The two decade crusade by Walt Disney to bring his daughters favourite book Mary Poppins to the screen forms the dramatic thrust of Saving Mr. Banks. Based on a script that was on the ˜Black List' of Hollywood's best unmade films in 2011, director John Lee Hancock has brought it to the screen in a charming and sometimes heart-breaking fashion. … [Read more...]
Review: Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013, French)
Based on Julie Maroh's graphic novel, Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue is the Warmest Colour was this year's winner of the Palm d'Or at Cannes - arguably the film industry's most prestigious award - and became the first film where the prize was awarded to both the director and the lead actresses. It quickly becomes clear why. … [Read more...]
Review: Upstream Colour (2013)
After the strange but compelling lo-fi sci-fi of Primer released in 2004, director Shane Carruth went quiet for some time, working on a couple of different projects before resurfacing in 2013 with Upstream Colour, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. … [Read more...]
Review: Dom Hemingway (2013)
Strolling through prison under a cascade of toilet paper, Dom Hemingway is the titular cockney geezer in Richard Shepard's latest film. Played with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer by Jude Law, the character is an amalgam of a number of 1970s British ex-prisoner archetypes. But in a World that has any number of cheeky chappies vying for our attention in low-budget British … [Read more...]
Review: JFK (1991)
In every discussion of conspiracy theories, one historical event and figure comes up time and time again. United States President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22nd 1963 by a lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. That is if you believe the findings of the Warren Commission, which it is clear that director Oliver Stone does not. His 1991 film JFK sought to show the … [Read more...]
Review: The Untouchables (1987)
The decade is the 1920s, via a stylized 1986, the town is Chicago and notorious gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro) is at the height of his criminal power. Holding the city in his firm grip, his constant acts of violence alert the FBI who place young Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) in charge of the flying squad with his sole mission to be to bring down the kingpin. After initial … [Read more...]
Review: The Selfish Giant (2013)
Using Oscar Wilde's children's story The Selfish Giant as the starting point for this bleak but beautiful social-realist tale might seem unlikely but it's an inspired idea. … [Read more...]
Review: Philomena (2013)
If ever proof were needed, which of course it isn't, of Dame Judi Dench's acting ability then Philomena will go down as a masterclass in poignancy and depth from one of the finest actors to have lived. Adapted from the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, itself based on a true story, Philomena is deftly directed by Stephen Frears from a script co-written by star Steve Coogan. … [Read more...]
Review: Captain Phillips (2013)
Like no other modern director of mainstream movies, Paul Greengrass captures the geo-political spirit of the times while keeping his films very personal. That's harder than it sounds. Marshaling action, fights and explosions and still making a film intimate and engaging is quite a trick. From his Bourne films to United 93 and Green Zone, Greengrass pinpoints and examines the … [Read more...]
Review: Romeo and Juliet (2013)
˜Never was there a story of more woe' than the new Romeo and Juliet. Expecting a passionate whirlwind of tragedy, love and desire, I'm afraid to say that Julian Fellowes' adaptation was anything but. Instead I watched a cheapened, dumbed down, version that failed to inspire a generation with the greatest love story in the English Language. … [Read more...]