Blu-Ray Review: Force 10 from Navarone
Whilst things might be slowly changing, Hollywood has been a boys’ club for a very long time. This has been reflected in the cinema it has produced, where’s there’s often a hefty dollop of bromance. Bringing a group of men together to undertake some sort of mission is a regular plot device. Whether that’s the …
Film Review: On the Record
You’ve probably never heard of Drew Dixon. She was an A&R Executive at Def Jam Recordings and Vice President at Arista Records during the 1990s, working with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Method Man, Pharrell Williams and Aretha Franklin. Her lack of recognition is because she had no choice but to curtail her career after …
Film Review: Fanny Lye Deliver’d
After Charles I lost his head, England, and the rest of ‘the Commonwealth’ for that matter, was thrown into turmoil. Whilst Cromwell’s New Model Army was exercising their puritanical zeal in the name of the Lord, something else was stirring in our fair lands. These strange and dangerous times are captured magnificently in Thomas Clay’s …
Film Review: Anne at 13,000 Ft
Sure, it helps, but you don’t need a huge budget to make a good film. What you do need is someone who knows what they’re doing behind the camera, and intelligent and well-written script, some very cute editing and an actor who can carry the production. Thankfully, Kazik Radwanski’s new film has all of these …
Blu-Ray Review: The Mad Fox
Tomu Uchida was a Japanese director who, despite the best attempts of critics, could never really be pigeonholed. His work oscillates wildly between nostalgic social realism and experiment theatrical exuberance. Despite struggling for recognition during his own lifetime, much of which can be attributed to World War II and working for an unfashionable Studio, hr …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Influence
We are well and truly living in the era of post-truth, where experts and facts play second fiddle to polemic, propaganda and targeted messaging. This didn’t just happen over the last decade with the arrival of Trump, Brexit and the rise of populism. This took years in the making. Step forward Tim Bell and Bell …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Film About A Father Who
Whilst she might not be a household name to most, Lynne Sachs is well-known within the documentary community. The American experimental filmmaker has been working within the industry for the last thirty years, much of her work involves collaboration and a melding of different mediums. Sachs has been chosen to be subject of a retrospective …
Film Review: Scare Package
As any good horror movie fan knows, there are many, many tropes which have been prevalent within the genre for decades. More often than not, it’s the depressing case of a directors lazily copying what has gone before. However, increasingly we’re seeing intelligent, innovative and inspired takes on familiar themes. This is a particular popular …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Welcome to Chechnya
As highlighted most famously by Pussy Riot, when it comes to same-sex relationships Russia is far from progressive. Indeed, the state’s close ties to the church mean that members of LGBTQ+ communities face a number of challenges. This is amplified in the Chechen Republic, where Islam is the dominant religion and Ramzan Kadyrov’s tyranny is …
Film Review: Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc holds a fairly unique position as a historical female. Not only is she still revered after hundreds of years, her reputation has only grown since her death. Although, like many of her sisters, that didn’t prevent her being burned at the stake. The ‘Maid of Orléans’s story has been captured on film …