Radu Mihaileanu’s latest feature, The Source, is an entirely admirable but sluggish tale of Berber women going on a ‘love strike’ after a rebellious housewife pulls the menfolk up for their sexist attitudes. Life in the Atlas mountains has gone unchanged for centuries. The men are settled in tradition and the women settled in near-slavery. [...]
The Raid/Serbuan Maut/The Raid: Redemption is an Indonesian martial arts movie, written, directed and edited by a Welshman and with a soundtrack from Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. For the most part, that seemingly odd combo works a treat, delivering impressive, well-staged and shot fights with a thumping score. It’s the bits before, after, and in-between [...]
Director Christophe Honoré returns to the musical for a second time with his new picture, Beloved (Les bien-aimés), led by Chiara Mastroianni with support from her mother and cinema legend, Catherine Deneuve. Beloved is certainly an ambitious tale boasting a decades spanning, globe-trotting narrative filled with a rich ensemble cast. Shop girl and part-time prostitute [...]
Although it seems to take inspiration from the crime fiction of Jim Thompson and the blood-soaked thrillers of Sam Peckinpah How I Spent My Summer Vacation does nothing with such an intriguing base. Adrian Grunberg’s film settles for being a same old same old star vehicle for Mel Gibson. There’s little ambition here with the [...]
Reminiscent of Spike Jonze’s Adaptation in some ways, Jeff, Who Lives at Home is the story of a central character that seems to have become stuck or lost his way in the world and then a dull life is turned around dramatically. In Adaptation Nicolas Cage played twins, Charlie and Donald, the former a pessimist, [...]
‘Cuba’s first ever zombie film!’, the poster and promo material exclaims hoping such a bold statement will garner interest from gorehounds and mainstream fans now accustomed to the pleasures of this particular branch of genre cinema. Alejandro Brugués’ Juan of the Dead is a very silly zom-com and works well enough beyond the initial UPS [...]
SSSTTTAAATTTHHHAAAMMM!!! Jason Statham, the British, one-man saviour of action cinema is back for another of his bi-annual beat ‘em ups and as it turns out, Safe is one of his best films. In fact it’s currently my second best action film of the year, after Haywire. Yes, I have seen The Raid. Jason Statham is [...]
Part of what became known as ‘Poetic Realism’ this 1938 French film proceeds American film noir as well as setting the bar very high for any such film that might follow the long deep shadow that it casts. Jean (Jean Gabin) is a soldier deserting from the army and making his way to the port [...]
Silent House is a remake of the Uruguayan horror movie The Silent House. It may have swapped the “The” for an Olsen (Elizabeth from Martha Marcy May Marlene and rumoured to be in the Old Boy remake. Great. Thanks and fuck you IMDb) but it’s just as boring and un-scary as the Gustavo Hernández original. [...]
Constance Marks’ documentary, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, focuses on the career and passion of Kevin Clash, the man who made his name voicing and performing the iconic Sesame Street character Elmo. The film follows Clash in the present and looks back via archive materials into the man’s past and his desire to become a [...]
