FIlm Review
Film Review: Herself
It’s never a good time to be poor, but years of austerity, COVID-19 and Brexit mean that it hasn’t been this bad for a long time. It has become increasingly difficult to find safe and affordable housing in London, but that’s not uncommon for a European capital. Dublin is almost as bad and has similar …
Film Review – Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint
As students of art history have been taught for generations, the first (truly) abstract art was created by Wassily Kandinsky in 1911. The European painter was generally accepted as being the movement’s first pioneer. Whilst there’s an argument that the form has its roots further back in history, the Russian was almost adamant about his …
Film Review: Birthday Wonderland
If there’s one thing Japanese storytellers don’t lack, it’s imagination. It’s a culture which allows room for a fertile mind to run riot. The result is a myriad of books, comics, television series, films and video games which astound and astonish. Often taking a common social issue and generating a fantasy world around that theme. …
Film Review: Eternal Beauty
Despite being nominated for two Academy Awards, Sally Hawkins is one of Britain’s most under-appreciated actors. Whilst those turns in The Shape of Water and Blue Jasmine were both brilliant, they’re merely a couple of examples of her ability. Which she’s demonstrated repeatedly, not least in Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith for the BBC and …
Film Review: Rebuilding Paradise
In late 2018, rapid wildfires surged through Bute County in northern California, leading to an almost indescribable tragedy. The Camp Fire was the deadliest in the United States for a century and in the history of the state. The town of Paradise was almost completely decimated, with the loss of 85 civilians and displacing 50,000 …
Film Review: Miss Juneteenth
I suspect this year was the first time most people in the UK, especially those of us who are white, had heard of Juneteenth. However, the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests and the idiocy of the American president made the date front page news. Juneteenth is celebrated on 19 June to commemorate the …
Film Review: The Swerve
Everyone has a limit. A limit to how much we can take before it all just becomes too much and we snap. Regardless of whether you have a long or short fuse, there’s a boiling point which once exceeded rapidly leads to a big bang. Much of this takes place internally, so someone can look …
Film Review: Tesla
As the saying goes, history is written by victors. Whilst this is definitely the case when it comes to conflict, conquest and war, it often also applies to other areas of life. This is the case with Niko Tesla. The Austrian émigré became famous in America as an inventor and pioneer during his lifetime but …
Film Review: The Tunnel
Whilst there’s an ongoing debate, which has become particularly pertinent this year, about the importance of seeing a film ‘on the big screen’, there’s a certain genre of films which undoubtedly benefits from that environment. Disaster movies are usually pretty dumb, especially ones made in Hollywood, but there’s an unlikely new player. Norway is building …
Film Review: Nocturnal
Whilst they first gained popularity in Victorian times, the heyday of the British seaside resort came during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, with the rise of foreign packaged holiday and the affordability of air travel, many of these communities are struggling to survive. This feeling of slow rot can provide fertile ground for drama to …