Reviews in a nutshell
In the week that has seen the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI comes a brutally uncompromising documentary about the clerical child sex abuse scandal and the extraordinary lengths the Catholic Church went to cover it up which goes all the way to the highest echelons of the Vatican. The Pontiff is in fact the …
Continue reading “BFI LFF 2012: Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God *****”
Once in a while there is a film that on paper seems totally different to how it’s actually perceived, and because of its plotline could be a hard sell at the cinema. Writer-director Ben Lewin’s The Sessions is such a film. However, appearances are truly deceptive here, and this feel-good drama is full of inspirational …
The adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s novel and Booker Prize winner Midnight’s Children by the author himself was obviously a labour of love, what with the author providing the eloquent narration, as well as an exciting prospect for fans. But Midnight’s Children proves a valuable point that sometimes the originator is not necessarily the best person …
Writer-director Barnaby Southcombe offers up a tense, dreamlike noir that celebrates his charismatic mother, actress Charlotte Rampling, with I, Anna. This downbeat thriller that features one of London’s most imposing pieces of architecture, The Barbican, uses the sinister facades as well as retro finishes – old fashioned phones – to set a stylish murder scene. …
Four Weddings and a Funeral director Mike Newell’s take on the Charles Dickens’ classic Great Expectations is a safe, play-by-numbers affair that neither excites nor bores but simply picks off key moments and retells the tale with some of the cream of British acting crop, plus some extravagant set design that you would expect from …
Never, ever underestimate the power of the open road – it does things to a person to release their inner being, good or bad. Ben Wheatley’s black comedy of hilarious proportions, Sightseers, about a couple who caravan around Northern Britain’s more unusual sights with deadly consequences is full of creepiness, delicious surprises, shocks and irony. …
Those who favour the ‘cops on camera’ TV shows can expect much the same style of ‘caught of camera’ thrills and spills from Harsh Times and Training Day director David Ayers’ gritty and affecting End Of Watch. Ironically, as well as hooking you in from the start and sparking curiosity as to where the story …
