★★★☆☆ If you want to read about how former US president John F. Kennedy liked to have sex in the bath, then Palimpsest, the first volume of Gore Vidal’s memoirs, is the book for you. It manages to be a splendidly outrageous document of literary mythmaking and lurid gossip-mongering whilst Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ The Queen director Stephen Frears’ latest offering Philomena (2013), one of a plethora of Oscar hopefuls at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, is a heartfelt and nicely poised dramatisation following the true story of Philomena Lee. Its further bolstered by two classy performances from the ever-reliable, but utterly Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard star in Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves (2013), an eco-terrorism thriller that, whilst more accessible than her past works, loses none of that distinctive minimalist flare and vigilant style. Josh (Eisenberg) and Dena (Fanning) are a pair of protesters intent of making a Continue Reading
★☆☆☆☆ Italian director Gianni Amelio returns to the fray with the hugely disappointing L’intrepido (A Lonely Hero, 2013), a hopelessly drab character study and alleged social satire. Celebrated comic actor Antonio Albanese plays Antonio, a Milanese Jack of all trades who subs for other workers when they need a few Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ British comic actor Richard Ayoade grabbed the attention of the UK industry back in 2010 with feature debut Submarine, a sharp, cineliterate adaptation of the Joe Dunthorne novel of the same name. His follow-up, The Double (2013), is once again based upon a literary source, this time taking its Continue Reading
★★★★★ Once again, it’s time for DVD and Blu-ray audiences to keep their appointment with The Wicker Man (1973) following its ‘Final Cut’ rerelease earlier this month. It’s an offbeat masterpiece that reveals the dark heart of Britain through the perennial tension between social progress and the burden of the Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ “He who robs the graves of Egypt…dies.” It’s sage advice oft proffered to enthusiastic archaeologists and rarely taken heed of. Unsurprisingly, it proves as valuable as the wise words from a stranger that discourage visiting that ominous Transylvanian castle, or investigating the abandoned cabin in the woods. It’s the Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Lifeforce (1985), director Tobe Hooper’s foray into space-based terror, is very much a product of its time. Starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Mathilda May and Frank Finlay (as well as a brief surprise appearance by future Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart), Lifeforce is one of those films with an Continue Reading
★★★★☆ In the interview included on Third Window’s release of See You Tomorrow, Everyone (2013) director Yoshihiro Nakamura acknowledges how his film makes certain demands of the audience. Specifically, he notes the sharp turn in tone that occurs midway through. Though some viewers may indeed be troubled by this abrupt Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Equestrian artist Alfred Munnings’ love affair and disastrous marriage to aspiring painter Florence Carter-Wood is the subject of Christopher Menaul’s involving costume drama Summer in February (2013). It’s 1912 and Munnings (Dominic Cooper) is a prominent member of the bohemian Lamorna Group, a colony of artists living and practising Continue Reading
★★★★☆ After premièring to acclaim at Cannes, Steven Soderbergh’s directorial swansong Behind the Candelabra (2013) arrives on a format that is, by and large, an offshoot of the medium it was made for. Turned down by every major mainstream filmmaking studio for simply being “too gay”, Soderbergh turned to a Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ After a string of underwhelming films, much-maligned American director M. Night Shyamalan – who was remarkably being touted as ‘the next Spielberg’ only a decade ago – is now associated with flops. For his latest endeavour, the auteur has called upon the talents of father-son duo Will and Jaden Continue Reading