Film Reviews

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer A fellow writer once nailed an aspect about movies that some secretly (some not so secretly) enjoy in one sentence when in debate with an associate: “Movies are often at their most interesting when they are problematic”. Granted, this was caught by me on a social networking thread, but I feel the statement stands pretty true. When a film is spiky, or jars with a viewer in a way that’s not completely comfortable with them,...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer Ten minutes into Level Up, you can already feel the threads unravel from its tapestry. Anyone with a toe in the waters of pop culture can already see the similarities of Level Up with recent feature Nerve (2016). In fact, the film doesn’t feel too dissimilar from half-forgotten Shia LaBeouf vehicle Eagle Eye (2008), while the film’s overall redemptive lessons learnt lie in the same bed as David Fincher’s The Game (1997). This isn’t a...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afroilmviewer Despite featuring the ever affable Tom Hanks and adapted from a well-known and enjoyed author, A Hologram for the King (novel by Dave Eggers) received a rather muted reception when realised earlier this year. The film was only really rivalled by Sing Street in the U.K and received a limited release in the U.S. Even in his lesser noted films, the appearance of Hanks on the poster has often been enough reassurance to get at...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt When it comes to the creative process, one should admire the ambition. When reading reviews of artistic endeavours, it seems that sometimes writers appear to forget that they are critiquing the efforts of a crew that have clearly worked hard to attempt to bring together the vision of a screenwriter or director. A crew who have been brought together in order help set said vision alive. It’s easy to insult and pull apart a film....

Review by Ben Holliday/@bholliday Audiences have been forced to endure one of the worst summer blockbuster seasons in recent memory with 2016 but have no fear, Hell or High Water is here to wash the taste of bitter disappointment out of moviegoers mouths. Tossing the temptation of hyperbole aside, Hell or High Water is the best film of the year to date. At its base level the flick is an all American crime caper, following two brothers as they begin...

An edible, ballsy, irreverent, sex romp with a surprisingly philosophical core. If Sid Vicious did animated produce it would probably have looked something like this. But if you’re devoid of anarchic sensibilities you may well spontaneously combust, as NOTHING is sacred. Every day starts with a sunny song on the shelves of Shopwell Supermarket. All the fresh and tantalising produce bristle with excitement at the prospect of being chosen by their human ‘gods’ for a new and glorious existence outside...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt The fact that the box office chatter about Suicide Squad has droned on longer than Miles Ahead’s U.K theatrical run, says two things to me. One: Cinematic conversation must improve. Two: Thank goodness physical media is still (just barely) being purchased by folk. Don Cheadle’s directional debut is the kind of off the cuff, adult feature that gets lost in the quagmire of near endless nattering of the Hollywood hype machine. Yes, Captain Boomerang and...

Review by Ben Holliday/@bholliday Lights Out is certainly one of the pleasant surprises of an otherwise dreary summer. Director David F. Sandberg makes his feature film debut after submitting a short film of the same name and premise at a film festival in 2014. Despite not winning the competition, Sandberg was contacted by many big Hollywood names hence why you’ll see James Wan’s name plastered across the marketing. Despite doubts from Wan that Sandberg could extend the short into a...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt Louder than Bombs deals with an ex-actor (Gabriel Byrne) and his two sons (Devin Druid and Jesse Eisenberg) try their best to confront their fractured feelings of their lives and each other on the eve of an exhibition of their deceased wife and mother (Isabelle Huppert). This somber tale is the first English-language feature from Norwegian director Joachim Trier (Oslo, August 31st) And for the most part, this fragile piece does well to hold together....