DocHouse Presents: Winter Nomads review
★★★☆☆ Like Vincent van Gogh’s 1884 practically-titled painting, Manuel von Stürler’s debut documentary Winter Nomads (Hiver nomade, 2012) is a portrait of a ‘Shepherd with […]
Film Review: ‘The Big Wedding’
★★☆☆☆ Given the eclectic and well-respected actors that make up The Big Wedding’s (2013) ensemble cast, you’d be forgiven for thinking this could one be […]
Film Review: ‘The Comedian’
★★☆☆☆ Part of the way through British filmmaker Tom Shkolnik’s debut feature, the eponymous character – aspiring stand-up comic Ed (Edward Hogg) – performs a […]
Blu-ray Review: ‘Theorem’
★★★★☆ However disposable our current trends are, there’s still a desperate need to classify what digital culture means to us. Trolling, outrage on social media, […]
Blu-ray Review: ‘Opening Night’
★★★★★ Opening Night – John Cassavetes’ 1977 masterpiece in a canon already full of them – betrays an understanding that self-destruction does not have the […]
Blu-ray Review: ‘Cría Cuervos’
★★★★★ As General Franco lay dying during the summer of 1975, Carlos Saura was mirroring Spain’s monumental era of transition through the story of a […]
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Unbelievable Truth’
★★★★☆ The Unbelievable Truth (1989) is one of those débuts which arrived fully formed, with its own distinctive voice. Hal Hartley had recently graduated from […]
DVD Review: ‘First Position’
★★☆☆☆ Those that have suffered the proliferation of nationally-broadcast talent shows – an offshoot of the ongoing reality TV craze – will be wearily familiar […]
DVD Review: ‘Aurora’
★★★☆☆ A follow-up to the acclaimed The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), Cristi Puiu’s Aurora (2010) took three years from its premiere in Cannes to […]
DVD Review: ‘Lore’
★★★★☆ Cate Shortland’s quietly powerful sophomore film, Lore (2012), is set in Germany during the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. This German-Australian co-production, […]
DVD Review: ‘I Wish’
★★★★☆ Anyone even vaguely familiar with Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda will know of his astute ability to excavate the emotions at the core of family […]
DVD Review: ‘Texas Chainsaw’
★★☆☆☆ Picking up where Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) left off, John Luessenhop revs up Texas Chainsaw (2013) with some fresh young flesh […]
DVD Review: ‘The Last Stand’
★★☆☆☆ Over the past few years, a trend has emerged that’s seen action stars of yesteryear tooling up once more to riddle bad guys with […]
Cannes 2013: Kechiche wins Palme d’Or
Last night at a star-studded ceremony in Southern France, the 66th Cannes Film Festival announced the prize winners from its competition strand. Many believed Tunis-born […]
Cannes 2013: ‘Venus in Fur’ review
★★★☆☆ Following on from 2011’s raucous American middle-class comedy Carnage – and as we await his long-gestating Dreyfus affair project – Polish director Roman Polanski […]
Cannes 2013: ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ review
★★★★☆ Director Jim Jarmusch has managed an almost impossible feat with new film Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), in competition at this year’s Cannes Film […]
Cannes 2013: ‘Behind the Candelabra’ review
★★★★☆ Władziu Valentino Liberace was a phenomenal success, his recording and performing career spanning four decades. A flamboyant showman and housewives’ favourite, Liberace fought long […]
Cannes 2013: ‘Like Father, Like Son’ review
★★★★☆ Award-winning Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda lights up this year’s London Film Festival with Like Father, Like Son (2013), a closely-observed family drama which delves […]