Film Review: The Ciambra
After shaking of the yoke of dictatorship and censorship, the post-War period in Italy was a fertile time for film-making. From the neo-realism of Rossellini and Visconti, through the classics of Fellini and Antonioni, to the spaghetti westerns of Leone and the giallo of Argento, it was a hotbed of creativity. As we approached the …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Time Trial
When it comes to sports documentaries, cycling has always been one of the most popular disciplines. Whilst this might have something to do with the rigours and hardships of becoming a top professional athlete, it’s also down to the amount of drug scandals which have plagued the sport. In recent years, Lance Armstrong: Stop at …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Shirkers
At some times in our lives, most of us will have had a dream of becoming a film star, making a film or writing a screenplay or novel. Sadly, whist youthful fantasies are sometimes played-out on a smaller level, the majority don’t even get passed the pre-planning stage. At the age of 16, a Singapore …
DVD Review: Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Over the last thirty years or so, there have been few, if any, more distinctive and consistently impressive actors as Denzel Washington. In the extremely white playing field that is the Hollywood ‘A’ list, he has often been the only recognisable African-American voice. Whilst he has a raft of charismatic and powerful performances behind him, …
Blu-Ray Review: No Way Out
Joseph L. Mankiewicz was a true Hollywood all-rounder. As a writer he penned forty-eight screenplays during his career, winning numerous awards and accolades. He produced over twenty films, including The Philadelphia Story. When he was finally given a chance to direct by Twentieth Century Fox, he didn’t disappoint; winning Oscars for Best Director (and also …
Incoming: Hereditary
When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter Annie (Toni Colette) and her husband (Gabriel Byrne) and their two children begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited. …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Into the Okavango
Africa is a continent which continues to be picked apart for its natural resources, whether that’s precious metals and minerals or its vast array of magnificent wildlife. Botswana is renowned for its spectacular and diverse range of flora and fauna. It’s also remarkable in the measures it takes to protect its fertile natural environment, both …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Preview: Worlds of Ursula K. le Guin
In the male dominated world of science-fiction literature during the 1960s and 1970s, Ursula K. le Guin was an undoubted star. Considered by many to be one of the most important genre authors of all time, her books A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness are both considered to be classics. Her …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: A Northern Soul
I lived in Hull in the late ‘90s and for one reason or another saw quite a lot of the city. Apart from having the ‘biggest council housing estate in Europe’, it had very little going for it. With a port whose influence is rapidly receding, it’s a city which suffered dreadfully from the loss …
Incoming: McQueen
Mirroring the savage beauty, maverick originality and vivacity of his design, “McQueen” is an intimate revelation of Alexander [Lee] McQueen’s own personal and professional world, both tortured and inspired. It is a film which celebrates a radical and mesmerising genius of profound influence and shows his rags-to-riches story as a modern-day fairy tale laced with …