Reviews in a nutshell
Noah Baumbach makes poignant dramas about characters at a turning point in their lives, and While We’re Young is no exception. It’s about the painful reality of trying to stay youthful and go against societal grain of what you should be doing at fortysomething – a poignant project for Baumbach, himself 45, as well as …
Those expecting some sort of ‘yet undisclosed’ revelation into the murder of exchange student Meredith Kercher and the guilt of Amanda Knox will be sorely disappointed and may be further perplexed by The Face of an Angel. From director Michael Winterbottom, the film actually uses the case to demonise media behaviour around such murder trials, …
Perhaps Sean Penn is hoping that Taken director Pierre Morel will help turn him carve out an ‘aging action hero career’ – like he has Liam Neeson – in The Gunman, based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette? Penn certainly has hit the gym for the part (and a tanning salon), never missing a …
A film about an autistic maths child genius is not the most marketable affair, and is in danger of being gushy. However, made by British documentary maker Morgan Matthews with a touch of Brit pragmatism and subtle humour, these qualities render it endearing and very affecting. X + Y doesn’t try to give answers but …
— The trick to writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s new ‘rom-con’ flick Focus is to keep things going at rapid speed and make everything look super glossy, so as to fool the rest of us into thinking this qualifies as another Ocean’s Eleven. Sure, this 100 million dollar film looks the pretty picture and …
— As with its central theme of submission, The Duke of Burgundy from British writer-director Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio) demands just that of you to persevere with his exquisitely crafted homage to 60s/70s Euro soft porn that is rather curious to say the least. On a ‘normal’ level, this film looks at relationship role …
— Love Is Strange is a strangely affecting love story from writer-director Ira Sachs (Keep The Lights On). Its protagonists are in their autumn years, played by John Lithgow (Ben) and Alfred Molina (George), and it features on another gay relationship like his 2012 film. What is intriguing with his latest film is it starts …
Initial thoughts of Tracks (2013), or 127 Hours spring to mind, Danny Boyle’s film that closed the 2010 BFI London Film Festival. There is an element of solitary confinement, battling the elements to survive, but that is where the comparisons end with Wild. This is a surprisingly engaging and spiritually enlightening story about one woman …
Vera Brittain’s WWI memoir of the same name is ideal subject matter to adapt for the big screen. Wartime and one woman’s inner strength (as well as beauty) is a heady mixture. Screenwriter Juliette Towhidi is sensitive to the original material, wanting Brittain to be a champion for women while very much innocent and blindly …
