Adam Lowes
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DVD Review: ‘Oldboy’
★☆☆☆☆ American remakes of revered foreign language classics invariably fall short of the original, their unique quality and personality often lost in the cultural overhaul. Spike Lee’s abject Oldboy (2013), a wretched western transplant of acclaimed South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s twisted and operatic 2003 masterpiece, fails gloriously on every single level, entirely stripping away…
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Film Review: ‘The Motel Life’
★★★★☆ The hard-drinking, hobo-like existence of the two main characters from real-life siblings Alan and Gabe Polsky’s The Motel Life (2012) recalls the kind of blighted figures and transient lives found in the pages of those classic State-side literary works which trawl the American underbelly. The drab wood-panelled watering holes and charmless cut-rate casinos the…
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Blu-ray Review: ‘White of the Eye’
★★★☆☆ Having gained cult status over the years, enigmatic Scottish-born director Donald Cammell’s White of the Eye (1987) is everything you’d expect from the co-creator of 1970’s Performance – narratively sloppy, wilfully esoteric and loaded with the kind of haunting imagery which stays with you long after the credits. Like Manhunter, Michael Mann’s offering from…
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DVD Review: ‘Dom Hemingway’
★★☆☆☆ Imagine Sexy Beast’s Don Logan suddenly developing a heart halfway through Jonathan Glazer’s film. Unfathomable, isn’t it. This is the unfortunate trajectory of Jude Law’s volatile, large-than-life parolee in Richard Shepard’s comedy drama Dom Hemingway (2013), which squanders its early promise with a pedestrian and muddled second half. Released from prison after a twelve-year…
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DVD Review: ‘Don Jon’
★★★☆☆ As Don Jon’s (2013) opening credits present a series of images highlighting the objectification of woman in the media, juxtaposed with a thudding and syrupy romantic score, it’s clear something a little different is at work in Joseph Gordon-Levitt directorial bow. While he may make the odd narrative misstep here and there, this is…
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Film Review: ‘Need for Speed’
★★☆☆☆ Once again, that potentially lucrative and creative synergy between the gaming world and action cinema falls considerably short with the release of Scott Waugh’s Need for Speed (2014), a particularly lunkheaded adaptation of the phenomenally popular EA racer series. Gravity-defying motor porn exploits take pole position over plot and everything else, despite some admittedly…
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Interview: Brie Larson chats ‘Short Term 12’
Next Monday (10 March) sees the release of Destin Daniel Cretton’s directorial debut Short Term 12 (2013) on DVD and Blu-ray, courtesy of Verve Pictures. Once an outside bet for a late Academy Awards run, the film unfortunately missed out on an Oscar nomination, particularly for its outstanding star performer, Brie Larson. Perhaps best known to…
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DVD Review: ‘Short Term 12’
★★★★☆ With Sundance hit Short Term 12 (2013), debut director Destin Daniel Cretton has crafted an intimate yet highly moving tale, bolstered further still by a powerful, superlative performance from up-and-coming star Brie Larson. Larson plays Grace, a twentysomething supervisor at a foster care facility – a mainly relaxed environment where the kids are free to…
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Blu-ray Review: ‘Phantom of the Paradise’
★★★★☆ Coming two years before his breakout commercial horror hit Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise (1974) finds revered seventies “movie brat” Brian De Palma in a lively and altogether more playful mode – and all the better for it. For anyone yet to see this uproariously kitsch comedy-musical, Arrow Video’s stunning transfer is a great…
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DVD Review: ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’
★★★★☆ Admittedly, a “time-travelling indie comedy” may not be the most appealing concept upon first glance, but much like the characters in this charmingly offbeat yarn, initial perceptions differ from what is eventually achieved. On the strength of Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) alone, director Colin Trevorrow was given the plump gig of bringing Jurassic World…