★★★★☆ The United States of America now officially holds 5% of the world’s population and 25% of its prisoners. This is just one of the many staggering statistics highlighted in Eugene Jarecki’s urgent and enthralling documentary, The House I Live In (2012), which now arrives on DVD in the UK Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Created just as the vogue for the trials and tribulations of vampirism exploded onto both cinema and television screens in the tail end of the last decade, Scott Leberecht’s debut feature Midnight Son (2011) is a twisting and non-glamorous study of the loneliness and isolation that comes with keeping a Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Sparkle (2012) is a remake of the 1976 film of the same name. Dreamgirls (2006) launched the movie career of American Idol alumnus Jennifer Hudson, and this similar effort attempts to replicate the success for Idol winner Jordin Sparks. Unexpectedly, Salim Akil’s feature received most media interest due to Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ The feature filmmaking debut of photojournalist Alix Delaporte, Angel and Tony (2010) is a light and amiable affair whose arresting charms temporarily mask what is effectively a minuscule riff on the type of European film that strolls through festivals gaining the kind of plaudits it doesn’t necessarily deserve. Picking Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Reputedly prolific American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s final big screen outing, 2013’s Side Effects – starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones – is a compelling thriller exploring the blurred lines between psychopharmacology and the US justice system. Protagonist Emily Taylor’s (Mara) life is an endless cycle of misery Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Stephen Chbosky makes his directorial debut with an adaptation of self-penned coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). Knowing the material inside out and with the help of a talented cast, Chbosky is able to craft a realistic, amusing and nostalgic drama that’s not afraid to touch Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Despite finding himself under house arrest and banned from filmmaking for ‘committing propaganda against the Iranian government’, resourceful director Jafar Panahi follows his critically acclaimed documentary This Is Not a Film (2011) with Closed Curtain (Parde, 2013) – an existential example of meta-filmmaking disguised as a humanist chamber piece Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Shot entirely in black and white, Frances Ha (2012) sees US indie director Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig team up once again after their successful partnership with Greenberg (2010). This time round, Gerwig is integral in the scriptwriting process, creating a delightfully twee, metropolitan fairytale about the difficulties of growing-up when Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Woody Allen continues his picture postcard Euro trawl with mixed results in To Rome with Love (2012), despite an admittedly gorgeous backdrop photographed by the great Darius Khondji, and the impressive array of acting talent at his disposal once more. Using the titular city to tell four unconnected vignettes Continue Reading
★★★★☆ One of only a handful of high profile British films featuring at this year’s 63rd Berlinale (more’s the pity), Ken Loach returns to the documentary fray this year with The Spirit of ’45 (2013), representing something of a labour of love for its acclaimed director. Exploring Britain’s sociopolitical evolution Continue Reading