Film reviews and more
Psalm 1. Swedish horror fanatics rejoice, LORD. How great is Fredrick Hiller’s Asian flavoured fright fest Psalm 21 (2009)? Psalm 2. You have granted him a modest budget but have not withheld a talented cast. Psalm 3. You inspired him […]
★★★★☆ Cherien Dabis’ bitter-sweet Amreeka (2009) (Arabic for ‘America’) follows the fortunes of Muna (Nisreen Faour), a single, divorced mother, who lives in the West Bank with her teenage son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem). The opening scenes show Muna and her […]
★★★☆☆ Just Go With It (2011) is everything you would want from a Sandler/Aniston flick. Two hours of mindless entertainment with a happy ending. If you rent the DVD and feel cheated because the cinematography wasn’t quite Lawrence of Arabia […]
Wearing a tank top and looking very down-to-earth, Kim Rossi Stuart explains that he’s more than a little tired. Indeed, he’s had a long day of interviews for his controversial film Angels of Evil (2010), and all of them in […]
★★★★☆ Michele Placido, director of Angels of Evil (2010), is one of Italy’s most well known directors. An acclaimed actor first of all (particularly well remembered is his performance in successful Italian miniseries La Piovra, which vividly depicted the fight […]
★★★★☆ Life, Above All (2010) is a moving drama about a 12-year old girl (a stunning debut from Khomotso Manyaka) who fights the prejudices and superstitions of her neighbours in a South African village. Lillian has lost her newborn baby, […]
Last Thursday evening, CineVue was honoured to be invited along to the latest event held by the esteemed British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) – an ‘In Conversation’ with the multi-award winning lenser Roger Deakins ASC BSC. This memorable evening formed […]
★★☆☆☆ Just why Stuart Beatties’ award winning adaptation of John Marsden’s Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993) was selected for the closing night of this year’s London Australian Film Festival beggars belief. What is utterly perplexing is the rapturous response […]
So, the Cannes Film Festival has wrapped itself up for another year, with some extraordinary films receiving their world premieres and a plethora of fashion-clad stars adorning the Croisette. This year will probably be slightly marred by the remarks of […]
Rumours that Tangled (2010) represented a return to form by Disney have been swirling since it’s release, but I was pessimistic and decided that the gossip was nothing more than good promotion and over hype. On top of that I […]
★★★★☆ With the release of vamp drama True Blood’s third season on DVD and Blu-ray, it’s hard to ignore the show’s rapid climb from cult favourite to ratings winner, a result of its sexy and explosive appearance, making it one […]
US filmmaker Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011) has won the Palme d’Or prize at this year’s 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The reclusive director did not attend the star-studded ceremony itself, but the award was picked up by producers […]
★★★☆☆ In 2008, Eliot Spitzer stepped down as governor of New York when he was found to be ‘Client 9’ at the Emperor’s Club, a high-priced escort service catering to Wall Street’s wealthiest. Spitzer, tipped to become America’s first Jewish […]
★★★★★ Budrus (2009) is a truly remarkable documentary of great power. The film documents Budrus, a small village in Palestine on the borders of Israel, and the story of the village leader who unites Fatah, Hamas and members of the […]
★★★★☆ Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the opening gala of this year’s London Australian Film Festival. The festival opened with the UK premiere of Red Dog (2011) with an introduction from the film’s producer Nelson Woss. Red […]