Film
Film Review: My Imaginary Country
Like much of South America, Chile has had a difficult, complicated and rather dark history. It’s also a rich and vibrant country. Evidence of settlements date back over 10,000 years, but despite resisting the Incas the Spanish were just too much for the indigenous peoples. The 19th century saw independence from colonial rule, leading to …
Fantastic Fest Review: A Wounded Fawn
You may never have heard of The Erinyes, but it’s likely that you know them by another name – The Furies. While Greek mythology is full of disturbing and alarming characters, few are more compelling than the ‘three’. These vengeful female deities have sworn an oath to exact punishment on men who abuse their power …
Blu-Ray Review: A Fugitive from the Past
The golden age of Japanese cinema was during the 1950s. Although the post-occupation period was difficult for ordinary people, it proved to be a successful time for filmmakers. The next decade saw a new wave when auteurs began to give their films a more distinctive national identity. Tomu Uchida started his career in the 1920s …
Fantastic Fest Review: Missing
Everyone deals with grief in their own way. Some people disappear into their own heads, withdrawing from life and shutting everyone out. Others look for ways to deaden the pain, whether that’s through alcohol, drug abuse or something else. The loss of a loved one can drive a wedge between a family, which makes sitting …
Film Review: When the Screaming Starts
There was a point in time when you couldn’t go on Netflix for tripping over a true crime series or film. Much of the media landscape was the same, from podcasts like Serial to popular culture phenomena such as Tiger King, they dominated the cultural zeitgeist. It’s a wave which saw documentaries getting far more …
Film Review: Control
There are few things more frightening than being trapped. To have your freedom taken away. Confined and constrained. We are, after all, animals. Our natural habitat is roaming free. Especially when we have no idea what is happening. It makes an intriguing premise for a filmmaker to tackle. Especially when the stakes are life and …
Blu-Ray Review – Police Story 3: Supercop
Before becoming the action-comedy sidekick of choice in Hollywood, Jackie Chan was arguably the leading light in Hong Kong martial arts cinema. Following Bruce Lee’s tragic death, producers tried to cast him in the same ilk, but it never really stuck. Instead, the ace choreographer almost singlehandedly created ‘comedic kung-fu’. Melding his ingenious stunt work …
Film Review: It Is in Us All
Since his breakthrough role playing opposite Florence Pugh in William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth, Cosmo Jarvis has rapidly become one of the more familiar leading men in British independent cinema. He’s subsequently gone on to impress in Calm with Horses, Nocturnal and Farming, amongst others. Netflix subscribers may have also seen him playing Wentworth in Persuasion. …
Film Review: In Front of Your Face
While most people have probably never heard of him, Hong Sang-soo will be a familiar name to cinephiles across the world. For decades now, the Korean filmmaker has been one of the darlings of the festival circuit, winning numerous awards along the way. Including the Golden and Silver Bears at Berlin, Un Certain Regard at …
Film Review: The Ants and The Grasshopper
When we talk about climate change or global warming in the Western world, we almost always frame the debate in terms of our own futures. Very little attention is played to the impact our actions are having on those in poorer area of the world right now. Much of Africa, in particular, is already bearing …