Reviews
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LFF 2010: Carlos review
★★☆☆☆ To begin, I must admit that I have only been exposed to the 2 ½ hour ‘movie version’ cut of Olivier Assayas’ Carlos the Jackal biopic Carlos (2010), truncated from the original 5 hour TV mini-series by its director in order to make it more palatable for cinema audiences. From other, informed accounts, the longer version…
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Raindance Film Festival 2010: ‘Rebels Without a Clue’
With debut feature Rebels Without a Clue (2009), director and writer Ian Vernon attempts to blend elements of so-called gritty social-realism with black humour, in a film that is about as misguided as it’s unfortunate title suggests. The tag line, “Teenagers with guns, drugs and a cool car. All they need to do is lose their…
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DVD Review: ‘The Loved Ones’
★★★☆☆ The last ten years have seen a resurgence in the low-budget, Ozploitation comedy horror thanks to films like Undead (2003), while titles such as Wolf Creek (2005) have carried the more extreme fringe of Australian cinema to a new generation of cinemagoers. It would seem the Ozploitation genre – almost forty years on –…
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Theatrical Releases: ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’
The original Wall Street was one of those films that defined the era in which it was made, as well as providing us with workable credos such as “greed is good” and “lunch is for wimps.” It earned Michael Douglas – already a very seasoned actor and producer – an Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko,…
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Film Review: ‘A Town Called Panic’
★★★★☆ Anyone who has seen the ongoing series of mad-cap Cravendale adverts, featuring an ensemble cast of miniature plasticine figurines ranging from farmyard animals to pirates and farmers (Cue maniacal howls of “MILK, MILK!”) should find themselves at home with the first theatrical release from Belgian stop-frame animators ‘Pic Pic André’ – AKA directing duo…
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Raindance Film Festival 2010: ‘Boys on the Run’
★★★☆☆ Having watched films like American Pie (1999) and the 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), we have all been exposed time and time again to the ridiculous experiences of the modern day ‘man-child’ and his struggle with sexuality in the 21st Century. Much like these films, Daisuke Miura’s Boys on the Run (2010) can be seen as…
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Blu-ray Review: ‘Memento’
★★★★★ Since its release 12 years ago, British director Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000) has continued to intrigue and delight viewers. A film which propelled Nolan into the Hollywood limelight and got the masses talking, it’s of no wonder that when taking into account its unique and perplexing narrative, ingenious directorial craft and imaginative editing, audiences…
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DVD Releases: ‘The Brothers Bloom’
In his first feature movie Brick (2005), writer-director Rian Johnson created a self-contained world of noir double-crosses, femme-fatales and hardboiled dialogue, and set it all in the microcosm of a Californian high school. For The Brothers Bloom, his second film, Johnson takes the same interest in the intricacies of language and story-telling, and takes it…
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DVD Releases: ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’
J. Blakeson impresses with his debut feature as both director and writer with The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009). A kidnapping story filled with imaginative psychological twists, the film follows a hostage taking from a fresh perspective. When ex-cons Vic (Eddie Marsan) and Danny (Martin Compston) furnish a small flat for the kidnapping of Alice…
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DVD Releases: ‘My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?’
Already on very limited release in UK cinemas and released on DVD on 27th September (coinciding with the release of Bad Lieutenant – Port of Call: New Orleans [2009]) is Werner Herzog’s My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (2009), his latest feature film, which has gained notoriety for Herzog’s collaboration with producer David…