Blu-Ray Review: Pieces
Today, Spanish horror cinema is very much on the map. Films such as The Devil’s Backbone, Thesis, Rec, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Orphanage have seeped into mainstream consciousness. However, back when Juan Piquer Simon’s Pieces was released in 1982, Spain was a relative unknown in genre cinema. Which was a shame, as there were some …
Film Review: The Eyes of My Mother
Nurture versus nature is a ripe topic for plunder in genre cinema. Are some people born evil or are they just a product of the world around them? In Nicolas Pesce’s feature debut, The Eyes of My Mother, we are faced with the central protagonist of Francisca (beautifully played by Kika Magalhaes). As we view …
Incoming: Aquarius
Clara is a music critic retired and lives in “Aquarius” palace, overlooking the splendid promenade of Recife. A real estate company has already purchased all the apartments of the building to make it a luxury condominium, but Clara is determined not to surrender his, to which bind many family memories. After the first friendly attempts, …
Blu-ray Review: My 20th Century
As an only child, the idea of connections between siblings is one I can only vaguely comprehend on a theoretical level let alone identical pairs. However, it’s a concept which recurs quite frequently in films; particularly genre cinema. From the young twins in The Shining or The Other, to adult doubles in Dead Ringers, they’ve …
Incoming: Life
Life tells the story of the six-member crew of the International Space Station that is on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history: the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. As the crew begins to conduct research, their methods end up having unintended consequences and the life form …
Film Review: All This Panic
Let’s be honest, I knew nothing about teenage girls when I was a teen, let alone now. The moral panic around their sexualisation, drug use, underage drinking and ‘relentless’ sex seems to all come from a snobbish older generational view. There’s next to no coverage, either in films or on TV, of what teenagers actually …
DVD Review: The Edge of Seventeen
Whilst most of us may wish to be younger, there are very few who’d want to revisit those difficult teenage years. Coming-of-age is a time of uncertainty, confusion, fear, anxiety and excitement. This is heightened in the digital age. Hollywood normally treats teenage drama with a heavy hand and lashings of melodrama. However, the likes …
Incoming: The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z tells the incredible true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilisation that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment who regard indigenous populations as …
Blu-Ray Review: Multiple Maniacs (Criterion Collection)
In a day and age where the term ‘pioneer’ is often loosely thrown around, there are very few, if any, who deserve the accolade more than John Waters. His early films were transgressive, awarding him a cult status and becoming the defining focus of the LGBT community in the 1970s. Multiple Maniacs, his second feature …
Blu-Ray Review: Property is No Longer a Theft
In a short but explosive career, Italian filmmaker Elio Petri made a number of powerful politicised films. He was rewarded with a Palme d’or, Grand Prize of the Jury and FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes. Not to mention an Oscar nomination. On his most successful films he teamed up with writer Ugo Pirro. Tackling industrial relations …