★☆☆☆☆ Russian cinema has a long and rich history of producing exceptional sci-fi movies. From the pioneering silent films of Protazanov and Zhuravlyov, to the deeply philosophical films of Tarkovsky and Lopishansky, Russia has always used this speculative science based genre to comment on social issues rather than merely forms Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ The Ides of March (2011) – directed by and starring George Clooney – takes a swipe at the ruthless back-room deals and media hype that lie at the heart of American politics. Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) is running against Senator Pullman in a presidential primary race for the Democratic Continue Reading
★★★★☆ When the announcement came that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson would be bringing Hergé’s famous boy detective Tintin to the big screen in The Adventures of Tintin (2011), most of us thought that if any pair could do the books justice, it would be those two master craftsmen. Rumours Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Roland Emmerich – either by his own hand or by Hollywood’s – has been typecast as a multi-million dollar blockbuster director who specialises in depicting post apocalyptic scenarios involving aliens, mutated monster or catastrophic natural disasters. With his latest film, the Elizabethan drama Anonymous (2011), Emmerich seems to have Continue Reading
★★★★★ Gershwin musicals don’t come better than Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris (1951) starring Gene Kelly, Oscar Levant, and Leslie Caron. The sumptuous colours, outstanding choreography and toe-tapping tunes are nothing but first-rate. It is easy to see why An American in Paris picked up 6 out of 8 Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Miss Bala (2011) is the latest film from Mexican director Gerado Naranjo, starring the stunningly beautiful Stephanie Sigman. Sigman plays Laura, a young woman who struggles to make it in the ‘Miss Bala’ beauty pageant and consequently find herself embroiled in the Mexican mafia. Forced into this nightmarish underworld, Continue Reading