Film Reviews

Darren Aronofsky is angry; in fact, he’s furious! Those worried that one of contemporary cinema’s foremost provoc-auteurs would be forced to temper his uncompromising artistic vision following the vitriolic outrage many levelled at his previous feature – 2014’s unfairly maligned biblical blockbuster, Noah - had nothing to fear. Indeed, if the initial reactions from the press corps in Venice are any indication, mother! may well be Aronofsky’s most divisive film to date. It’s certainly, in this critic’s eyes, one of...

By Michael McNulty A beat up car barrels down a dusty road in the remote bad-lands of rural Pakistan, a group of sweaty men, armed to the teeth, sneer as they approach an isolated house. Standing tall, proud and brandishing a Kalashnikov of her own is the young, beautiful Noza (Suhaee Abro). The men pull up and pile out, weapons drawn. They’ve come to take the home. But, Noza won’t go easy; this is her family home, her land and...

By Michael McNulty Attila Till blends fantasy and reality in his Hungarian comedy-cum-action thriller, Kills on Wheels, about a trio of wheelchair bound hit men. Zoli (Zoltán Fenyvesi) and Barba (Ádám Feteke) are best mates, both with disabilities, who live in a rehabilitation centre and who have a passion for comic books. Zoli is in urgent need of spinal corrective surgery, but his pride prevents him from accepting money from his estranged father to cover the costs. Marginalized and resigned...

Aristotle once said that “Man is a political animal”, and in British politics, few are as ferocious as Dennis Skinner. Dubbed the ‘Beast of Bolsover’, referring to the constituency that he has represented in Parliament since 1970, Skinner is a renowned socialist, trade unionist, and Labour politician; a man both loved and loathed by members of the House. This absorbing documentary from first-time filmmaker Daniel Draper may not be a particularly comprehensive study of Skinner’s political ideology, but it is...

It’s a story so strange that surely it must be a work of fiction. Back in 2010, former art dealer and eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn purported to hide a cache filled with gold and jewels worth over a million dollars somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, offering those who wished to find the treasure a series of cryptic clues that he claimed would lead them to its location. Seven years on, and still no one has succeeded in finding the loot....

Featuring new footage Writer/Director Taylor Sheridan (Hell Or High Water, Sicario) Wind River is in cinemas on Friday 8th September. Wind River follows U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) as he is forced to confront his past when he joins a rookie FBI agent, Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) in a quest to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Written and Directed by: Taylor Sheridan Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Jon...

A sense of history hangs heavy over ‘Back to Burgundy’ (‘Ce qui nous lie’), the new film from French filmmaker, Cedric Klapisch. ‘Back to Burgundy’ is a sentimental film and one that has a very good first act with the strongest writing of the whole film, nicely setting up the premise. Thereafter the film’s structural problems begin. It is a tale of familial heartache and strife set against the picturesque vineyards of Burgundy, where siblings Jean (Pio Marmaï), Juliette (Ana...

Based on Duncan Falconer’s book The Hostage, Stratton follows John Stratton (Dominic Cooper), a Special Boat Service operative, who along with a secret services team is trying to intercept a batch of deadly biochemical weapons. The weapons find their way into the hands of former Soviet operative Grigory Barovsky (Thomas Kretschmann) who plans to drop them on London and there is only limited time for Stratton to stop him. Dominic Cooper tries his best in the central role but the...

By Michael McNulty Released in 1951, Samuel Fuller’s The Steel Helmet was the first Korean War film ever made. Fuller’s third feature, made on a budget of roughly $ 100,000, was a smash hit with audiences and grossed over $ 2 million at the box office. Many a great war film owes a credit to The Steel Helmet.  In the wake of World War Two, Hollywood churned out films where conflict was easily defined and compartmentalised into good vs. evil. ...