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Special Feature: In defence of the Coen brothers
In an article published in this weekend’s Guardian Film section, the writer Will Self takes upon himself the job of announcing to readers of that newspaper and the world in general that the Coen brothers just aren’t that good after all. The article not only reeks of cultural elitism and condescension, but Self is too…
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The Cut: Bizarre Magazine Presents ‘The Last Victim’
If you haven’t had the pleasure of making it to any of Bizarre Magazine’s ‘The Cut’ monthly underground cinema evening, then I strongly urge you to get your backsides down there. It’s free entry, you get one free beer (and bottles after that are a pound) and it’s chock full of eccentrics, horror aficionados and…
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Barbican Film: Michelangelo Antonioni Directorspective
The highlight of the Barbican’s Michelangelo Antonioni Directorspective have arguably been the screenings of L’avventura (1960) and La notte (1961), the first two films of what has been described by critic Philip French as the “The Antonioni Walk,” an unofficial, loose trilogy of modernist films that explore the existential crisis of rich, beautiful characters who are bored with their lives.On…
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DVD Review: ‘Missing’
★★★★☆ If you were to read the synopsis of Missing (2009), you would probably expect a generic, non-sequitur horror flick full of the usual self-conscious moments of tension; but upon watching the film, you’ll discover one of the most complex psychopaths ever shown on screen, along with beautiful, subtle and powerful cinematography that rises above the…
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DVD Releases: ‘In Their Sleep’
The horror movie industry has grown somewhat stagnant in recent years, it has to be confessed. Many of the more interesting premises by which to scare the wits out of your audience have been exhausted to the point of cliche or parody. However, low budget French horror/thriller In Their Sleep (2010) is a good example of…
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DVD Review: ‘The Assassin Next Door’
★★★☆☆ In Danny Lerner’s The Assassin Next Door (2009), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace [2008], Max Payne [2008]) play Galia, a young woman who finds herself in a severe set of circumstances. Having left her husband and daughter in her native Ukraine, she travels to Tel Aviv, Israel. Whilst there she winds up in a dire situation, becoming…
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DVD Releases: ‘American Beauty’
As directorial debuts go, American Beauty (1998) is just about as close to perfection as it comes. Since his first feature blazed though the 2000 Academy Awards – picking up eight nominations and five awards – British director Sam Mendes has failed to reach the same levels of critical success with offerings such as Road to Perdition (2002), Jarhead (2005) and Revolutionary…
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DVD Review: ‘Police, Adjective’
★★★☆☆ From 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006) director Corneliu Porumboui comes the Romanian director’s latest film, Police, Adjective (2009), yet another strong entry within the growing body of contemporary Romanian cinematic works.Winner of the ‘Un Certain Regard Prize’ at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Porumboui’s latest effort is a darkly humorous police drama following disillusioned…
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DVD Releases: ‘The Illusionist’
Originally written by the late French actor/director Jaques Tati in 1956 in an attempt to reconcile with his daughter, The Illusionist (2010) had lain dormant for almost fifty years before eventually finding its way to director Sylvian Chomet’s desk following the release of Belleville Rendezvous (2003).Although Chomet kept in close contact with Tati’s caretakers, the film…
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DVD Releases: ‘Red’
Action movies are a young man’s game. Or they used to be, before Sylvester Stallone resurrected the hard-man genre last summer with his team of middle-aged action heroes in The Expendables (2010). Now there’s a fourth Mission: Impossible on the way with Tom Cruise still firmly strapped into the lead role, and even Tony Scott…
EIFF 2026