Reviews in a nutshell
Those expecting the delicate etiquette and burning passionate of Emily Brontë’s infamous 1847 doomed love affair, Wuthering Heights, set on the Yorkshire Moors, may find award-winning Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold’s film version a little rougher round the edges, but equally dramatic. Rather than the fluffy period drama brought to many screens over the years, …
Tinge Krishnan’s debut British feature was the toast of this year’s London Film Festival, with newcomer Candese Reid winning ‘Best British Newcomer’ for her portrayal of rougher sleeper Lynette. Junkhearts is a prime example of British independent filmmaking in grim motion, unsurprisingly falling into the gloomy, socio-political drama category that is so often prevalent at …
Danish filmmaker Joachim Trier had the ominous task of bringing his second feature into the Festival arena this year, after 2006’s lauded debut Reprise. Like his first film, Trier seems to be carving out an early filmmaking pattern of producing strikingly realistic character studies, full of passion and human nature analysis. He again turns to …
To be or not to be, that is certainly the subjective question of whether director Roland Emmerich’s new film will excite or disgust. Indeed, with the covering of one of our greatest playwright’s name’s in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon in protest of Anonymous, William Shakespeare might be thrilled at the reignited interest in him. In …
George Clooney’s fourth directorial film, The Ides of March, is an enticing ode to yesteryear political thrillers, but it’s also a delightful exercise in intense acting exchanges played out by his stellar main cast of Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Although Clooney stars in this, it’s in a supporting capacity. His talent …
Adopting the frantic, hand-held documentary style of other gritty, foreign kitchen-sink offerings, Mexican writer-director Gerardo Naranjo’s explosive look at the dominant drugs culture in his country through the eyes of a young woman, Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman), is a sure-fire festival contender worthy of a look. Laura dreams of being the next Miss Mexico and …
Tilda Swinton generally never fails to impress audiences in anything she turns her hand to. Indeed, what can honestly be said about Lynne Ramsay’s adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s riveting and utterly chilling book, We Need To Talk About Kevin, is that the role was written unquestionably for Swinton – or even the book’s character for …
