FIlm Review
Film Review: Kombinat
It can be hard to comprehend just how vast Russia is. Even after the dissolution of the old Soviet Union, it remains by far and away the biggest country in the world. Spanning two continents, it’s home to a rich culturally varied and ethnically diverse populous. However, whilst the iron curtain may have fallen decades …
Film Review: Son
The bond between mother and child is unique and begins in the womb. This closeness continues after birth, and whilst this physical and emotional connection gradually wanes over time, it’s often the strongest attachment we’re ever likely to have. The maternal relationship with a son is distinct in its own way and boys are often …
Film Review: Into the Darkness
There’s nothing us Europeans seem to like more than a jolly good war story starring a handsome, intelligent and brave nationalist hero. Indeed, if you did the maths and counted everyone who claimed to have been a partisan or resistance fighter, it’s surprising that the Nazis weren’t simply crushed by the sheer weight of numbers. …
Film Review: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché
Marianne Joan Elliott-Said was one of the most influential musicians and artists of the late 1970s. After watching an early Sex Pistols gig on Hastings pier, she put an advert in Melody Maker looking for ‘young punx who want to stick it together’. She became Poly Styrene and they became the X-Ray Spex. As a …
Film Review: Sophie Jones
Coming-of-age/teen movies come in all shapes and sizes, but one of the major stumbling blocks filmmakers often run up against is authenticity. It doesn’t help that so many productions fill their cast with twenty-somethings playing characters often ten years their junior. Hollywood, in particular, often falls foul of this trap and prioritises style over substance. …
Film Review: The Dissident
Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist who worked for the Washington post. He fled his homeland into self-imposed exile in 2017 following Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s crackdown on political critics. He continued to hold the government to account from his new home in America, but became increasingly outspoken against the oppression of freedom of …
Film Review: Wrong Turn (2021)
One of the most dispiriting trends within Hollywood is that of the remake, reboot, reimagining, rehash or, as a like to call in, cynical cash-grab. Most of which are pathetic. Whether that’s remaking ‘foreign’ films for those who refuse to read subtitles or rebooting a successful film a few years later in order to extract …
Film Review: Sator
Today’s mainstream studio-driven genre cinema seems to oscillate between tired and derivative franchise fare and big budget slick and stylish overly long ‘elevated horror’. There’s a huge dearth in creativity, imagination or originality, but this is what cinema audiences seem to want. Poke a little deeper and you’ll find a hugely diverse, fresh and vibrant …
Film Review: The Night
Iran has a long and glorious reputation for producing world-class cinema, regardless of the state censorship that has been an impediment for decades. Despite all this, the Middle-Eastern country has made a raft of award-winning films throughout the twenty-first century. We’re starting to see top-quality genre cinema, in Farsi, from the Persian diaspora around the …
Film Review: Slalom
As we have seen on many occasions over the last few decades, the relationship between coach and athlete can readily be abused. Parents give their children into the hands of professionals on the understanding that they will act as responsible adults for the duration of their guardianship. In extreme cases, such as the Larry Nassar …