Reviews in a nutshell
There is a heady and rousing whiff of corruption, scandal, passion and Enlightenment to delight the avid period drama fan in Danish director Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair. The fact that it is based on the true story of 15-year-old English princess Caroline Mathilde who was married off to unhinged King Christian in the 18th …
Writer-director Nicholas McCarthy has taken the bold route chosen by many fledgling horror filmmakers to turn his short, The Pact, into a feature-length film of the same name. While the premise of another spooky house and its creepy watchful eye seems old hat, McCarthy spins it into a worthy mind warp of intense proportions for …
When you have a dream project, you want to do it the utmost service. The fact that Star Wars guru George Lucas is so passionate about the heroic feats of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fighter-pilot squadron in WWII, means that he may be guilty of over-cooking the pudding while trying his hardest not to …
“We are all products of our environment”, is debut writer-director Ben Drew’s (Plan B) chillingly frank poster statement. This is never a truer word said and kind of stating the obvious too. But far from falling into the gangster genre trap of having to suffer one’s lot in life, Drew does try to emphasise that …
A wee heart-warming dram of Scots spirit flows beautifully through Ken Loach’s new comedy drama, The Angels’ Share, as the director surprises all by tapping into his wittier side in his latest film. However, fans should not be wary as his particular brand of socialist realism is never far from the surface, brewing in menacing …
The Top Cat theme tune is undoubtedly the most memorable aspect of Hanna-Barbera’s classic TV cartoon series, more so than the actual alley antics of con artist moggy Top Cat (TC) and his oddball pals. While it’s obviously nostalgic to see the cool character brought to life on the big screen in somewhat dubious ‘3D’, …
