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
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
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
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
Captain Phillips (2013)
**** Dir: Paul Greengrass Duration: 134 minutes (US) It is 2009 and an American cargo ship is heading through international waters. Plain sailing? Not quite. This is a ship that … Continue reading
Interview: The Wicker Man Director On His Final Cut, Cursed Remakes And Not Wanting To Be Typecast
It is 40 years since the Wicker Man first bore its indelible image of a giant burning human-shaped casket onto the retinas of cinema-goers. Now, in a new restoration and … Continue reading
Rush (2013)
**** Dir: Ron Howard Duration: 123 minutes (USA/Germany/UK) A retelling of a famously bitter and volatile rivalry. Has Ron Howard evaded caricature in this high-octane biopic of sorts? Niki Lauda … Continue reading
Museum Hours (2012)
**** Dir: Jem Cohen Duration: 106 minutes (2012) (Austria/US) A leisurely film that pores through the relationship between art and life may not sound like the easiest sell. However, for … Continue reading
A Field In England (2013)
*** Dir: Ben Wheatley Duration: 90 minutes (2013) (UK) Tripping across the countryside. Fighting can be a drug. But so can mushrooms. Ben Wheatley takes a turn down the sublime … Continue reading
Pacific Rim (2013)
*** Dir: Guillermo Del Toro Duration: 131 minutes (2013) (US) A screaming cacophony of mayhem and destruction. Ear plugs may be needed for this confrontation, as monsters and robots collide. … Continue reading
The World’s End (2013)
*** Dir: Edgar Wright Duration: 109 minutes (2013) (UK) Gang on the run. Pegg, Frost & Co unite for the third instalment in the proclaimed ‘Cornetto Trilogy’. However, is this … Continue reading
Monsters University (2013)
***** Directed: Dan Scanlon Duration: 110 minutes (2013) (US) Pixar bring back Mike and Sulley for a journey retracing their college days. It is a trick that enables pratfalls, truculence … Continue reading
It’s Such A Beautiful Day (2012)
* Dir: Don Hertzfeldt Duration: 62 minutes (2012) (US) Wasted talent and wasted time on unnecessarily grim animation feature where the techniques and execution of the animation are the only … Continue reading
Gimme The Loot (2012)
**** Dir: Adam Leon Duration: 79 minutes (2012) (US) Escapades a-plenty in this refreshing shaggy dog tale and debut from Adam Leon. Could the mainstream studios wake up for a … Continue reading
Sundance London: A Diary – Day 2
The second day of Sundance brought a more limited experience for this writer (days 3 and 4 brought an abundance of panel discussions and films, so please bear with me). … Continue reading
Trance (2013)
**** Danny the Champion of the World? Olympic opening ceremony hero returns with pulsating thriller to rock your socks off and dazzle your senses. Dir: Danny Boyle Duration: 101 mins … Continue reading
Robot & Frank (2012)
*** Dir: Jake Schreier Duration: 130 mins (2012) The shape of things to come? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the new millennia? A meditation on old age, dependency and … Continue reading
Broken (2012)
**** Dir: Rufus Norris Duration: 90mins (2012) How much misery can one audience take? This belligerently sombre drama will depress even the most hardened Eastenders fans. Be prepared. A simple … Continue reading
The Digest. Short Review: Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
**** Dir: Kathryn Bigelow Dur: 157 mins (US) (2012) Tracking the 10 year hunt for the poster boy and figurehead of Al Queda, Osama Bin Laden. As the dust settles on … Continue reading
Django Unchained (2012)
*** Dir: Quentin Tarantino Dur: 154 mins (US) When the lights are burning bright and you think they are stars – turns out it is merely electricity lighting up the … Continue reading
Life of Pi (2012)
**** Dir: Ang Lee Duration: 127 minutes (US) (2012) Life of (the) Pi(ous); adaptation of the ‘unfilmable’ book. Can visual ingenuity mould an engaging tale? Or is this merely a … Continue reading
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