FIlm Review
Blu-Ray Review: All the Money in the World
No film is more representative of the effect of the #metoo movement and the Hollywood sexual abuse scandal than Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World. Kevin Spacey was originally cast as Jean-Paul Getty. However, after filming had wrapped, allegation of sexual assault and harassment emerged against the actor. The film was due to …
Film Review: The Cured
In the old days zombies basically shuffled about slowly and semi-uselessly. Unless you were careless enough to get yourself trapped in a confined space, you’d probably be alright. Somewhere in the 1980s (many argue Return of the Living Dead) they began to run. Since then, there have been so many different takes on the sub-genre …
Film Review: Revenge
Whilst there has always been a male monopoly within cinema, horror film-making has particularly been skewed towards the wants of the lesser sex. If you were an actress in genre cinema, it was likely that you looked like/were a model and wore clothes sparingly, if at all. You’d likely die, but not before a disturbingly …
Blu-Ray Review: Intimate Lighting
The death of Miloš Forman this year marked the passing of one of Czech cinema’s greats. He was an integral part of the Czech New Wave. His countryman Ivan Passer worked closely with him on several films, most notably on The Fireman’s Ball and A Blonde in Love. Passer went on to make films in …
Film Review: Skid Row Marathon
One of the best ways to judge a society is not by looking at how it treats law-abiding citizens but through appraising its relationship with the perpetrators of crime. One mistake, one moment of madness, can have an almost irreparable effect on someone’s life, but their life should not be solely defined by one mistake. …
Film Review: New Town Utopia
London is overflowing and the cost of living is increasing at a frightening rate. Home ownership is beyond most and young people are finding that they’re paying a substantial proportion of their wages just to live somewhere habitable. There is virtually no social housing being built, and despite contractual stipulations affordable housing is something developers …
EEFF Review: Charismata
When it comes to crime drama, modern British TV series often offer a no-nonsense approach to investigating murders. In many way, that’s part of their charm. Real people trying to unmask real criminals. Life isn’t always that straightforward, however. Neither is the human brain. It’s liable to play tricks on us. With the right stimulus, …
Film Review: The Deminer
The Middle East is a mess. One largely created or exacerbated by Western influences and interventions. In countries like Iraq, where actions have often been driven by political motives, good and bad, colonial powers are very good at disappearing leaving those remaining to clear up the mess of deal with the chaos left in our …
Film Review: The Old Dark House
Whilst he railed against being typecast as a horror director, James Whale is unquestionable one of the most important pioneers of genre cinema. He virtually (re)invented Gothic Horror and had a huge influence on directors in the 1960s and ‘70s. Today, his depiction of Mary Shelley’s macabre creation in the 1931 film Frankenstein is the …
EEFF Review: Blue My Mind
The teenage years are one of the most difficult periods in everyone’s lives. Memories of that period can resemble a horror film which is too traumatising to ever think about, let alone mention. It must be doubly-hard going through it as a girl. Without even contemplating the the myriad changes taking hold of the body, …