Film Reviews

Terrence Malick has seemingly become so committed to his own self-aggrandising brand of philosophically indulgent, freeform filmmaking that one could arguably be justified in calling him the Michael Bay of arthouse auteurism. Granted, it’s impossible not to be intrigued by the output of a director who’s driven solely by his own artistic vision, but contrary to popular belief, Malick is not some sort of celestial, cinematic being: his earlier works – Badlands and The Thin Red Lines – may have...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP At a time in the year when the cinemas are filled with action blockbusters and superhero franchises it can be easy to overlook films about the seemingly mundane and every day. There is a wonderful humility to The Midwife that has no pretensions and just aims to bring life to a seemingly unremarkable story. Set in Paris, the film follows single mother and midwife Claire (Catherine Frot) who lives a lonely existence in the city’s suburbs....

Invigorated with a refreshingly ebullient zeal, the films of Edgar Wright have never been known to suppress their influences. His feature debut – A Fistful of Fingers, “the greatest western ever made… in Somerset” – was dedicated to Sergio Leone, amongst others, and delighted in imitating the gritty, sun-scorched design of the Dollars trilogy. Likewise, his highly lauded Cornetto series – Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End – took great joy in toying with the tropes...

By Linda Marric Director Laura Poitras (Citizenfour, 2014) spent 6 arduous and paranoia-filled years documenting the life of one of the most controversial figures in recent times. In Risk, Academy Awards winner Poitras offers a fascinating character study of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and charters in a very detailed fashion his rise from revered freedom of information hero, to maligned villain hiding in a foreign embassy to escape a sexual offence investigation. Risk is a complex yet thoroughly accessible piece...

By Linda Marric Fresh from igniting a lively debate about Netflix and their validity as fully fledged competitors at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Okja finally arrives to Netflix for the rest of us to devour. Directed by Bong Joon Ho (The Host, 2006) and co-written by British writer Jon Ronson (Them, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, The Men That Stare At Goats), Okja offers a wild and wonderful story about animal welfare in a near future, and mixes beautifully...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP Based on the bestselling novel by Fredrick Blackman of the same name, A Man Called Ove follows Ove, a grumpy old man with a similar facial expression to that of John Sergeant, whose interests include Saab cars, making sure his neighbours are well behaved, and visiting the grave of his wife. When he looses his job of 43 years he is left with nothing better to do than kill himself. What plays out is an inconvenient...

By Linda Marric Loosely based on real life events and staring two of the most accomplished actors of their generation, Hampstead is a big-hearted romantic comedy which is only slightly let down by a less than believable narrative and an even more far-fetched premise. Directed by Joel Hopkins and written by Robert Festinger, the film has two plot lines running alongside each other, one being a David versus Goliath tale about the dangers of mindless gentrification, and the other one...

By Michael McNulty Andrew Kötting’s Edith Walks is an absurdist, quasi-journey, experimental documentary that follows Kötting and a merry band of travellers (the role of Edith played by singer Claudia Barton, complete with irritating pixie girl voice and flowing medieval gown) as they walk from Waltham Abbey via Battle Abbey to St. Leonards-on-Sea, where there exists a large statue of King Harold. For those unfamiliar, the Edith of the title refers to Edith Swan Neck, who was the fast hand...

By Linda Marric One thing is sure about Colin Trevorrow’s The Book of Henry is that it has managed to polarise opinions from one extreme to the other. There are those who simply don't get what the fuss is about, and those who will see beyond its obvious flaws and prefer to focus on what makes this film so genuinely touching and so deeply likeable. Centring around themes of growth, loss and family ties, the film is definitely not perfect...