysteriously devoid of human presence, a timid college professor named Adam (Gyllenhaal) suddenly has his world turned … Continue reading Review: Enemy (Villeneuve, 2015)
Review: Exodus: Gods and Kings (Scott, 2014)
Like the apocalyptic CGI storm clouds which appear to be sentiently competing for as much screen time as star Christian Bale, Exodus: Gods and Kings is a visually sublime, even beautiful film to watch: filled with the kind of gargantuan cinematic imagery that would make D.W. Griffith or Giovanni Pastrone proud. Ultimately, however, it's as empty … Continue reading Review: Exodus: Gods and Kings (Scott, 2014)
Review: Unbroken (Jolie, 2015)
Flying over Japanese-held territory, American Air Force bombardier and former Olympic athlete Louie Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) keeps his eyes open for enemy aircraft. His crew's initial success, having bombed the Japanese captured island of Nauru, begins to lose momentum when Japanese fighter planes start to tear into the aircraft, piloted by Russell Phillips (Domhnall Gleeson), in retaliation. Gunfire … Continue reading Review: Unbroken (Jolie, 2015)
Review: The Theory of Everything (Marsh, 2015)
Eddie Redmayne shines in this touching romantic drama about Stephen Hawking and the relationship he had with his first wife Jane (Felicity Jones); a portrayal which will surely stand him out for recognition when the Oscars roll around. The Theory of Everything concerns Hawking's personal life rather than his science, and unlike the other recent foray into the life … Continue reading Review: The Theory of Everything (Marsh, 2015)
Review: The Interview (Goldberg and Rogen, 2014)
Following the back and forth behaviour of Sony, the call to fight for free speech from President Obama and the frightening actions and claims made by the ludicrously named 'Guardians of Peace', The Interview comes forward as a film far inferior to the one it should have been. At least, that's what the entire debacle and commentary surrounding its eventual release … Continue reading Review: The Interview (Goldberg and Rogen, 2014)
Frames in Focus: East of Eden (Kazan, 1952)
Cal Trask (James Dean) squats like an ape on the childhood swing of his backyard, advancing out of the darkness towards his distressed father (Raymond Massey) as he reaches the height of the pendulum's swing. Caught in that split-second of free fall, Cal's life threatens to fall into an empty abyss, the brink of which his character … Continue reading Frames in Focus: East of Eden (Kazan, 1952)
2014 Top Ten: Foreign Language Films
Like my post on the Top 10 English language films of 2014, I have compiled this list from films which were released for the first time in the UK this year, even if they had been released earlier elsewhere beforehand. I have also decided to omit a few films which would have otherwise made it … Continue reading 2014 Top Ten: Foreign Language Films
Notes from the Multiplex 