Oliver Assayas’ latest Clouds Of Sils Maria is a striking, sharp and particularly well layered meta drama with a pair of high standing performances at its fore. Ageing actress Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is asked to star in a revival of the play that launched her career twenty years prior, this time in the older role. Her acceptance forces her to question her past, present and overall place within the industry. Continue reading “GFF15 Review: Clouds Of Sils Maria (2014)”
Eighteen years after making his directorial debut with The Winter Guest, Alan Rickman returns behind the camera to direct A Little Chaos, a featherlight period drama. Madam Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) is awarded the sought-after task of landscaping the land at Versailles – a prime position that brings her into contact with King Louis XIV (Rickman) and André Le Notre (Matthias Schoenarts), whom she develops a relationship with. Continue reading “GFF15 Review: A Little Chaos (2014)”
Françis Ozon follows-up In The House and Young & Beautiful with The New Girlfriend, a comic drama that starts out well, only to taper off towards the end. Left devastated by the death of her childhood friend, Claire (Anaïs Demoustier) sticks to her promise of looking out for widower David (Romain Duris) and their newborn baby – only to make an unexpected discovery that threatens to further unbalance her life. Continue reading “GFF15 Review: The New Girlfriend (2014)”
Produced by celebrated Spanish film mogul Pedro Almodóvar, Wild Tales is a pitch black horror anthology that’s both wickedly enjoyable and politically illuminating. Split into six segments that are interconnected through themes and tone instead of narrative, Damián Sczifrón’s unique effort fizzes with originality and snap. Continue reading “GFF15 Review: Wild Tales (2014)”
2013 has brought with it a lot of things, both good and bad. But in this particular post I’ll be focusing on the film-related highlights that I’ve experienced over the past twelve months, from a mini adventure in London that included my first ever podcast appearance to a wine-soaked preview screening of Gravity at the newly converted IMAX cinema in Glasgow. I’ve interviewed idols, attended film festivals, and even walked a red carpet. Continue reading “2013 In Film: A Summary”
Four college girls – Brit (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Cotty (Rachel Korine) and Faith (Selena Gomez) – embark upon the ultimate spring break in Florida – sex, drugs and alcohol, included. However, when they find themselves locked up in jail and rapidly running out of money, they’re bailed out by rapper turned gangster Alien (James Franco) who promises to shower them with riches and make their wildest dreams come true. Continue reading “GFF 2013 Review: Spring Breakers (2013)”
Craig Zobel’s sophomore feature Compliance, based on the alarming reality of victimising prank calls, has built up a significant reputation since debuting at the Sundance Film Festival last year, not least due to its hard-hitting subject-matter and the significant protests that have befallen it; there were various reports of walk-outs and complaints were reported at screenings in the US. Continue reading “GFF 2013 Review: Compliance (2013)”
Steven Soderbergh’s swan song (his Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra will air on HBO later this year) sees the esteemed director re-team with Contagion screenwriter Scott Z. Burns for a taut, artistic and unsettling psychological thriller set against the world of mental health. It is a place where abhorrent pharmaceutical industries are benefitting from modern societies increasing reliance on anti-depressants, regardless of their destructive and addictive side effects. Continue reading “GFF 2013 Review: Side Effects (2013)”
Set in the blistering, sweaty heat of 1960’s Florida, The Paperboy – Lee Daniels’ star-studded follow-up to the Academy Award winning Precious – is a pup-noir crime thriller wrapped in a web of intrigue that’s as trashy and provocative as it is alluring and enormously entertaining. Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey), a newspaper reporter, returns to his hometown with partner Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo) to uncover a salacious story of murder. Continue reading “GFF 2013 Review: The Paperboy (2013)”
Director Marc Isaac’s latest documentary The Road: A Story Of Life And Death exposes the relatively unexplored lives of those immigrants who, having abandoned their homes in search of richer lives in London, now live along the A5, an old road that runs all the way from Marble Arch, London to Holyhead, Wales. Rather than simply shoving facts and figures down our throats, Isaacs lets the characters to the talking, as they speak candidly about their lives now and the hardships they’ve faced along the way. Continue reading “GFF 2013 Review: The Road: A Story Of Life And Death (2013)”
Empty Screens 