Signature Entertainment
GFF Review: Some Like It Rare
As people turn away from meat in increasing numbers, let’s not kid ourselves that the alternatives are entirely perfect. Nevertheless, there is no doubting that we need to eat far fewer of our animal cousins. We cannot sustain the current levels of production and veganism is rapidly offering a viable and increasingly varied solution. There’s …
Film Review: The Ledge
It seems to be a particular breed of people who take up serious climbing. There are inherent risks attached to rock climbing, let alone mountaineering, which are too much for a coward like me. The mere thought of taking away the ropes or the ‘safety net’ sets my nerves on edge. Films like Valley Uprising …
GFF Review: La Civil
Mexico has many social, economic and political problems but one of the most pernicious and devastating is that of kidnappings. It has been an ongoing problem, but one which has increased markedly since the start of the century. Criminal gangs began abducting in greater numbers to raise funds through ransoms, but many victims are never …
Film Review: Old Henry
While the dangers of the ‘Wild West’ frontier have been conjured up so many times by numerous filmmakers, it is perhaps the more introspective narratives which have the most resonance. Movies which, instead of telling a story about someone in their prime, focus on more contemplative and reflective characters during their autumn years. The likes …
Film Review: The Devil to Pay
The ancient Appalachian Mountains run all the way from Newfoundland in Canada to Alabama in the United States of America. The remoteness and inaccessibly of the range has made it a perfect hideout for many people looking to get off the grid, lay-low or evade the prying eyes of the authorities over the years. Local …
Film Review: Night Raiders
It says something about the natural cynicism of our species that dystopian visions have historically been, and still are, decidedly popular. Many writers agree that we’ll end up wiping ourselves out. It seems only fitting given our unnerving ability to make the same mistakes over and over again. There are lots of imaginative ways this …
Film Review: Bull
There’s seems to be something that the British, in particular, find fascinating about gangsters. While other countries have their own versions (Yakuza, Triads, Mafiosi etc), our hard men tend to be outwardly nasty and rotten, but with strong emotions bubbling beneath the surface. There was a time when people like the Krays were quasi-celebrities and …
Film Review: Witch Hunt
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a witch hunt is ‘a campaign directed against a person or group holding views considered unorthodox or a threat to society’. The phrase was first made famous by George Orwell but (obviously) harks back to the time of witch trials. Whilst wiccans might not find themselves the (sole) recipients …
Film Review: Initiation
I’d guess I’m not the only British person who is kind of flummoxed by the concept of fraternity houses in America. They seem to mix the snobbery of Oxbridge and elite private schools with the inanest elements of toxic masculinity. At least, this is how they’re often portrayed on our screens. Fraternities and sororities have …
Film Review: The Auschwitz Escape
The Holocaust was undoubtedly the lowest point in modern European history. Hitler’s ‘final solution’ was an abomination which is hard to comprehend in the early twenty-first century. An inherently evil act of sheer callousness and hatred. To the shame of the Allies, it took heroic acts of bravery to expose the full extent of the …