DVD Review: Good Kill
Possibly the most controversial aspect of modern warfare is the use of combat drones. Unsurprisingly, it’s predominately America deploying this technology in ‘war zones’ and to terminate enemies in friendly countries (often without that government’s knowledge or permission). There have been a spate of ‘drone films’ over the last couple of years, with filmakers focussing …
Cruel Story of Youth (Masters of Cinema)
Post-War Japan was very turbulent in many ways. The Rising Sun has always been a very conservative and conformist country throughout modern history. The only time the consensus has been rattled was in this period from 1950 until the late ’60s. A youthful population were growing up in a society still struggling with the humiliation …
Incoming: Trainwreck
Since she was a little girl, it’s been drilled into Amy’s (Schumer) head by her rascal of a dad (Colin Quinn) that monogamy isn’t realistic. Now a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo—enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment—but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut. …
Incoming: Mistress America
In Mistress America, Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) – a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued …
Film Review: The Confessions of Thomas Quick
Sometimes it’s impossible to believe a story or know who’s actually telling the truth. A story can be so unbelievable or unfeasible that every narrator seems unreliable and ‘the facts’ just don’t sit right. This is the main flaw in Brian Hill’s new film, The Confessions of Thomas Quick. Whilst it’s clearly an important story …
Film Review: Theeb
As a child I used to love adventure films. I grew up with old videos of Laurence of Arabia and The Desert Song along with Romancing The Stone, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Goonies on TV. As an adult, I’m still a sucker for the genre, whether it be great films like The …
Incoming: Death of a Gentleman
Death of a Gentleman is a snapshot of Test cricket through the Australia vs India Test series in 2011-12. Is Test cricket dying? Does anybody care? How can a sport be run so badly and hope to survive? Sam Collins and Jarrod Kimber ask these questions and more of cricket’s biggest names and the fans …
Film Season Preview: Two Films by Josephine Decker
Originality is a rare commodity in modern cinema. Performance artist and filmmaker Josephine Decker is one of the most original directors of our generation. This month, the Independent Cinema Office (ICO) bring the New Yorker’s two feature films to cinemas across the UK. Decker will also be holding Q&As in person. The films themselves take …
DVD Review: She’s Funny That Way
Peter Bogdanovich is a very singular kind of film director. There’s a thread of nostalgia running through all his work, but not in the sense of pastiche. The American director clearly has a love of classic cinema and his filmography feels like a homage to The Golden Age. In She’s Funny That Way, his first …
Film Review: The Diary of a Teenage Girl
In this social media age keeping a diary may be a rare occurrence, but back before the emergence of the internet and fruit-based products it served as an invaluable antidote to loneliness. In Marielle Heller’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Minnie writes and records her anxieties, worrying about her burgeoning sexuality and transition from …