FIlm Review
Film Review: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Cinema can be many things. It can be funny, crass, scary, moving, unpleasant and much, much more. Occasionally, a film arrives which is something more deep and profound, not only instigating debate and spawning a cottage industry in speculation, but also blurring the lines between cinema and art. Space has fascinated humans for centuries (if …
DVD Review: Goodbye to Language
Jean-Luc Godard has never been one to play by the rules. Even at the august age of 83, his unflinching desire to bury down into the very fabric of cinema and philosophy never stutters. He’s never been a director to rest on his laurels and revels in taking liberties with the medium of film. Off …
Film Review: Stations of the Cross
Growing up is tough. There have been many cinematic representations of this difficult period in a young person’s life. Some of the highlights included Stand By Me, The Breakfast Club, Show Me Love, The Virgin Suicides and 400 Blows. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood turned out to be to be one of the best films of 2014. …
Film Review: Winter Sleep
Nuri Bilge Ceylan is one of the best directors working in cinema today. Ceylan seems to improve with almost every film and there’s no one who makes more visually arresting and powerful fables. Since his debut Kasaba, every film he’s made has notched-up a succession of awards. The Turkish director’s last two films (Once Upon …
Film Review: The Imitation Game
Some stories will always prove troublesome to translate to the big screen. Alan Turing’s tale is as strange as it is , and despite being one of the most important people in this nation’s history, his life was shrouded in mystery. Hi role during the war was only revealed decades after his death. A posthumous …
Film Review: Nightcrawler
Patrick Bateman is probably the most famous sociopath to grace the big screen. Masterfully played by Christian Bale, his total contempt, hatred or disregard for other people was only matched by his ultra self-confidence and oily charm. Hannibal Lecter is partial to people, but only if they’re served with some fava beans and a big Amarone. Lou Bloom, …
Film Review: Citizenfour
Unless you’ve been living on a remote mountaintop for the last few years, the names Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Wikileaks and Edward Snowden will be very familiar to you. There’s always been conspiracy theories about the power and influence of secret government organisations, shadowy groups and nameless individuals but the publication of documents charting the …
Film Review: Northern Soul
Being a Northerner, I’ve heard many tales about Northern Soul over the years. I’ve known many people who were really into that scene and its garnered almost a cult status as the years have gone by. There seems to be a resurgence of the scene over the last couple of years around the North of …
Film Review – Björk: Biophilia Live
Björk is no stranger to film. She most notably starred in Lars Von Trier’s musical Dancer in the Dark but also in Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9. There have also been numerous concert films throughout her career, not to mention recently teamed up with David Attenborough for the TV documentary When Björk Met Attenborough. The …
Film Review: ’71
There have been many films about “The Troubles” over the years. Some of the most famous are In the Name of the Father, Hunger, Bloody Sunday and The Crying Game. Whilst ’71 is set in Belfast in 1971 (unsurprisingly), it’s more of a straight thriller/action movie than one which has much to say about the …