New Movies

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt Deniz Gamze Ergüven's expressive tale of female empowerment is as emotive as it is relevant. It communicates its simple tale with an understated eloquence, never feeling sentimental or forced. The film location and religious culture may feel miles away, but it's sensibilities are universal. From a narrative point of view, comparisons to Sophia Coppola's hazy The Virgin Suicide are apparent. However, from a thematic point of view, Mustang holds similarities to Rama Burshtein's detailed but...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt This film broke me. Perhaps it was the all too real nods to customer services. The seminars, the platitudes and the like. It might have been the brilliant chemistry between the cast. The voices of David Thewlis and Jenifer Jason Leigh provide a spark so strong that it made me realise just how much that's missing from romances and dramas. Maybe those things helped. However, upon thinking about it, I feel it may have been...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt “Why are these people, friends?” Is the type of question you could find yourself asking when observing Alex Ross Perry’s quietly startling Queen of Earth. And rightly so. The film froths with a near overbearing deep-seated resentment which could make the psycho-biddies of the sixties flinch. However, despite the trading of venom that is applied between the film’s two lead female stars, the co-dependency the flitters around the couple is something that holds an acute...

Review by Ben Holliday/@bholliday No film in recent history has had as many hurdles to overcome before paying punters get a chance to see the final product on the big screen. Be it a horrendous marketing campaign or a fanatical anti-Ghostbuster contingent in opposition to the all female cast, the Paul Feig directed flick has found itself in an odd position. For a vocal minority, this reboot would have to be the second coming of Citizen Kane to secure their...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer The Q&A which occurred after the Vue Piccadilly screening of The Colony was one embossed with passion. Director Florian Gallenberger’s near stream-of-consciousness speeches flowed around the auditorium with not only a sense of humility but also a sense of anxiety. At times his voice cracked. He would not give himself time to compose and rephrase his words. He wanted to get everything he could out there. It’s understandable. Gallenberger stated that the atrocities that occurred...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer It’s a good guess that the Now You See Me franchise will be the closest thing the younger set of Millennials will get to an Ocean Eleven series. They have the same amount of gloss and slick pizzazz you’d expect from something from Soderbergh's trio of films. The all-star caper aspect, a thing we seem to see less of, also makes a viewer think of Clooney, Pitt, and Co. Now You See Me 2 is...

Review by Michael McNulty John Hillcoat’s newest film, Triple 9 is a tense corrupt cop, crime thriller, with a star lineup that’s hard to rival. Sure, the plot is shakier than the camerawork on Cloverfield, packed with genre clichés, predictable plot points, and one of Kate Winslet’s most questionable performances ever, and maybe Hillcoat’s nihilistic commentary on the disintegration of trust, the pervasiveness of violence and America’s disenchantment is flat. But, put all that to one side and Triple 9...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer Burr Steers’ (Igby Goes Down) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, much like a particular brand of wood varnish, delivers exactly what is said on the tin. This film is based on Jane Austen’s seminal novel and features the undead. A drab way to start this review. Then again, this film, despite its unique take on a 19th-century critique on status, romance and manners, doesn’t really extract as much humour and horror as it could. Much...

Next up in a line of sequels that were never needed comes Independence Day Resurgence. Roland Emmerich returns on directorial duties desperately attempting to recapture the magic of the first film and failing spectacularly. This is the sequel to 1996’s blockbuster event film, this time around losing Will Smith in favour of new comers to the franchise - Liam Hemsworth as Jake Morrison and Jessie T. Usher as Dylan Hiller – son to Will Smith’s Steven Hiller. Unfortunately Will Smith...