Reviews in a nutshell
Star Vince Vaughn is up to his usual tricks in Ken Scott’s Delivery Man; that of ‘man child’ forced to grow up with the help of ‘the family’. Admittedly, he does curb some of his usual stream of prattle in this. There is a sense that the comic actor is trying to find the right …
British artist turned director Steve McQueen (Shame) has crafted another beautiful-looking and moving film in 12 Years A Slave that has equally emotive subject matter. Naturally, a story dealing with slavery provokes revulsion, and here, is where reviewing such a film needs a separation of personal sentiments from actual empowering film-making. Indeed, the film feels …
The new Forrest Gump this is not, in terms of an iconic screen character, but actor-director Ben Stiller’s remake of the James Thurber classic 1947 short, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty has some life-assessing moments, some of which you may be stirred into making. In that sense, it has a poignant and ‘inspiring’ legacy …
A film without dialogue is unusual in this day and age. A survival film with an older protagonist is even more so. JC Chandor’s ocean drama, All Is Lost is so simple in its execution that is offers its 77-year-old star Robert Redford a blank canvas to show off his exceptional acting talents at this …
The second film in The Hobbit trilogy was always going to have its work cut out to be a worthy piece of cinema in its own right, with Peter Jackson and team trying to give the fans what they want, while keeping focus and excitement brewing for the finale, There And Back Again next year. …
Descendants director Alexander Payne has created such a powerhouse of a film in Nebraska that focuses the attention fully on the trials and tribulations of one family teetering on the brink of collapse, exquisitely shot in black-and-white. This intriguing monotone choice highlights the despair and humdrum at the start, but curiously sharpens the senses along …
You don’t have to know anything about poet Allen Ginsberg to appreciate the rocky path to notoriety Kill Your Darlings portrays, and this is more ‘murder-he-wrote’ in a crime caper way, with the culprit already known. What is acknowledged is how Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe is forever recreating himself from the child role he will …
The term ‘ladette’ is out-modish but once upon a time would have been apt in describing the female characters in debut director M.J. Delaney’s new Brit chick flick, Powder Room. All-female comedy has come a long way since, without the need for a weepy romantic bit. This is a cack-handed confidence boost in the guise …
French Screenwriter-director François Ozon returns to BFI LFF 2013 with another coming-of-age film, this time with subjective comedic value. Palme d’Or nominated Jeune et Jolie is one of sexual discovery of a young seventeen-year-old girl, Isabelle (Marine Vacth), who deals with her newfound womanhood in a rather extreme fashion. This is perhaps no surprise to …
