FIlm Review
Blu-Ray Review: My Generation
During the 1960s, London was the most happening place in the world to be. The swinging sixties, which was in many ways a reaction to the post-war conservatism of the previous decade, saw the establishment rocked to the core by a wave of new music, film, art and fashion. For the first time working-class youth …
DVD Review: Demon
There’s a very good chance that you’ve never heard of Marcin Wrona’s film Demon. The Polish-Israeli production started touring the festival circuit in the autumn of 2015. It screened at Toronto International Film Festival and then moved on to Gdynia. However, after it appeared at the Polish festival, Wrona committed suicide in his hotel room. …
Blu-Ray Review: A Fantastic Woman
Whilst societies progress at different rates, in Britain at least we’ve come a long way over the last few decades when it comes to lesbian and gay rights. The current climate is by no means perfect and there’s still some way to go to achieve parity, but there seems to at least be, for the …
Film Review: This is Congo
Whilst independence may have come to the continent of Africa, the stain of colonialism still looms large. The psychological damage is the hardest to quantify, yet maybe the factor which has impacted most upon the ability of radically different nations to prosper. Old enmities, fuelled by the divide and rule tactics of European nations, have …
Blu-Ray Review: eXistenZ
Slowly but surely, virtual reality is beginning to seep into wider society, schools and work places. As the price of a headset continues to fall and the technology employed in the software advances at pace, it’s only a matter of time until VR becomes a normal part of our everyday lives. As with many things, …
Blu-Ray Review: The Grifters
As well as being the director behind such classic films as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and Casino, Martin Scorsese has spent his life championing and promoting film in myriad ways. He’s done much to further films from around the world and worked hard campaigning for their preservation. He continues to act in …
Film Review: Filmworker
When discussing the merits of any film, the actors and director almost always take centre stage. The cinematographer and composer might get a mention, and occasionally the editor, but this is the exception rather than the rule. As anyone who has ever sat waiting for the post-credit scene(s) on a Marvel film will attest, there …
Film Review: A Cambodian Spring
Cambodia isn’t a country which attracts much external press or media attention. Indeed, most people would be hard pushed to associate the Southeast Asia nation with anything other than the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields, unless they’ve visited Angkor Wat on a gap year. At the end of the last century, one of the …
Blu-Ray Review: Breakheart Pass
The 1960s were boom time for Charles Bronson. With roles in a string of hits including The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape and The Sandpiper, his star was definitely in the ascendancy. After a brief sojourn in European cinema he returned to the States. By then in his 50s, Bronson continued to …
Blu-Ray Review: The Bloodthirsty Trilogy
Folklore and legend play a huge role in the evolution of Japanese horror films. Unlike the genre’s development in the Western world, Japanese filmmakers have been largely concerned with psychological and supernatural terror. Ghost stories drove literature, theatre and film. Whilst this century has seen the likes of Ringu, Dark Water and The Grudge make …