FIlm Review
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 …
Film Review: Violette
Simone de Beauvoir is considered to be a household name in the spheres of groundbreaking female authors and feminist philosophy. Violette Leduc is not, but her work did as much to push the boundaries of female sexuality in literature, and open-up opportunities for women within the literary arena. Martin Provost’s biographical drama doesn’t pull any …
Film Review: Ida
When colour replaced black and white as the universal celluloid medium it began a slow demise of a certain artistry of cinematography. There’s something about the use of light and shadow in old films which holds a spell over me. The last few decades have produced some beautiful modern black and white films: The White …
Film Review: The Last Impresario
The cult of celebrity is a fairly new aberration. The name Michael White is unlikely to mean anything to you but at one time he was one of the most famous people in theatre/film circles in London. Director Gracie Otto stumbled across him during a Cannes Festival in the late ’90s. Her curiosity was peaked …
Film Review: Life of Crime
Sometimes when films don’t get wide theatrical releases it can be more to do with the prevailing winds and clustered release schedules than anything to do with the quality on show. Based on Elmore Leonard’s novel The Switch, A Life of Crime is an enjoyable crime caper which has a plot that twists and turns …
Film Review: Night Moves
Kelly Reichardt’s films have always owed a debt to the work of Terrence Malick. Ever since her debut Rivers of Grass, the American director has segued elements that are quintessentially Malick into her films. There’s a studied elegance in Reichardt’s film-making, and in her latest movie Night Moves she pushes herself to another level in …
Film Review – Delicious
Early July saw the UK premiere of Delicious, an independent film that dives into the dark depths of mental illness and its devastating effects on personal relationships. Delicious tells the story of Jacques, a talented French chef who arrives in London in search of employment at an uptown restaurant. The job is the least of …