FIlm Review
Film Review: Zarafa
After (too many) years of overblown CGI, there thankfully seems to be growing trend towards hand-drawn animation. Of recent note are Ghibli’s beautiful The Tale of Princess Kaguya and Tomm Moore’s breathtaking Song of the Sea, which are two of the best films released this year. There’s a magic of human creation which simply cannot …
Film Review: By Our Selves
John Clare was a romantic-era nature poet and compulsive wanderer who wrote prolifically over a period of 70 years. His work was fuelled by a sense of looming madness which followed him throughout his life. Whilst many poets of the early 19th Century were considered gentlemen and dined at the highest tables, Clare came from …
Film Review: 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets
On Friday 23 November 2012 Michael Dunn shot 10 bullets into a car parked next to his at a gas station in Florida. He claimed it was in self-defence as he feared for his life and that one of the four occupants, Jordan Davies, was threatening him and had a gun. Davies died from his …
Film Review: Convenience
The British Film Industry has historically had a strong reputation when it comes to comedy. From the Ealing Comedies to Monty Python, Richard Curtis and Edgar Wright, we’re internationally renowned for making people laugh. This is bolstered by the TV work of Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan and Stephen Fry. Unfortunately, this country also …
Film Review: Dressed As A Girl
Described as “The frockumentary of the year”, you could be forgiven for assuming that there’s very little depth to Colin Rothbart’s film Dressed As A Girl. Whilst there’s plenty of lipstick and mascara on show, the make-up only goes to cover-up the much more serious issues hiding underneath. Rothbart spent six years filming Dressed As …
Film Review: Palio
Animal welfare is not always synonymous with some European countries. Whilst Spain may take the biscuit with bullfighting, horse racing isn’t far behind on the list of animal rights activists. National Hunt Racing (aka, hurdles/steeplechasing) has repeatedly come under scrutiny, most notably The Grand National, but it has nothing on the utter craziness and sheer …
Film Review: Horse Money
A Pedro Costa film is not a fun night out at the cinema with a bucket of popcorn as big as your face – you’d probably choke. He makes films which challenge the audience. They’re definitely not suited for casual viewing, you need to surrender yourself to them. His work is often framed inside a …
Film Review: The Messenger
Statistically, the British Film Industry appears to be in rude health. Over 150 films were made in the last year and the amount of investment continues to rise. In reality, this often means little in terms of quality of output or scale of theatrical release. As this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival attested, it’s often …
Film Review: Tangerines
Most wars are bloody stupid, they really are. Young men and women fighting over land based on some random moment in history when it ‘belonged’ to this country or that country. Those fighting are often either doing so just for money or through blind loyalty fostered by power-hungry leaders; soldiers from both sides are mainly …
Film Review: Legend
“London in the 1960’s, everyone had a story about the Krays…” This first line of Legend harks back to Goodfellas’ infamous opener: “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster”; And for good reason, as we are swept into a criminal underworld, in this case the East end, and the lives …