Film
Slamdance Review: A Tiny Ripple of Hope
On the face of it, Chicago should be a thriving multi-cultural city. The population is roughly split between white, black and Hispanic communities. However, look a little closer and it soon becomes apparent that there’s a great gulf between rich and poor. This is typified and often categorised by the number of segregated neighbourhoods there …
Blu-Ray Review: The Ascent
Cinema, like almost every other walk of life, has been a male dominated world since the first ever motion pictures in the late nineteenth century. Whilst it’s true of most areas of the film industry, this disparity has been particularly marked behind the camera. Indeed, until relatively recently, there were few female directors who the …
Blu-ray Review: Columbia Noir #2
Film noir made up a large part of Hollywood filmmaking during the 1940s and 1950s. Whilst these stylish, cynical and melodramatic crime dramas were popular at the time, it was only decades later that many were critically reappraised. This is especially the case with the many ‘B’ movies released during the era. For every big …
NEWS: Ólafur Arnalds announces details of short film, ‘When We Are Born’; watch the trailer
ICELAND’S modern compositional phenomenon Ólafur Arnalds has announced details of a new short film, entitled When We Are Born, which is set to premiere worldwide on March 7th. You can watch the trailer below. Directed by Vincent Moon, who’s worked with Arcade Fire and Bon Iver, When We Are Born is a creative live performance film that tells a …
Blu-ray Review: Breeder
Dating back to the great civilisation of Mesopotamia and documented in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the elixir of life has continually occupied the minds of man. The goal of harnessing natural life and outsmarting Death has driven men to commit some of history’s worst atrocities. This ‘Holy Grail’ has featured widely in popular culture, probably …
Blu-Ray Review: Charade
Audrey Hepburn is one of the most recognisable faces to ever grace the big screen. The elfin Brit is as well known for being a Hollywood heartthrob as she is for her abilities in front of the camera, which is incredibly unfair. While her role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s remains her most …
Film Review: Sator
Today’s mainstream studio-driven genre cinema seems to oscillate between tired and derivative franchise fare and big budget slick and stylish overly long ‘elevated horror’. There’s a huge dearth in creativity, imagination or originality, but this is what cinema audiences seem to want. Poke a little deeper and you’ll find a hugely diverse, fresh and vibrant …
Film Review: The Night
Iran has a long and glorious reputation for producing world-class cinema, regardless of the state censorship that has been an impediment for decades. Despite all this, the Middle-Eastern country has made a raft of award-winning films throughout the twenty-first century. We’re starting to see top-quality genre cinema, in Farsi, from the Persian diaspora around the …
Film Review: Slalom
As we have seen on many occasions over the last few decades, the relationship between coach and athlete can readily be abused. Parents give their children into the hands of professionals on the understanding that they will act as responsible adults for the duration of their guardianship. In extreme cases, such as the Larry Nassar …
IFFR Review: Bebia, à mon seul désir
For a species with a limited shelf life, we spend a bizarre amount of time thinking about death. Since early man we’ve surrounded our exit from the mortal coil with rituals and rites. Indeed, the ancient Egyptians seem to have built many of their pyramids with the intention of using them to fire the dead …