LFF Review: Juju Stories
We humans seem to be a really superstitious species. As civilisations have evolved and progressed these ‘old wives’ tales’ have gradually died out. Replaced by advances in science and medicine. However, in many rural areas traditions have survived. These are often transported to towns and cities through migration. This is the case in West Africa, …
LFF Review: The Gravedigger’s Wife
Djibouti is the smallest nation in mainland Africa. Despite recent economic growth, largely driven by its strategic location on the Red Sea and a large service sector, almost half the population live in extreme poverty. Especially in rural areas. Roughly 600,000 people reside in Djibouti City, the capital. With a high unemployment rate and low …
Blu-ray Review: 9 Souls
There’s nothing that captures the imagination of the viewing public quite like a prison break drama. Some of the most popular films of all time have been based around this central premise. The likes of The Great Escape, The Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock are all great examples of what the sub-genre …
LFF Review: The Neutral Ground
The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on 25 May 2020 was the catalyst for Black Lives Matter protests which erupted across the United States and beyond. While this triggered a debate about memorials to our colonial past in Britain, there were already moves to remove Confederate statues from Southern towns and …
Blu-ray Review: Celia
While the Cold War pitted the United States of America against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, its influence spread to every corner of the world. One of the more unlikely battlegrounds was Australia. The Communist Party of Australia was formed in the 1920s, reached their political peak during World War II, were banned in …
LFF Review: Shepherd
Although this applies to some of us more than others, as humans we are social animals. We yearn for the company of others, to forge friendships and make our own families. This is how early man survived in harsh and dangerous landscapes. However, when something terrible happens we can often retreat and look inwards for …
LFF Review: The Sea Ahead
Lebanon is a country in an existential crisis. Today, the currency has all but collapsed and inflation spirals out of control. While fuel shortages have made normal life all but impossible. The most talented young people have left the country and civil unrest increases inexorably. The majority of the population have fallen into poverty. Beirut …
Blu-Ray Review: The Sabata Trilogy
The ‘Wild West’ needs its heroes but they can come in some of the strangest guises. Especially in Spaghetti Westerns, where genre tropes and cliches are treated with disdain and often inverted. This irreverent approach has created some of the most iconic films and characters within the wider genre. While the figure of Clint Eastwood …
Film Review: The Lodger
The loss of a loved one, especially a life partner, can affect people in strange and unusual ways. We can shrink into ourselves and away from the outside world, lost in our grief and memories. Or we can approach the future head-on, determined to move on with our lives whilst never forgetting the past. There …
Film Review – The Outsiders: The Complete Novel
Francis Ford Coppola was one of the best American directors of his generation, albeit his later work is not on a par. He formed part of the ‘New Hollywood’ movement of the 1960s and 1970s along with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and Brian De Palma. He’s most famous for making …