Blu-ray Review: After Midnight
Multiplexes are dominated by big-budget studio horror films which, as often as not, are uninspired and insipid franchises. However, if you look hard enough it’s possible to find low-budget independent genre movies which are trying something a bit different. That was the case when Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella arrived on the scene with an …
Film Review: Outside the City
When Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 it dealt a blow to abbeys, priories and friaries from which they never truly recovered. It also marked one of the greatest changes in land ownership in English history. Although they returned during the 18th century, their numbers never really recovered. Today, whilst there …
Blu-ray review: Eating Raoul
After the prudish post-war years and the stifled ‘50s, America was rocked by the sexual revolution. Which coincided with the free love movement and the emancipation of women from their sexual chains. What reached its height at Woodstock gradually evolved and eventually rotted. By the early 1980s, swingers were more likely to be viewed as …
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 …
Blu-Ray Review: 3 From Hell
One of the most singular and original voices in genre cinema today is Rob Zombie. The former White Zombie co-founder has clearly had a love of classic horror movies for a long time. However, unlike many of his peers, he has a deep grasp and understanding of film history. His first two films, House of …
Blu-ray Review: The Dogs of War
For many, the enduring image they have of Christopher Walken is of his performance as Nick in Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter. Whilst the distinctive actor has been working consistently since 1969, you’ve probably never heard of half the films he’s been in. Often, to be honest, with good cause. Back in 1980, he starred …
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 …