★☆☆☆☆ Jennifer Westfeldt’s directorial debut Friends with Kids (2011) is the kind of messy, callous and nepotistic American ensemble comedy that can only be made by an overly pretentious, well-connected filmmaker. The great tragedy is that although Friends with Kids […]
★★☆☆☆ Written and directed by Todd Solondz, the misanthropic master of cult classics Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) and Happiness (1998), Dark Horse (2011) sees a return to the seemingly familiar territory of unhappy characters and the unpleasant situations they […]
★★★★☆ Marius Holst’s King of Devil’s Island (2010) is a fine example of how even the ugliest and well concealed events of history can be the basis for something profoundly beautiful. Based on real life accounts from Bastoy, an isolated […]
★★★☆☆ What do Attack the Block (2011), Die Hard (1988) and Alien (1979) all have in common? They all know how to use their locations. They’re also not set in a storage facility – unlike Johannes Roberts’ Storage 24 (2012). […]
★★★☆☆ Every now and then, a film comes along where you want to marry all of the main characters. Your Sister’s Sister (2011) is one of those films. Lynn Shelton’s small-scale story sees Jack (Mark Duplass) trying to get his […]
★★★★☆ It’s been six whole years since US master director William Friedkin (best known for 1973’s The Exorcist) last brought his talents to the big screen, but he’s now returned with his exposé of hick life Killer Joe (2011), starring Matthew McConaughey, Emile […]
★★★★★ A host of razor-sharp one-liners saturate this Raymond Chandler-penned film noir classic, directed by perhaps the greatest American director to have ever lived, Billy Wilder. His 1944 morally-corrupt thriller Double Indemnity has all molls, greed and whiskey-soaked nihilism one […]
★★☆☆☆ Indonesian director Edwin’s Postcards from the Zoo (2012) finds itself at the 66th Edinburgh International Festival after a muted critical response whilst in competition at this year’s Berlinale. Many found its meandering plot and overbearing whimsy too jarring against […]
★★★★★ Peter Strickland returns to the Edinburgh International Film Festival with his 1970s-set meta-horror Berberian Sound Studio (2012). Marking a significant shift in both theme and tone from his strikingly assured 2009 debut Katalin Varga, Strickland’s sophomore feature is a […]
