New Movies

By Linda Marric @linda_marric Hailed as one of the most talented and prolific directors of his generation, it is deeply satisfying to see how Ben Wheatley manages to come up with the goods year after year. Fans and critics alike can breathe a sigh of relief to discover that his latest offering is every bit as exhilarating as his earlier work. After a brief absence during the making of his critically acclaimed adaptation of J.G Ballard’s High-Rise, Wheatley is back...

One could contemplate, for hours, the arguments for & against the judgment of director Rupert Sanders & his Hollywood moguls to cast a very caucasian Scarlett Johansson in the lead role of a live-action remake that’s based on an adored Japanese property, but the conclusion would ultimately be the same; no matter who they picked to play the iconic Major of Section 9 squadron, it wouldn’t make this drab & inert sci-fi thriller any more involving. Indeed, Johansson is arguably...

Shades of Spielbergian energy cast an endearing silhouette over this airy but assured big-screen adaptation of Spain’s much-loved 1950s comic book series ‘Zipi y Zape’; an affectionately adventurous vigour that matches the irresistibly mischievous vim of José Escobar Saliente’s original strip. Sent away to summer school as a punishment for their unruly behaviour, the titular twins (Raúl Rivas & Daniel Cerezo) find themselves at the mercy of an oppressive teaching establishment that forbids all forms of recreation & entertainment. Determined...

By Wyndham Hacket Pain @Wyndhamhp With all the attention around Jackie – the Jackie Kennedy biopic currently in cinemas – it would be easy to forget that Chilean director Pablo Larraín has another equally interesting film ready for release. Pablo Neruda, a poet and politician who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, is as compelling a central figure as the former First Lady and more than worthy of our time and attention. Set in a conflicted post-war Chile,...

By Linda Marric @linda_marric In Graduation (Bacalauriat), Romanian director Cristian Mungiu is back with a powerfully complex drama about compromise, parental responsibility and the lingering remnants of the old Ceausescu regime. Mungiu, who won the Palme D’Or at Cannes in 2007 for the critically acclaimed 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), deals with themes of modernity and corruption in a country that has yet to learn to be part of a modern European society, resorting instead to old...

There are many things one should say about The Eyes of My Mother, director Nicolas Pesce’s dark & disturbing debut feature, but it’s perhaps best to begin by declaring that this is not a film for the faint of heart. Indeed, even those with an unyielding tolerance for visual horror may find themselves squirming in their seats at times whilst watching this maliciously macabre, yet utterly mesmeric monochrome nightmare. If Hitchcock’s Psycho was to reimagined in a contemporary age, it...

By James McAllister Those who are familiar with Kleber Mendonça Filho’s 2013 debut feature, Neighbouring Sounds, will no doubt recognise the impassioned socio-political discourse that emanates from the narrative ornamentations of his intriguing but inconsistent sophomore effort. Returning to his hometown of Recife in northeast Brazil, Aquarius sees the critic-turned-director once more take aim at the capitalist sharks who wish to gentrify areas of historic beauty (both in Brazil and across the globe) for their own financial gain, as a...

By Linda Marric @linda_marric In Another Mother’s Son, Jenny Seagrove plays a widow shopkeeper living in Nazi occupied Jersey during World War II. The film is a well meaning piece of historical drama, but sadly for its makers, this messy production is let down by way too much schmaltz and what can only be described as an overly descriptive narrative. Seagrove stars as Louisa a defiant woman who risks her own life and that of those nearest and dearest to...

Filming for smash hit superhero franchise The Avengers is set to take place in the Scottish Capital tomorrow. Production trucks for the multi-billion pound movie series have been in Edinburgh for the past few days to prepare the city for the arrival of some Hollywood icons. Scenes featuring the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans will be filmed in the city's Old Town and filming could last until May. A huge green screen has been put...