Daniel Gumble
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Film Review: ‘The Portuguese Nun’
★☆☆☆☆ As a film that has been met with almost unanimous critical praise, I am still wondering whether it was in fact Eugene Green’s A Portuguese Nun (2009) that I painfully and, eventually, begrudgingly endured. For this is without question one of the most tedious, long-winded and utterly pretentious films I have put myself through…
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DVD Releases: ‘Betrayal’
Having just said goodbye to 2010 – a year which few would argue had been a particularly impressive one for the world of cinema – it is with a hint of disappointment that I must bring to your attention a DVD release of such crashing and unbridled nonsense so early on in 2011. The…
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DVD Review: ‘Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment’
★★★☆☆ As a film that deals with themes of insanity, jealousy, romance and class division, whilst simultaneously skipping between madcap comedy and tragic love story, it is little wonder that Karel Reisz’s Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) achieves rather mixed results.The film details the descent into madness of the already psychologically unstable Morgan (David Warner),…
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Special Feature: The Most Anticipated Films of 2011
Happy New Year one and all and welcome officially to 2011! The last twelve months have arguably been a great cumulative year for cinema, but with new films scheduled for release from British Oscar winner Danny Boyle, dynamic duo the Coen brothers, Darren Aronofsky and the seldom-seen Terrence Malick, 2011 is shaping up to be…
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DVD Releases: ‘The Last Exorcism’
Over the past few years, hand-held horror movies seem to have become a fairly frequent occurrence, often achieving varying degrees of success. On one hand we’ve seen such superb and wonderfully terrifying examples as Rec (2008) and Paranormal Activity (2007). Equally, however, some haven’t quite delivered in the same way; 2008’s Cloverfield and 2010’s Rec…
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Special Feature: The Best Films of 2010
The New Year is nearly upon us, so to celebrate the timely end of 2010 (and another decade) CineVue’s editorial team have provided a near-definitive rundown of their own personal Top Five films of the year, as well as the most exceptional director and actor of the last twelve months in cinema. Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet,…
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Theatrical Releases: ‘Road to Las Vegas’
Rarely does a documentary manage to encapsulate its subject matter with the kind of beauty and non-judgemental insight as Jason Massot’s latest film, Road to Las Vegas (2010).Spanning four years, it follows the lives of African American couple Vanessa and Maurice Melton and their five children as they leave home and set off on an…
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Film Review: ‘Leap Year’
★☆☆☆☆ A depiction of intense loneliness and psychosexual torture, Michael Rowe’s minimalist debut feature Leap Year (Año bisiesto, 2010) raises many a difficult question with regards to its seemingly complex gender politics. It follows the life of Laura, played with vulnerable perfection by Monica Del Carmen, a lonely freelance journalist who lives alone in a small Mexican apartment.…
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Film Review: ‘The American’
★★☆☆☆ As an artist known primarily for his work as a music video director and band photographer, Anton Corbijn’s latest project The American (2010), starring George Clooney, could well be seen as a drastic departure from his well established roots. His debut feature Control (2007) yielded great critical acclaim, although some may have noted that…
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DVD Review: ‘The Hammer and Tongs Collection’
★★★☆☆ Anyone with even a passing interest in the world of film and music videos will no doubt be familiar with the work of director/producer duo Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, a.k.a. Hammer and Tongs. Whether this be as a result of their more recent feature films such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…