FIlm Review
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: The Russian Woodpecker
On 26th April 1986, after a fault with one of the reactors, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian SSR exploded spewing radioactive particles into the atmosphere. It remains the largest nuclear disaster in history, in terms of casualties. The plant was under the direct control of the central authorities in the Soviet Union, …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Planetary
Climate change is a topic which seems to slip in and out of the news. Whilst idiotic mutterings abound about the pace and cause of global warming, Planetary puts our focus on protecting this breathtaking and awe-inspiring planet we inhabit. The Earth is our most precious asset, and director Guy Reid’s documentary is a timely …
DVD Review: The Green Prince
There are many different angles of approach to storytelling in a documentary. Some directors opt for style over substance, whilst others indulge in a one-sided polemic. In The Green Prince, director Nadav Schirman made the decision to recount events from two different perspectives. Based on Mosab Hassan Yousef’s autobiography, this choice makes it feel more …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Cartel Land
The War on Drugs is not a conflict that either America or Mexico are winning. Mexican drug cartels control 90% of cocaine which enters the US market. Whilst the Mexican government concentrates its efforts on dismantling these cartels, on the other side of the border the focus is on stopping the trafficking itself. Both sides …
Incoming: London Road
After two sell-out runs at the National Theatre, the feature film adaptation of London Road reunites the award-winning team, directed by Rufus Norris. London Road is out in cinemas on Friday.
Film Review: Queen and Country
In 1987 John Boorman directed Hope and Glory. It was a semi-autobiographical account of a young boy growing up in London during The Blitz. It earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Film and Best Director. 27 years later he returns with the sequel, Queen and Country, which takes the story forward 9 years to …
Film Review: Black Coal, Thin Ice
Offbeat is a word regularly used in relation to Asian cinema, and there’s often much lost in translation. Black Coal, Thin Ice, the new film by Diao Yinan, the director of Night Train and Uniform, eschews the current fad for overly stylish noir in favour of realism. Whilst the winner of the Golden Bear at …
Film Review: Shooting For Socrates
We love to back the underdog, especially when it comes to sport. Football has many tales of heroism, from FA Cup giant killings to the meteoric rise of the likes of Castel di Sangro. The World Cup is a particularly fertile ground for shocks, from Cameroon to South Korea there are endless examples of David …
Film Review: Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
I’m showing my age here, but I miss video. The humble VHS may have been as compact as a brick, have a picture which often resembled the end of the world (any female nudity was often accompanied by the kind of major crumpling which only repeated rewind, pause and playing causes) and truly classy covers, …
Film Review: Four Corners
South Africa’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at last year’s Academy Awards was Ian Gabriel’s Four Corners. The Rainbow Nation is not traditionally a country particularly noted for its cinema, but post-Apartheid cinema has gradually been picking-up speed. The most notable success story is that of Neill Blomkamp, but there have been some lesser …