Incoming: Mortdecai
Juggling some angry Russians, MI5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumoured to contain the code to a lost bank account …
DVD Review: Wish I Was Here
During the last decade, Scrubs became something of a TV phenomenon. The adventures of JD (Zach Braff) and Turk (Donald Faison) had a large following rapt to Channel 4 and their associated channels. It turned into a kind of a post work ritual in the house I was living in at the time. During the …
Incoming: A Most Violent Year
A Most Violent Year is a searing crime drama set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically the most dangerous year in the city’s history. From acclaimed writer/director J.C. Chandor, and starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, this gripping story plays out within a maze of rampant political and industry corruption plaguing …
DVD Review: Greatful Dead
Japanese cinema has brought us many mentally unhinged protagonists over the last few decades. Whilst Nao Ômori became iconic as Ichi The Killer, and director Takashi Miike has continued to be fascinated by sociopaths and psychopaths, it’s often female characters who have a longer-lasting effect. Leading ladies and female killers have been a prevalent since …
Incoming: Ex Machina
From acclaimed writer/director Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) comes Ex Machina, a chilling vision of the not-too-distant future of artificial intelligence. In the mountain retreat of a gifted internet billionaire, a young man takes part in a strange experiment: testing an artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl. But the …
DVD Review: The Circle
The time proceeding and during the Second World War was a particularly difficult period in history to be gay. With the rise of Nazi Germany and historical prejudices, homosexuality was illegal in much of Western Europe. Switzerland seemed like a safe haven in an increasingly dark world, where people could, to a certain extent, be …
Incoming: The Gambler
Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves …
DVD Review: The Search For Weng Weng
In documentary cinema, it’s not unusual to find that life is stranger than fiction. Some stories would be considered unrealistic were they to be the plot of a narrative film. It’s also the territory of those who are strangely compelled by a chance occurrence to spend years of their lives trying to solve a mystery. …
Incoming: La Maison de la Radio
Renowned French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert (Etre et Avoir, Nenette) journeys into the heart of Radio France to discover what usually escapes our gaze: the mysteries, personalities and everyday oddities of a beloved national institution. Filmed over the course of a six-month period, La Maison de la Radio is a witty, tender and revealing exploration into …
Film Season Preview: Eye Openers
The Showroom Cinema has teamed up with Now Then Magazine to bring you Eye Openers. They’ve handpicked a selection of films which will stimulate and instigate debate. There’s an impressive selection comprising some of the best documentaries from last year’s Doc/Fest, great films from East Asia and releases you may have missed from 2013. Entry …