FIlm Review
Film Review: Mystify
Michael Hutchence is the kind of pop star/rock God that the musically industry simply doesn’t tolerate today. In INXS, he fronted one of Australia’s most popular bands. During the ‘80s and ‘90s they had hit after hit. Their albums, Listen Like Thieves, Kick and X, sold millions whilst the likes of Disappear, Suicide Blonde, Need …
Film Review: What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?
Race relations in the United States of America are probably at their lowest levels since the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. 2017 was a particularly turbulent year, with murders of young black men sending shockwaves around the country. Whilst this may have only had a limited impact in many places, there was …
LFF Review: The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao
Whilst siblings are often close, there’s something rather unusual about the bonds between sisters. A connection which, despite being invisible, is incredibly hard to break. An understanding and intimacy which is difficult to describe. This complex relationship has been captured on celluloid in the likes of Ginger Snaps, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Virgin Suicides …
LFF Review: So Long, My Son
When the Communist Party decided to relax the one-child policy in 2013, and subsequently changed the national family planning to two children per couple, it marked the end of a controversial and disquieting era in China’s history. Whilst adherence to the law sometimes depended on where you lived and your economic position, it has caused …
LFF Review: Burning Cane
There has been a reckoning over the last few years and finally we’re beginning to see black voices being given the opportunity to make the films they want to make. One such film-maker is Phillip Youmans. At the age of nineteen, the New Orleans born, New York resident made Burning Cane. Despite still being in …
LFF Review: Adoration
We all remember our first love. Even though it probably ended in tears, lies, betrayals and recriminations in the playground. However, as we go through life those bad memories seem to fade into the abyss, leaving just the warm and reassuring ones behind. It’s easy to get carried away as our hormones run rampant. To …
Film Review: The Hummingbird Project
With The Hummingbird Project, Canadian writer-director Kim Nguyen has created possibly the first stock market fraud thriller to be set predominantly in a rural environment. Nguyen, who was previously nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for War Witch, assembles a relatively prestigious cast for a low-budget film of this nature, including Jesse Eisenberg, …
LFF Review: Martin Eden
Jack London was one of the most important and influential American novelists of his generation. His writings embodied the thirst for adventure which epitomised the era but also were a product of his radical political opinions. Much of his work reflected his socialist leanings, most notably in The Iron Heel and Martin Eden. The latter …
LFF Review: The Whistlers
The Romanian new wave is arguably the most interesting current movement in modern cinema. Of those directors working under this banner, Corneliu Porumboiu is possibly the most interesting. With award-winning films such as 12:08 East of Bucharest and The Treasure, he has wowed audiences on the festival circuit. His new film, The Whistlers, is his …
LFF Review: Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
Whilst, to the outside world, the movie business might seem full of glitz and glamour, there’s a lot of sweat and tears which go into making a film. Much of which could hardly be seen as an exciting or luxurious career. There’s a ludicrous amount of money floating around the film industry but it’s only …