Well known for pushing boundaries across his films, Bong Joon-ho makes a tremendous splash with his English-language debut Snowpiercer. Entrapped within a perpetually moving train thanks to a climate change deterrent-turned-icy, the lower class, led by Curtis (Chris Evans), start an uprising in a bid to overturn a dictatorial system that has left them impoverished. Continue reading “Review: Snowpiercer (2013)”
Ten year’s after soaring to success with his breathtaking low-budget directorial debut Once, writer and director John Carney returns to our screens with Begin Again, a more polished, yet no less triumphant musical drama. When left betrayed by her long-term boyfriend, Gretta (Keira Knightley) finds herself unstuck in New York City – until she meets Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a down-on-his-luck record producer, who hones in on her raw singing talent. Continue reading “Review: Begin Again (2014)”
Breaking new territory and producing a masterpiece in the process, writer-director Richard Linklater brings us Boyhood, an exceptional, years-in-the-making coming-of-age drama that charts the evolution of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as he weathers the storm of life and matures from boyhood to manhood. Continue reading “Review: Boyhood (2014)”
With a string of hits in the bag (Bridesmaids, The Identity Thief and The Heat), Melissa McCarthy makes her first serious misstep with Tammy, a directionless road trip comedy she co-wrote with her husband Ben Falcone (who also directs). McCarthy stars as Tammy, a hostile, loud-mouthed loser who runs away with her elderly, equally as vulgar grandmother, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), after being fired and learning of her husband’s infidelity. Continue reading “Review: Tammy (2014)”
Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s attempts to dramatise Mara Leveritt’s novelisation of the previously well-documented story of The West Memphis Three is an unfortunately dull, melodramatic and calculable procedural. When three boys disappear, only to be found brutally murdered days later, the authorities’ hold three satanic cult members – Damien (James Hamrick), Jessie (Kristopher Higgins) and Jason (Seth Meriwether) – accountable, even though the evidence isn’t all there. Continue reading “Review: Devil’s Knot (2013)”
Jon Favreau makes a triumphant return to his independent roots with Chef, an infectiously charming comedy about rediscovering oneself through life, love and food. After quitting a high-profile restaurant role, Carl Casper (Favreau, who also writes and directs) decides to start up a food truck in order to return to a simpler way of life, which also includes reconnecting with his son (Emjay Anthony). Continue reading “Review: Chef (2014)”
Gugu Mbatha-Raw shines in Belle, director Amma Asante’s otherwise stiff and by-the-numbers late 18th century period drama. Left under the care of Chief Lord Justice Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson), Dido Elizabeth Belle (Mbatha-Raw) leads a privileged life, but is still somewhat hampered by the prevailing social attitudes towards her dark skin colour. Never more than intermittently involving, Belle is nicely directed, but severely lacking in depth and conflict. Continue reading “Review: Belle (2014)”
Intelligent and unsettling, Oculus – an expansion of director Mike Flanagan’s similarly titled short film – is one of the better horror films of the past few years. Long after the death of their parents, Kaylie (Karen Gillan) and her brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites), who’s recently been released from a psychiatric hospital, reunite to destroy the mirror responsible for the evildoings in their past. Continue reading “Review: Oculus (2013)”
Adapted from Reif Larsen’s novel, The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet is a vibrant and amusing, if ultimately convoluted cross-county adventure from Amélie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Wise beyond his years T.S. Spivet (Kyle Catlett) lives on a remote ranch. When he’s invited to the Smithsonian to collect an award for his perpetual motion machine, he flees his family – and the sorrow of his brother’s accidental death – and hitches a ride on a freight train. Continue reading “Review: The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)”
Le Vie En Rose director Olivier Dahan turns his attention to Grace Kelly with Grace of Monaco, an asinine melodrama that wouldn’t be out of place in a bargain bin. Six years after marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (Tim Roth), Grace (Nicole Kidman) is forced to choose between Hollywood and her family when Monaco is catapulted into an international crisis that could end in disaster. Catastrophic from start to finish, Grace of Monaco easily lives up to its reputation. Continue reading “Review: Grace Of Monaco (2014)”
Empty Screens 