DVD Review: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
The Golden Age of superhero comics can largely be attributed to two factors. The 1930s saw the Great Depression take hold of America lives, leading many to yearn for an escape from the drudgery and hardship of everyday life. The Nazis invasion of Poland in 1939 and America’s entrance into World War II in 1941 …
Blu-Ray Review: The Passenger
There is something deep down inside of every one of us which longs to escape our lives and become someone else. To throw off the shackles of our past, leave all our choices and mistakes behind and start afresh. It’s a very human yearning, but it’s more of a pipedream than an obtainable reality. Our …
Film Review: My Golden Days
We live in an age of nostalgia but it’s natural to become more and more nostalgic as we grow older. Memories hold a great deal of power and we tend to look back at periods of our lives through rose-tinted glasses. Arnaud Desplechin’s new film, My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse), plays up …
Incoming: Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene is an authentic and humanistic portrait of one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood spiritual figures in history. The biblical biopic tells the story of Mary (Rooney Mara), a young woman in search of a new way of living. Constricted by the hierarchies of the day, Mary defies her traditional family to join …
Film Review – Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story
Comedy comes in many shapes and sizes but occasionally there are mavericks who manage to create something so absurd that it’s brilliant. Britain has a proud history in this field. The forerunner was undoubtedly the peek into Spike Milligan’s mind afforded by The Goon Show in the 1950s. Monty Python and The Flying Circus followed. …
Film Review: Gook
On 29 April 1992 in South Central Los Angeles a trial jury acquitted four LAPD officers after they were captured on video beating Rodney King during an arrest. It sparked six days of riots which caused 63 deaths, $1 billion of property damage and began a new conversation on race relations in America. This one …
Blu-Ray Review: Re:Born
Tak Sakaguchi caused a bit of a stir when he burst onto the scene in Ryuhei Kitamura’s absolutely stunning film Versus in 2000. He went on to have successes with Azumi, Azumi 2 and Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, amongst others. The action director on Shinobi was Yûji Shimomura, who had worked as a stuntman/stunt coordinator …
Berlinale Review: Infinite Football
Name me a football fan who hasn’t ever dreamed of managing their favourite club. Personally, I was addicted to Football Director on the Spectrum at an early age. It’s funny how a lot of data can occupy an avid mind. Then Championship Manager and Football Manager took things to another level. I spent hours inventing …
Blu-Ray Review: The Barefoot Contessa
It’s no surprise that in an industry powered by ego, narcissism and self-interest, Hollywood is no stranger to making movies about itself. The recent Oscar successes of Birdman and The Artist demonstrate that they’re also quite happy rewarding themselves for it. This is hardly a recent phenomenon. As Sunset Boulevard and Singing in the Rain …
Incoming: Gringo
An exhilarating mix of dark comedy, white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue, GRINGO joyrides into Mexico, where mild-mannered businessman Harold Soyinka finds himself at the mercy of his cutthroat bosses Richard and Elaine, local drug lords and a morally conflicted black-ops mercenary. Crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal, Harold battles to survive his …