A traumatised mercenary struggles when his latest assignment goes violently wrong in You Were Never Really Here, a superb and deeply effective thriller from writer/director Lynne Ramsay. Anyone who has seen her earlier features like Ratcatcher and We Need to Talk About Kevin will appreciate … Continue reading REVIEW: You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Writer/director Edgar Wright highlights the dangers of nostalgia in this tightly-made and somewhat slippery thriller, one that represents a significant shift in his directorial aesthetic. One could quibble over the film’s treatment of mental illness and sex work in a … Continue reading REVIEW: Last Night in Soho (2021)
Director Steve McQueen achieved a remarkable feat in 2020, directing not one but five feature films about West Indian immigrants in the United Kingdom. The series was titled Small Axe, and was funded by the BBC. It is a remarkable achievement, not simply … Continue reading REVIEW: Mangrove (2020)
It is difficult to know what to make of The King’s Man, Matthew Vaughn’s long-delayed prequel to his two successful Kingsman action films (The Secret Service in 2015, and The Golden Circle in 2017). It seems likely that 20th Century Studios were not sure what to … Continue reading REVIEW: The King’s Man (2021)
New science fiction film Settlers is earnestly made, but struggles with both an overly-familiar story and a particularly grim tone throughout. It will likely find an appreciative niche audience, but mainstream success was honestly never an option. It is currently available … Continue reading REVIEW: Settlers (2021)
It has been a remarkably long time coming, but No Time to Die has finally emerged in cinemas around the world. It ends the second-longest hiatus in the history of the James Bond movie franchise – close to six years, and second … Continue reading REVIEW: No Time to Die (2021)
You know the drill: after all, it has been done so many times in recent years. A film comes out, based on a young adult novel, about a child protagonist living in the poor part of a totalitarian future state. … Continue reading REVIEW: The White King (2016)
During a widespread viral pandemic, a scientist and a park guide head into the forest in a search for a missing colleague. By the time they reach the site of her experiments it becomes clear that they are not alone … Continue reading REVIEW: In the Earth (2021)
Hammer Film Productions represent a legendary part of British film history. While the company was established in 1935, it was a period from 1955 through to the early 1970s that cemented their contribution. Beginning with a series of horror adaptations … Continue reading REVIEW: Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971)
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)
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