2011
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Blu-ray Review: ‘The Adventures of Tintin’
★★★★☆ Hergé’s Tintin, the world famous boy reporter, has been given the HD treatment in a rerelease of the classic 1990s cartoon on DVD and Blu-ray in anticipation of Steven Spielberg’s soon-to be released, 3D motion capture blockbuster The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, featuring the voice talents of Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis…
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DVD Review: ‘Charade’
★★★★☆ Certain cinematic double acts exude pure magic – think Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Laurel and Hardy. However, ahead of the pack must be the winning duo of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, whose performances in director Stanley Donen’s masterpiece Charade (1963) is as intoxicating as a dry martini.Poor Regina Lampert (Hepburn) doesn’t know…
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Blu-ray Review: ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’
★★★★☆ Loosely based upon the real life crimes of American serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, John McNaughton’s Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) takes a chilling and disturbing look at the fractured psyche of a severely unhinged individual. Rather than creating a direct interpretation of the murderous exploits of Lucas (Michael Rooker), McNaughton opts…
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DVD Review: ‘Rio’
★★★☆☆ It’s been a somewhat underwhelming year for animation thus far. Following a strong lineup in 2010 (with the best releases including Pixar’s Toy Story 3 and Sylvain Chomet’s ;The Illusionist), only Gore Verbinski’s well-researched, well-executed Rango (2011) and the rerelease of Disney’s The Lion King (1994) have turned heads. Carlos Saldanha’s sweet-natured Rio (2011)…
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BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘W.E.’
★☆☆☆☆ W.E. (2011) attempts to explore the remarkable love affair between King Edward VIII and the infamous Wallis Simpson (played by James D’Arcy and Andrea Riseborough respectively), yet told with a twist. The film receives its UK premiere tonight at the 55th BFI London Film Festival after a barrage of critical condemnation, but before we…
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BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Old Dog’
★★★★☆ Director Pema Tseden has almost single-handedly reinvented Tibetan cinema. His previous two films, The Silent Holy Stones (2005) and The Search (2009), both screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival to great critical acclaim. Like his previous efforts, Old Dog (2011) is set in the Tibetan region of the Chinese province of Qinghai, however,…
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BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Wild Bill’
★★★☆☆ Dexter Fletcher has a fine film pedigree: Bugsy Malone (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), The Long Good Friday (1980) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) are just a few of the movies on his 30-year CV, and his directorial debut Wild Bill (2011) – starring Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter and Liz White…
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BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Trishna’
★★☆☆☆ Acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom is renowned for his ability to switch between genres with relative ease, with past successes including Jude (1996), 24 Hour Party People (2002) and The Killer Inside Me (2010). His latest venture is an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s penultimate novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles set in present day India and…
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Special Feature: CNN’s ‘Not My Life’
Not My Life (2011) – written, directed and produced by Robert Bilheimer and narrated by Glenn Close – is a documentary focusing on the brutal world of human trafficking and modern slavery. Filmed on five continents over a period of four years, Not My Life concentrates mainly on the selling of women and children who…
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BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘The Monster of Nix’
★★★☆☆ The Monster of Nix (2011) is an entertaining and quirky existential animation from Rosto, featuring the voices of Terry Gilliam and Tom Waits, and is one of the highlights of the 55th BFI London Film Festival’s animation programme. Willy (Joe Eshuis) lives with his grandmother in Nix – a peaceful, secluded community – until…