Studio Canal
DVD Review: Le Jour se lève
Considered by some to be one of the greatest films ever made, Le Jour se lève is definitly the most famous example of poetic realism movement. Marcel Carné’s film was praised upon its release in France in 1939 but was quickly suppressed by the Vichy government less than a year later. After the war it …
Incoming: Serena
North Carolina mountains at the end of the 1920s – George and Serena Pemberton, love-struck newly-weds, begin to build a timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse …
Film Review: ’71
There have been many films about “The Troubles” over the years. Some of the most famous are In the Name of the Father, Hunger, Bloody Sunday and The Crying Game. Whilst ’71 is set in Belfast in 1971 (unsurprisingly), it’s more of a straight thriller/action movie than one which has much to say about the …
Film Review: Mood Indigo
Michel Gondry is one of the most sought-after and ‘trendy’ film directors out there, yet other than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind he’s failed to produce a film that can be classed as great. Whilst Be Kind Rewind and The Science of Sleep have their moments he’s yet to reproduce that magic for the …
Incoming: The House of Magic
Seeking shelter from a storm, abandoned young cat Thunder sneaks into a mysterious mansion owned by retired magician Lawrence, aka “The Illustrious Lorenzo”. Lawrence shares his fairy-tale world with many animals and a dazzling array of automatons and gizmos capable of whipping up breakfast while rolling out a spectacular song-and-dance routine. He soon makes Thunder …
DVD Review: Inside Llewyn Davis
The idea behind Inside Llewyn Davis began with a single premise: Suppose Dave Van Ronk got beat up outside of Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village. Taking that as their starting point, and basing the titular character very loosely on Van Ronk himself, the Coen Brothers wanted to make a film that was set just …
Incoming: The Two Faces of January
A glamorous American couple, the charismatic Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his alluring younger wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst), are in Athens during a European vacation. While sightseeing at the acropolis they encounter Rydal (Oscar Isaac), a young, Greek-speaking American who is working as a tour guide, scamming female tourists on the side. Drawn to Colette’s …
Film Review: The Wind Rises
Since 1985 Studio Ghibli has been producing beautiful animated films, and thankfully over the last decade the West has begun to appreciate their magic. Co-founder and leading light Hayao Miyazaki’s is unquestionably the greatest animator of all time, producing such marvels as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and …
DVD Review – An Inspector Calls: 60th Anniversary Edition
Whilst An Inspector Calls began life as a play, it translates seamlessly onto film. Written by J.B. Priestly in the 1940s, it’s widely considered one of the classics of English mid-20th century theatre. Due to a strong writing, universal themes and a successful revival s by Stephen Daldry in the 1990s, it’s still touring and …
Incoming: The Wind Rises
Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes. Nearsighted from a young age and thus unable to become a pilot, Jiro joins the aircraft division of a major Japanese engineering company in 1927. His genius is soon recognized, and become one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers. Hayao Miyazaki brings his unique vision to …