Reviews
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DVD Releases: ‘The Beyond’
★★★★☆ A frequent topper of ‘goriest moments’ lists, Italian splatter merchant Lucio Fulci is rarely treated with much critical regard. Probably best known for eye-gouging Dawn of the Dead (1978) rip-off Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979), Fulci, often overlooked in favour of arch Giallo stylist Dario Argento, is seen as less of an artist and more of…
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Film Review: ‘The Adjustment Bureau’
★★★★☆ Adapted from a Philip K. Dick short story first published in the 1950s, screenwriter George Nolfi’s directorial debut The Adjustment Bureau (2011) is less sci-fi-thriller and more timeless romance than perhaps anyone may ever have expected from the writer of The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Carefully but never dutifully maintaining a highly watchable neutral on the…
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Film Review: ‘Terry’
★★★☆☆ Nick Nevern’s debut Terry (2011) is an impressive first outing, more so when you consider that Nevern himself not only wrote, produced and directed the feature, but also starred. The plot hinges on a young film student, Charlie Ruez who makes a documentary in 2009 about the life of an unemployed, working-class man named…
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DVD Review: ‘And Soon the Darkness’
★★☆☆☆ Horror has always been a genre that has produced films into which no time or effort has been put. Cinema history is riddled with horror flicks that were turned out in a matter of months, for as little money as possible, hoping to make an even profit on the video and DVD releases. And…
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DVD Review: ‘Phenomena’
★★☆☆☆ First and foremost, it is important to stress that Phenomena (1985) is a complete mess. Following his run of mid-career masterpieces, starting with Deep Red (1975) and culminating in 1982’s definitive Giallo thriller Tenebrae, Argento attempted to push the formal experimentation of the late 70’s to even giddier extremes. The result is frequently dazzling…
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Film Review: ‘Archipelago’
★★★★☆ Joanna Hogg’s debut feature Unrelated (2007) won widespread critical acclaim with its painfully moving depiction of a family going through an emotional crisis whilst on a Tuscan holiday. Hogg’s latest film Archipelago (2011) revisits this subject in even more depth, in a drama that examines the slow, quiet disintegration of a middle-class family with…
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Film Review: ‘West is West’
★★☆☆☆ The release of the long awaited sequel to 1999’s hit comedy/drama East is East should in theory hit all the right buttons; it has a strong cast, an interesting premise and the personal insight of screenwriter Ayub Khan-Din, who has based both films on his own experiences of the culture clash felt by many…
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Film Review: ‘Carmen 3D’
★☆☆☆☆ It may seem cruel to be giving one of the most well known operas (and one that was well received during its run at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House) such a poor review. However, the central problem of Carmen 3D (2011) isn’t the opera; the performances are predominantly very good, with a fantastic cast including Christine…
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DVD Releases: ‘Easy A’
Emma Stone is destined for greatness. In 2011 we will have the pleasure of catching Ms. Stone alongside Steve Carell in Glenn Ficarra’s Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) before stepping back in time to 1960’s Mississippi for The Help (2011). However, it’s in 2012 that Stone will be catapulted into the stratosphere when she gets up close and…
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DVD Releases: ‘The Hunter’
With The Hunter (2010), director Rafi Pitts continues to spearhead the self-proclaimed ‘Iranian New Wave’ with another masterfully executed poetic-realist work that inhabits the same multifaceted Iran presented in Pitt’s previous feature It’s Winter (2006), albeit with a leaner, harsher approach to character and narrative.Pitt writes, directs and takes the eponymous role of Ali, an…