Film
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Flint
Once known for its automobile production, Flint, Michigan is now synonymous with public health issues, specifically the water crisis the city has been suffering since 2014. It’s a story which has hit news channels across the world. The scandal has also been covered extensively on TV and in film; most notably by Michael Moore in …
Film Review: The Ground Beneath My Feet
Almost everyone will experience mental health issues at some stage in their lives, either directly or through someone they love. It’s a disease which is highly personal in the way it manifests and one which is extremely difficult to defeat. Representations of these conditions on the big screen have generally been less than impressive. However, …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Us Kids
In 2019 there were more mass shootings in America than days. Let that just sink in for a moment. These murders take place in a variety of locations, but all too frequently happen in schools. Many of these massacres are now notorious. The list seems endless, but the most well-known are Sandy Hook, Columbine, University …
Film Review: This is Not a Movie
Robert Fisk is the embodiment of a certain generation of foreign correspondent. Privately educated, he started out reporting on The Troubles in Northern Ireland before eventually becoming the Middle East Correspondent for the Times in 1987. Always outspoken and fiercely committed, he has lived in Beirut ever since. When one of his stories was pulled, …
Film Review: The Australian Dream
It’s incredibly difficult to grasp what racism looks like in Australia if you’re not from a similar country where an indigenous population has been subdued, subordinated and slaughtered by a Colonial invader. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must feel like to grow up in a country where many still consider you to …
Blu-Ray Review: The Vanishing (Spoorloos)
I think it’s fair to say, especially in relation to its larger European neighbours, Holland hasn’t exactly set the world alight when it comes to cinema. Indeed, outside of Paul Verhoeven’s work (Soldier of Orange, Turkish Delight, Black Book etc), films from The Netherlands have generally had only a limited impact on the wider world. …
Blu-ray Review: After Midnight
Multiplexes are dominated by big-budget studio horror films which, as often as not, are uninspired and insipid franchises. However, if you look hard enough it’s possible to find low-budget independent genre movies which are trying something a bit different. That was the case when Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella arrived on the scene with an …
Film Review: Outside the City
When Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 it dealt a blow to abbeys, priories and friaries from which they never truly recovered. It also marked one of the greatest changes in land ownership in English history. Although they returned during the 18th century, their numbers never really recovered. Today, whilst there …
See: The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps
The Chills are one of New Zealand’s finest exports – born out of the inimitable Flying Nun Records era in the eighties and from a coterie of bands coming out of the small town of Dunedin. And like many antipodean bands that arose at that time, they shone so very brightly but burned out so …
Film Review: Uncut Gems
The hype surrounding Uncut Gems has been ridiculous, but does it live up to it? In a word, yes. As was the case in Funny People (Judd Apatow, 2009) and The Meyerowitz Stories (Noah Baumbach, 2017), Adam Sandler is deeply impressive in a dramatic role that makes one wonder why he doesn’t just retire from …