Carol (2015)
**** Director: Todd Haynes Duration: 118 minutes (US) We are not talking of the middle ages or even the 19th century. As recently as 1966 in the UK, and 2002 in … Continue reading
Wild Tales (2014) – released on DVD 15th June 2015
**** Director: Damian Szifron Duration: 122 minutes (Argentina) Bristling with flair, panache and a fair chunk of the absurd, Damian Szifron’s Wild Tales is a short, sharp shock to the … Continue reading
Kevin Corrigan Interview: On Bujalski’s ‘Results’, working with Terence Malick and a Monty Python photobomb
It’s more than likely that you’ve seen a film with Kevin Corrigan in it. You might not have registered, recognised or identified him, but there’s a good chance he was … Continue reading
Lambert & Stamp (2014) review – The odd couple behind the Who’s success get their own doc
***1/2 Director: James D. Cooper Duration: 117 minutes As we edge closer to the twilight years of rock music’s original progenitors – those establishment rattling, musical mavericks of the 60s … Continue reading
Interview: Nina Hoss talks ‘Phoenix’ and the Holocaust
Nina Hoss is the phenomenal, statuesque German actress who has etched her impressive talent on such fare as A Most Wanted Man (2014), Barbara (2012) and Yella (2007). She’s also … Continue reading
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) review
**** Director: Joss Whedon Duration: 141 minutes (US) Shrouded in secrecy and keenly anticipated in a manner that could only be described as fervent, Age of Ultron bears the fruits … Continue reading
Fast & Furious 7 (2015) review
Mission Improbable? It doesn’t take Ed Miliband in a leadership debate to give a ‘hell yeah’ to that question. Fast & Furious 7’s not just Ludicris, but ridiculous too. ***1/2 … Continue reading
Michael Winterbottom talks to Greg Wetherall about Amanda Knox and the Kercher family’s response to his latest
Normally when you are making a film no one hears about it, but we had quite a lot of publicity about us making it beforehand, so even in Italy where we were filming, it was always written up as an ‘Amanda Knox film’, or are we saying ‘this’ about the Italian justice system? Are we saying ‘this’ about Amanda Knox? In the end, now that it is finished, it’s like, ‘look at it’.
Interview: Discussing ‘Appropriate Behaviour’ with writer/director/star Desiree Akhavan
“The very core of these messages are sexist. But I get it. It’s a machine. We’re trying to make it palatable to an audience that isn’t used to women being … Continue reading
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)
**** Director: John Madden Duration: 123 mins It was the Eagles who signed off ‘Hotel California’ – their ode to man’s journey from innocence to experience – with the observation … Continue reading
Interview: “It should be worth more than that” – Roger Ebert doc filmmaker Steve James speaks out
“I think that really does a huge disservice to film criticism and to film…. It should be worth more than that” In 1994, when filmmaker Steve James was merely 29 … Continue reading
Life Itself (2014) – Documentary on the late, great Roger Ebert arrives on DVD
**** Director: Steve James Duration: 120 mins (US) By Greg Wetherall (@gregwetherall) Is it an essential requisite that anyone who dare elect themselves as a professional critic must be in … Continue reading
Dario Argento and Me: Greg Wetherall talks to Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti about working with a master.
The films of Dario Argento are famous for many reasons; the direction, the blood and the music. And it was Claudio Simonetti’s progressive rock group Goblin that defined the sound … Continue reading
Virgin Mountain (2015) – Berlin Film Festival 2015
Director: Dagur Kari Duration: 94 minutes (Iceland/Denmark) **** Considerably overweight and out of love. Cruelly bullied by the brutes in the work place and showing signs of arrested development at … Continue reading
As We Were Dreaming (2015) – Berlin Film Festival 2015
Director: Andreas Dressen
Duration: 117 mins (Germany/France)
***
Although powerful in certain sections – a wonderful collision between parent and his son’s recalcitrant company is compelling, as is a nightclub gun scene – it more often than not leaves the viewer looking at their watch almost as much as the screen.
Love & Mercy (2014) – Berlin Film Festival 2015
Director: Bill Pohlad Duration: 118 mins (US) *** John Cusack is Brian Wilson. Yes, that Brian Wilson. He of the Beach Boys. If that seems like a strange piece of … Continue reading
Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) – Berlin Film Festival 2015
Director: Brett Morgan Duration: 132 minutes (US) ** Over 20 years after his death, what is the enduring appeal of Kurt Cobain? Does it speak of the anodyne, characterless musical … Continue reading
Knight of Cups (2015) – Berlin Film Festival 2015
Director: Terrence Malick Duration: 118 minutes (US) ** ‘Wake up’. ‘WAKE UP!’ It’s not often that a recurring line spoken about the human consciousness is equally appropriate as a shallow … Continue reading
Robocop (2014)
**** Director: Jose Padilha Duration: 118 minutes (US) Set in 2028, one of the first things that may strike you about the future is the seeming longstanding embargo on the … Continue reading
The Square (2013)
**** Director: Jehane Noujaim Duration: 108 minutes (Egypt/USA) Oscar shortlisted documentary on the uprising in Egypt; a revolution that gave a gravitas to social networking, whilst simultaneously evidencing history in … Continue reading
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom (2013)
**** Director: Justin Chadwick Duration: 139 minutes (UK/South Africa) In light of recent events, there is a rather large shadow cast over the release of this film. In some sense, … Continue reading
All Is Lost (2013)
***** Directed: J.C. Chandor Duration: 106 minutes (US) Alone, adrift and in dire need of salvation. This is not a presumptuous and damning indictment on any reader of this piece, … Continue reading
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
*** Directed: Adam McKay Duration: 119 minutes (US) Comedy films, especially modern comedy films, face the eternal dilemma; how to stretch an exciting premise and/or characters into a feature length … Continue reading
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)
**** Director: Peter Jackson Duration: 161 minutes (US/New Zealand) To those who are excited and invested in the series, it is time to dust down any anticipation. The wait is … Continue reading
Homefront (2013)
*** Directed: Gary Fleder Duration: 100 minutes (US) Our hero, Jason Statham, is a normal man (albeit an ex-DEA agent) just trying to get through his day. Having moved out … Continue reading
Carrie (2013)
** Directed: Kimberly Peirce Duration: 100 minutes (US) What a Carrie-On Remakes, remakes, remakes. Is there a reason for them to exist other than to enable cash registers to sing … Continue reading
Gone With The Wind (1939)
***** Dir: David O’Selznick Duration: 233 minutes (US) Gone With The Wind (1939) is a film easily defined by statistics. It is oft-quoted that if box office receipts were adjusted … Continue reading
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
**** Director: Francis Lawrence Duration: 146 minutes There is always cause for concern whenever news arrives that a much loved book is to be blown up on the big screen. … Continue reading
Seduced and Abandoned (2013)
**** Directed: James Toback Duration: 98 minutes You may have heard about the 99%. Well, in Seduced & Abandoned, Toback and Baldwin (he of James and he of Alec) offer … Continue reading
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (2013)
*** Dir: Cody Cameron & Kris Pearn Duration: 95 minutes After the runaway success of ‘Despicable Me 2’ earlier this summer, along with a whole swathe of other successful follow-up … Continue reading
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