Patrick Gamble
-
Film Review: ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
★★★☆☆ Stephen Chbosky’s directorial debut sees him adapt his own novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, for the big screen. A coming-of-age drama starring Logan Lerman, We Need to Talk about Kevin’s Ezra Miller and Emma Watson in her ongoing endeavour to no longer be associated as simply the blockbusting Harry Potter franchise’s Hermione…
-
Raindance 2012: ‘Black Biscuit’ review
★★☆☆☆ Fabrizio Federico’s Black Biscuit (2011) is the flagship film of the director’s Pink8 Manifesto – a new movement based loosely on the principles of Dogme 95, but with a stronger focus on improvisation and breaking away from the linear foundations of narrative filmmaking. Black Biscuit’s fractured narrative loosely follows the life of Chet (Federico),…
-
Film Review: ‘Husbands’
★★★☆☆ Rereleased in UK cinemas this week courtesy of Park Circus, John Cassavetes’ Husbands (1970) showcases the renowned American director’s many talents, whilst simultaneously highlighting his unfortunately noticeable flaws. A mutual friend’s death has a deep and profound effect on three married men. After the funeral these middle-aged friends – all at that dispiriting age…
-
Film Review: ‘Barbara’
★★★★☆ From acclaimed German director Christian Petzold comes Barbara (2012), a taut, brooding and intelligent drama set behind the Berlin wall, in the rural provinces of Eastern Germany. When our titular protagonist (Nina Hoss), a doctor working in Berlin, applies to immigrate to the West, she finds herself banished to a small rural hospital. Despite…
-
DVD Review: ‘Dovzhenko: War Trilogy’
★★★★★ Despite often being cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers – primarily for his Soviet montage theory – the name Alexander Dovzhenko has failed to garner the same critical acclaim in the west as his contemporaries. However, thanks to Mr Bongo, his most revered and respected work is again available in…
-
Film Review: ‘Santa Sangre’
★★★★★ Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre (1989) is the ultimate example of cult cinema that transcends its meagre cultural standing- an avant garde horror with all the surreal twists of a vivid and harrowing nightmare, played out in an assured and intelligent manner. Based around the lingering repercussions of adolescent trauma, Santa Sangre follows Fenix (played…
-
DVD Review: ‘Don Quixote’
★★★★☆ Released on DVD for the first time in the UK courtesy of Mr Bongo, Grigori Kozintsev’s big screen adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote (Don Kikhot, 1957) has long been regarded as the pre-eminent cinematic version of this literary classic. Beautifully imagined, Kozintsev’s depiction of the illustrious adventures of one of literature’s most…
-
DVD Review: ‘A Woman Under the Influence’
★★★★☆ Regarded by many as John Cassavetes’ most successful and influential film, 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence is a sensitive portrait of a fractured domestic dynamic and a compelling examination of mental health. Rereleased this month on both DVD and Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI, A Woman Under the Influence remains one of the…
-
DVD Review: ‘Silent House’ (2011)
★★☆☆☆ From Chris Kentis and Laura Lau – the husband and wife creative force behind 2003’s taught aquatic horror Open Water – comes Silent House (2011), a US remake of Uruguayan director Gustavo Hernandez’s La Casa Muda (The Silent House, 2010). Starring rising star Elizabeth Olsen as the film’s tormented ‘damsel in distress’, this seemingly…
-
Film Review: ‘About Elly’
★★★★☆ About Elly (2009) finally gets its long-awaited UK theatrical release this week thanks primarily to the Academy Award and Golden Bear success of director Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011). It’s a shame that it’s taken such a monumental accolade for Farhadi’s fourth feature to see the light of day, as this award-winning drama is…