Film
Film Review: Souad
Like most men, I was simply unaware of the sheer magnitude of the issues faced by girls and women on a daily basis. The #METOO movement has opened many eyes and shown a lot of men up for what they really are, but it’s questionable how much difference it has made to daily lives in …
Film Review: Jazz on a Summer’s Day
To put it kindly, concert films can be hit or miss. More often than not they’re no more than a couple of cameras and just band and crowd shots. Made on the cheap to try and turn a quick profit. However, things are definitely getting better and there have always been examples that bucked this …
EIFF Review: The Justice of Bunny King
There’s a housing crisis in many countries around the world but few can match New Zealand when it comes to the current rate of inflation. Whilst the Kiwis have been widely praised for the handling of the pandemic, during the same period house prices have gone up by well over 20%. Despite cooling measures introduced …
EIFF Review: Skies of Lebanon
There’s never a dull moment in Lebanon. It’s sometimes good, sometimes bad, but life is never boring. With a civilisation dating back to the seafaring Phoenicians, its location in the Levant region bordering the Mediterranean Sea has afforded it a uniquely diverse culture. Beirut has long been a multicultural city, at one time or another …
Film Review: No Man of God
As disturbing as it might well be, serial killers seem to occupy a position of fascination within a sizable minority of the US population. Infamy breeds idolisation, often spawning a succession of magazines, books, TV programmes, films and an innate desire to know ‘why’. Ted Bundy is undoubtedly one of the most famous. He eventually …
Fantasia Review: Midnight
Despite living in a modern connected world, and we’ve seen marked improvements due to rapid technological advances, being deaf or suffering from hearing loss puts you at a disadvantage in most areas of life. Unless you’re impacted by it yourself, it’s almost impossible to understand the difficulties that seemingly simple everyday tasks can pose. However, …
EIFF Review: The Man Who Sold His Skin
Every refuge is an individual, with their own unique history and life experiences. There’s a distinct difference between economic migrants and someone seeking humanitarian protection. The vast majority of asylum seekers don’t want to leave their homeland but are forced out by conflict, torture, persecution etc. Often triggered or sponsored by the countries they try …
Blu-Ray Review: Deep Cover
It takes a special kind of police officer to go undercover. They must have nerves of steel. Be prepared to take extreme measures in order to protect their identity and not baulk when having to do things which go against your moral compass. However, it’s a vital tool in infiltrating criminal organisations, getting the inside …
EIFF Review: Stop-Zemlia
The classroom can be a lonely and miserable place when you’re an outsider, standing on the sidelines while everyone else seems to be having so much fun. School is a happy time for many but lots of teenagers struggle with the challenges transitioning between childhood to adulthood can bring. The number of adolescents dealing with …
Fantasia Review: The Sadness
It’s easy to forget that we, as humans, are just a slightly more intelligent kind of primate. While we might like to think of ourselves as distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom, when it comes down to it we are still animals. With all the needs and instincts of any other mammal. Although …