Munro Films
Film Review – Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.
Rising from the ashes of Deep Wound, a high school hardcore punk band from western Massachusetts, J Mascis and Lou Barlow formed Dinosaur Jr. in 1984. They were joined by Murph on drums and influenced by a shared love of slower heavy music. After releasing a couple of albums, they began to gain momentum in …
Film Review – Escher: Journey Into Infinity
You might not know the name Maurits Cornelis Escher (or M.C. Escher to you and I) but I can almost guarantee that you’ve seen his work somewhere. Much to his great chagrin, probably not where it deserves to be. Indeed, his art and designs have become so ingrained in popular culture that they’ve almost ubiquitous. …
Film Review: Voodoo Apocalypse
Whilst they might have been the ‘toilet circuit’ of US cinemas, grindhouse theatres have fulfilled a vital function since the early 20th century. Although their heyday was unquestionably in the 1970s, the market for these kinds of low-budget, trashy, ultra-violent and sexually explicit films was swallowed up over the next decade by the popularity of …
Film Review: Max Winslow and the House of Secrets
When it comes to making movies aimed at teenagers, Hollywood doesn’t have the greatest track record. The huge surge in popularity of young adult fiction this century has spawned numerous franchises and successes. However, for every Hunger Games or Love, Simon there are countless Maze Runners or Divergents. Book adaptations are an increasingly dangerous game …
Film Review: Away
Whilst the world of animation can sometimes feel like it’s dominated by a mix of Disney/Pixar et al and a number of Asian studios, there is some fine work coming out of Europe. Most notably from Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon (Song of the Sea/The Breadwinner), UK’s Aardman Animations (Early Man/Arthur Christmas) and a number of French …
Film Review: Eaten by Lions
Family plays an important role in most peoples lives. Love them or hate them, your nearest and dearest are always there. Until they’re not. And then their absence can be keenly felt. Or you might have never known your family or wish you hadn’t. Death of a close relative, and the subsequent grief and loss, …
Film Review – Scotch: The Golden Dram
I’m the first to admit that I’m not a fan of whisky. My first encounter involved half a bottle of Bell’s and I’m never really recovered. I will say, like the single malts readily available on the market today, my antipathy has mellowed over the years. My last dram was at the highest point on …
Film Review: Trophy
There are more predators in South Africa now than one hundred years ago. This is the contradiction at the heart of Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz’s new film Trophy. Like most right-minded people, I believe trophy hunting to be absolutely abhorrent. The thought of rich North Americans flying out to Africa so they murder a …
Film Review: The Fencer
Most of our awareness of history doesn’t tend to stretch further than events which directly impacted on our own country. Whilst I consider myself relatively knowledgeable, my grasp of wartime history within the Soviet Union is very basic. I’m aware the Baltic states hate Russia, but only in general terms such as deportations, annexation and …
Film Review: Gray Matters
I love old buildings. I love history and I love beauty. I’ve never really ‘got’ modern architecture and design though. So when it comes to the subject I know very little. I’d never even heard of Eileen Gray, let alone being aware of her work. By the time I finished watching Marco Orsini’s Gray Matters, …