Reviews in a nutshell
Director Wes Anderson’s mind is a fascinating one, managing to engage us with imaginative characters and locations that have a warm but barmy feel to them. The Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception, as theatrical and slightly obsessive as his others, but charmingly told. Ralph Fiennes has morphed into many characters over the years, and …
It’s safe to say, there would be little of interest to Kevin Macdonald’s (The Last King of Scotland) How I Live Now if it weren’t for the ever-beguiling Saoirse Ronan at the helm. Perhaps he knows this as the production compliments her every thought and expression in this apocalyptic story set in the not-too-distant-future in …
Think ‘Twilight on the English Rivera’ but all the more seedier and desolate, Neil Jordan style. The director who admits to being ‘fascinated by monsters and monstrous people’ shows a sensitive side to the plight of the creatures of the night in his latest film Byzantium, taking note of the recent appeal of vampire films …
Remember last year’s The Way Back, starring Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris and rising Hanna star Saoirse Ronan, where Siberian gulag escapees seem to walk half the planet to reach a safe destination, and defy all of nature’s odds? Well, writer-director Stéphane Rybojad’s new French action drama Special Forces feels much the same, only …
After the profound Atonement and whimsical Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright demonstrates that not only can he bring his trademark subtle tones and emotion to an action film, but also inject humour and dramatic style. Hanna is the outcome, an intelligent action thriller with a pumping Chemical Brothers soundtrack, combining fairy tale with a …
With highly respected film-maker Peter Weir (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) behind a new adventure, you know you are in for a visually stunning treat, born of meticulous planning and hard graft to get it factually right. The Way Back is no exception to the Weir catalogue of cinematic triumphs, a …
