FIlm Review
Film Review: Love
Gaspar Noé has been working hard to build up a reputation as the enfant terrible of modern film-making. In his previous outings, I Stand Alone, Irreversible and Enter the Void, he set about assaulting the viewer; using the camera as a weapon of violence to beat the audience to a bloody pulp. In his new …
Film Review: Jorn Threlfall’s “Over”
The cork pops and the water of life generously fills many large tumblers played by an enthusiastic professional orchestra. This short whiskey commercial is a fascinating display of musical and cinematic skill long enough to unforgettably entertain the audience and infuse it with energy bursting from the commercial’s London-based director Jorn Threlfall. Threlfall’s enthusiasm is equally …
DVD Review: Closely Observed Trains
If you ask most people in this country to name a famous Czech writer it’s odds on that the response will be either Franz Kafka or Milan Kundera. However, if you were to ask the same question in Prague or Brno you’re likely to receive a different reply. There’s a good chance the response you’ll …
Film Review: Tell Spring Not To Come This Year
Writing this on Remembrance Sunday, there’s no better time to meditate on the human cost and victims of modern warfare. There have been many documentaries and films written about the futility of war, but in the modern arenas of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan (to name but a few) the emphasis is normally about the involvement …
Film Review: Warriors
Most sport seems to be rife with corruption and cricket is no exception. In the superb Death of a Gentleman, Johhny Black, Sam Collins and Jarrod Kimber exposed the hold a few rich men have over the game. Young Maassai Warriors take cricket to their hearts in Barney Douglas’s documentary Warriors, using it as a …
Film Review: Tangerine
With the development and widespread access to new technologies the price of making a film has rapidly dipped. No longer do you need reels of film, a huge crew and a long post-production process. Under house arrest and banned from making films, Jafar Panahi got creative and used an iPhone to make This is Not …
Film Review: M.A. Littler – ‘Lost Coast’
We have just spent an escapist, week long family holiday at Corcreggan Mill in Dunfanaghy, courtesy of the ubiquitous host and raconteur, Brendan Rohan. There are few better antidotes for “civilisation”, Corcreggan is a magical destination, one which Brendan describes in his local walking guide as follows, “The hollow in which Corcreggan Mill is situated is said …
Film Review: The Closer We Get
The best documentaries are often those where the director has a personal connection to the subject matter. This link tends to lead towards a much greater emotional connection between the director and the subject, but also for the audience. This is indeed the case in Karen Guthrie’s The Closer We Get. It’s a very personal …
Celluloid Screams Review: Darling
As Festival Director Rob Nevitt says the secret film is always a bit of a gamble, and Darling left many of the audience bemused or angry. It wasn’t helped by being in the late night slot after a fair amount of alcohol had been consumed during the day. Whilst Mickey Keating’s film wears its influences …
Film Festival Review: Celluloid Screams 2015
As Celluloid Screams comes to an end for another year it’s time to take stock on what has been a great weekend of films. Yet again it seems to have been more popular than every before, and in terms of the fare on offer, another very strong year. Screening The Witch was undoubtedly a coup, …