Film
Sundance Review: Tantura
As the saying goes, history is always written by the victors. Especially when it involves war or fighting, where the emphasis is placed on the heroic triumph and little is mentioned about exactly how it was achieved or what happened in the aftermath. War crimes happen more often than you’d think, but they are almost …
Film Review: Dear Rider
While the history of snowboarding can’t be traced back to just one single point, the first model which resembles a modern snowboard first appeared in the 1960s. The original was basically an adaptation of a surfboard which wfor tailored to the pistes. These ‘snurfers’ became available towards the end of the decade but it’s widely …
Film Review: Salt in My Soul
More than 30,000 people are living with cystic fibrosis in the US today. It’s a hereditary disease which is usually diagnosed at birth, causing sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. This leads to lung infections and problems with digesting food. Only roughly half of those born with this condition are …
Film Review: Torn
Countless generations have been drawn by the call of the mountains. To scale the summit of mighty ice-covered peaks and reach for the sky. We’re somehow programmed to want to explore. To go places where no one else has ever been before. It’s a challenge. A test of human endurance. To escape the billions of …
Film Review: The Last Thing Mary Saw
When the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, it would set the religious tone in New England for centuries to come. The Pilgrim Fathers brought their brand of puritanism to the New World and started a movement which would eventually sweep through the region. Building the foundations for the socio-political outlook of colonial life …
Film Review: Memory Box
When it comes down to it, how much do we actually know about our parents? it’s more than likely that we’re aware of the major events in their lives as well as a wealth of random facts. The period which coincides with our existence will obviously be more familiar, but what about before we were …
Blu-ray Review: Shock
While Mario Bava may not get the same recognition as his fellow countryman Dario Argento, his films have been as equally influential on generations of filmmakers who have followed in their wake. The likes of Blood and Black Lace, Black Sabbath, A Bay of Blood and The Girl Who Knew Too Much are all criminally …
Blu-Ray Review: Red Angel
War is a horrible business. Whilst today’s technological advancements mean that conflict is often now a hands-off affair, during the Second World War the biggest resource any country had was its fighting men. It made for bloody and brutal combat, especially in the Pacific Theatre. The Second Sino-Japanese War was particularly violent and barbaric, with …
Film Review: The Free Fall
As human beings, we struggle to deal with or know what to do with trauma. We’re just not hardwired in that way. Our minds look for methods to deal with it. To allow us to function and carry on with our daily lives without being overwhelmed by events from the past. We can compartmentalise this …
Blu-Ray Review: Nightmare Alley
There’s nothing Hollywood likes more than a good remake. Or, maybe, a reboot, reimagining or rehash. Indeed, anything that basically resembles, as much as possible, a film which was previously been successful is precisely what they know will ‘sell’. When the film in question is older and relatively unknown, there is the unintentional benefit of …