FIlm Review
Film Review: Beach Rats
Electric, energetic and raw film-making is one of the greatest joys in cinema. It’s also one of the most difficult and complicated feats to achieve. Translating the verve and zest of real life onto the big screen has proved problematic for most directors. One of the greatest triumphs of 2015 was Sean Baker’s Tangerine. It …
Film Review: Lost in Paris
The art of the cinema clown has its roots in the role played by court jesters in Medieval history. In the silent era, they were the biggest names in film. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy wowed and amazed audiences with their wit, physical acting and daring escapades. Whilst the tradition has continued, …
Film Review: Jane
Whilst humans might be the alpha when it comes to the animal kingdom, there’s still so much we don’t know about our fellow mammals. Indeed, we seem Hellbent on wiping many of them out, one way or another. The most famous face of animal conservation is arguably Jane Goodall. The work she’s done on primates …
Film Review: Trophy
There are more predators in South Africa now than one hundred years ago. This is the contradiction at the heart of Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz’s new film Trophy. Like most right-minded people, I believe trophy hunting to be absolutely abhorrent. The thought of rich North Americans flying out to Africa so they murder a …
Film Review: Maynard
When Barrack Obama became the first black American president, he created history. It was the culmination of the hard work and struggle of many through the civil rights movement and beyond. One of the pivotal figures in black political history was Maynard Jackson. When he was elected Mayor of Atlanta in 1973 he became the …
Film Review: Marjorie Prime
1 in 6 people over the age of 60 in the UK have dementia and someone develops the disease every 3 minutes. Last year, 18% of the British population was over 65. This figure is set to rise sharply, largely due to advancements in medical science and the lack of major wars or epidemics. We …
Film Review: The Last Animals
We, as humans, quite often do the most unspeakable things to animals. If we’re not caging them for our own entertainment we’re battery-rearing them to fill our incredibly increasing stomachs. Undoubtedly, in my mind, our worst sin is the destruction of animals for our own vane pleasures. The most heinous crime, shark fins and foie …
Film Review – Ferrari: Race to Immortality
Formula 1 today is a sport of cutting edge science, drivers who are athletes at the peak of fitness and tracks which place safety well above entertainment value. However, this hasn’t always been the case. Indeed, until the tragic death of Aryton Senna, F1 was not a sport for the faint of heart. If you …
Film Review: Thelma
Witchcraft is not merely a concept that began in Salem in the late 17th century. The first mention of it comes in the Old Testament, Indeed, the church played a pivotal role in bringing it into popular culture. The term ‘witch’ being used as a way of disparaging those women who don’t conform or who …
Film Review: 78/52
There are few, if any, more iconic scenes in the history of cinema than the shower scene in Psycho. Then again, Alfred Hitchcock is arguably the greatest creator in the history of motion picture. He was a master of suspense, but a genius at knowing how to immerse audiences into his rich narratives. It took …