FIlm Review
Film Review: Timbuktu
Sometimes the simplest films are the most powerful. Whilst Timbuktu’s nomination for an Academy Award may have much to do with its subject matter, there’s no denying that it’s beautifully made, subtly disquieting and thought provoking. Abderrahmane Sissako’s film is in no way basic, assuredly side-stepping any notion of melodrama are an overly-complex plot. Opting …
Film Review: The New Girlfriend
‘Based on a story by Ruth Rendell’, is not something you expect to read at the beginning of a François Ozon film. I’ve not read the book, but given Rendell’s normal output I’m guessing it’s very loosely based on a theme which Ozon himself has toyed with previously. The New Girlfriend focusses on the fact …
Film Review: Spring
In terms of a horror film, Spring is a real anomaly. There’s more chemistry between Nadia Hilker and Lou Taylor Pucci, the two leads, than you see in the majority of romantic dramas. In actuality, it’s more of a indie drama than a horror movie. The level of characterisation and details is impressive for any …
Film Review: Tokyo Tribe
Shion Sono is not what you’d call an unadventurous director. Suicide Club, Noriko’s Dinner Table and Strange Circus built him a cult following with horror aficionados. He then stunned the world with Love Exposure, a film which is as mind-boggling as it is long. He’s one of the most innovative Japanese film makers and, coming …
Film Review: The Supreme Price
Nigeria is a huge country. Populated by over 160 million people and boasting a landmass which is significantly bigger than Mainland Europe, the most visited country in Western Africa is a chaotic and diverse nation. Comprising almost 400 different ethnic groups, over 500 languages, not to mention a split between Islam and Christianity and native …
Film Review: Clouds of Sils Maria
There’s been quite a few “backstage” films of late. The most famous example is Birdman, but other notable entries include Map To The Stars and Venus in Furs. Olivier Assayas is a very descriptive director, but in Clouds of Sils Maria he wraps the plot and intrigue in many layers of intertwining knots, merging fantasy …
Film Review: A Fuller Life
n many ways, screenwriter and filmmaker Samuel Fuller was a maverick of American cinema. He staunchly avoided the Studio system and mainstream Hollywood, making films which were controversial and uncompromising. Working on a shoestring budget is never easy, but Fuller has mapped out a career which includes Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss, Pick-up on South …
Film Review: The Tribe
Cinema is a medium where expression and visceral action can often speak louder than words. In Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s debut film, The Tribe, the Ukrainian director takes this to a new level. The Tribe contains no verbal dialogue, no subtitles, no voiceover and no soundtrack. All the conversations take place in sign language, set to a …
Film Review: Still
Say what you want about British independent films and TV, we’ve got some great actors, directors and technical professionals. Still, could have easily sunk into sub-par soap opera, but instead great direction and some brilliant acting performances make it unusual, yet compelling viewing. The clever trick writer and director Simon Blake manages to pull off …
Film Review – Phoenix
The main events of World War II have been extensively documented, but unless you were there at the time it’s hard to understate the fallout following the end of the war, which carried on for decades. Much of the finger-pointing and animosity centred around collaboration. The lowest moment in human history, The Holocaust, claimed the …