There is a perilously fine line in most arthouse-oriented pictures between generating eye-opening epiphanies and inviting eye-rolling groans. What is worse, it is a line that is not only narrow but largely invisible. What works for one viewer does not … Continue reading REVIEW: The Falling (2014)
Nobody really talks about children’s films. In fact, I would go so far as to claim it is the most misunderstood and under-appreciated form of popular cinema that there is. For one thing, it is difficult to persuade an adult … Continue reading REVIEW: Waiting for Anya (2020)
A group of bus drivers from Dorset traditionally produce an annual amateur pantomime to raise money for charity. One year they elect to stage a theatrical adaptation of Ridley Scott’s 1979 science fiction horror classic Alien instead. That’s it: that’s the pitch. … Continue reading FANTASIA REVIEW: Alien on Stage (2020)
A promising foundation and strong performances suggest a great independent film in A Brixton Tale, but subsequent developments wind up making this London-set drama wobble on its axis a little. It is a deep shame, because all of the ingredients for … Continue reading REVIEW: A Brixton Tale (2021)
In order to succeed, good documentaries need to tell interesting stories. Steelers: The World’s First Gay Rugby Club, a 2020 documentary directed by journalist Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, certainly lands on something of note: London’s Kings Cross Steelers, and their quest to … Continue reading REVIEW: Steelers (2020)
Neil Marshall is one of the UK’s most valuable genre filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 2002’s Dog Soldiers and then his reputation with 2005’s exceptional horror film The Descent. Subsequent films like Doomsday (2008) and Centurion (2010), while perhaps not as groundbreaking or effective, have … Continue reading REVIEW: The Reckoning (2020)
By 1967 the lucrative James Bond movie franchise was hitting its fifth instalment in the space of six years. The preceding film, Thunderball (1965), had been a record-breaking success, and expectations were high for Bond’s next adventure to top it all over … Continue reading REVIEW: You Only Live Twice (1967)
Properly-made family entertainment is just about the hardest thing to get right in filmmaking, and yet for all of the effort placed into the best examples it is exceedingly rare for such a film to be a hit. Children are … Continue reading REVIEW: The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
Sean Connery returns to play British super-spy James Bond for the fourth time in 1965’s Thunderball; a global smash hit in which the Bond franchise formula arguably solidified for the first time. It may not be the best of Connery’s Bond … Continue reading REVIEW: Thunderball (1965)
Noel Coward remains one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed playwrights, even if his light comedies have by-and-large fallen out of popular favour. His 1941 play Blithe Spirit is probably his most famous work, and was adapted into a film by director … Continue reading REVIEW: Blithe Spirit (2020)
