Incoming: Gifted
Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old’s mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: City of Ghosts
There have been many documentaries made about the heroism and dedication of war correspondence and conflict photographers. However, with the changing face of news journalism and in the digital age, we’ve started to see the rise of citizen journalism. This first came to the fore during the ‘Arab Spring’, with Tunisians and Egyptians using mobile …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Chasing Coral
With the US pulling out of the Paris accord and the general antipathy of the new Administration to environmental issues, the future of our planet looks bleak. However, with the advancements in new clean technologies, there’s still a ray of hope. In his last film, Chasing Ice, director Jeff Orlowski demonstrated the power of visualisation; …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Unrest
What science and medicine can’t understand, often gets stigmatise. Sufferers of ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, has been the recipients of a whole raft of negative labels. From hysteria to yuppie flu, over the centuries millions have been categorised anywhere between lazy to mad. It’s an illness which disproportionality afflicts women. Which is probably one …
Blu-Ray Review: The Fisher King (Criterion Collection)
As a society, we finally seem to be starting to have long overdue conversations about mental health. However, the stigma still remains. Tragically, this has all come too late for Robin Williams. The actor, who had struggled with mental health for decades, seems to have finally been bested by dementia. In The Fisher King, writer …
Incoming: Whitney ‘Can I Be Me’
From acclaimed director Nick Broomfield comes a new film about one of the greatest singers of all time. Whitney Houston was the epitome of superstar, an “American Princess,” the most awarded female artist ever. Even though Whitney had made millions of dollars, had more consecutive number ones than The Beatles, and became recognized as having …
Film Review: A Good Day to Die
War reporting is as much a vocation as an addiction. Most photographers and journalists seem to become hooked on the adrenaline and struggle to adapt to adapt to normal life. Whilst there’s a powerful drive to get the best shots and document the victims of war, all too often it has an adverse effect on …
Incoming: Nails
After surviving a near-fatal accident, track coach and mother Dana awakens in hospital, paralysed and imprisoned in her own body. Whilst struggling to regain control of her life, Dana is confronted with a vindictive spirit; a terrifying presence called Nails, whom she is convinced exists inside her hospital room. Faced with scepticism from her husband, …
Blu-Ray Review: Bakumatsu Taiyō-Den
Today, there appears to be an increasing desire to rekindle some kind of mythical Golden Age. Nostalgia has risen as a way of combatting the depressing times we’re living in. It’s not a new phenomenon though. Indeed, man has seemingly been striving for something better for centuries. During the 1950s, Japan society despaired at their …
Film Review: Destination Unknown
There have been so many documentaries made about the Holocaust that it would be a fair assumption to make that there’s very little new ground to cover. However, the lowest point in human existence must never be forgotten or downplayed. Each generation has a duty to ensure nothing like it ever happens again. Whilst most …