Film

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer The TV plays and we hear of a kidnapped boy (Jaeden Lieberher). We see a faded image of the kidnapper (Michael Shannon), then we see the man himself. He says little, but his expression speaks emphatically.  Quietly intense and driven. The boy is sitting on a hotel bed. Reading comics with googles on. The googles are deceptive. It would be easy to consider them as an item of childhood comfort. He doesn’t appear scared, nor...

By Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer This writer remembers trying awkwardly to impress an ex with Waking Life. Much like what one hears about David Forster Wallace’s Infinite Jest or Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Betty Blue (1986), Waking Life does feel like one of those features that certain inelegant young (male) students would use to show their “depth”. Drunkenly pontificating on the meaning of life to “display their knowledge” but probably just trying to use it to score some points with the opposite sex....

By Michael McNulty Extraction could not have been more appropriately titled. Like having all four of your molars pulled at once it requires a general anesthetic to get you through it. As unimaginative as that was, it’s on a level with the quality of this film. Former CIA operative Leonard Turner, played by a Bruce Willis (who must have stipulated in his contract that he would only provide a level of enthusiasm equal to that of a slug) is kidnapped...

A trailer has been released for the hugely anticipated sixth series of the Game of Thrones. After a brutal ending in season 5, there is a lot of rumours circulating about the direction of the sixth series. Based on the as-yet-unreleased novel The Winds of Winter, the TV show has now overtaken George RR Martin's books, although there will be a significant amount of leftover material from the fourth and fifth books, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons,...

If there’s one film series, which has sparked our love of gadgets, it must be the James Bond franchise. Ever since the chauffeur blew himself up with the cyanide cigarette in Dr No, we’ve been fascinated by the quirky gadgets. The scenes were Q would present James Bond with the latest equipment has become a thrilling event in itself. Not only have these gadgets managed to captivate our imaginations on screen, some of them have found their way on to...

Written by Simon Columb/@screeninsight . Reproduced with thanks from Screeninsight The Martian may have failed to light up the stage at the Oscars, but underneath the space-dust Matt Damon walks upon, there is a powerful message. There is no need for a statuette and a tick-box on a to-watch list here. Instead, The Martian’s socialist message preceded the unstoppable rise and optimism of Bernie Sanders powerful campaign, setting the cinematic stage for a new future. Sci-Fi depictions of the future...

Written by Michael McNulty Hollywood and alcohol pair together as well, if not better, than Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. A magical relationship that brings to screens breathless narratives from comedy to drama, and everything in between. Here are five films so boozy the celluloid may as well have been soaked in whiskey. 1) The Lost Weekend is a masterpiece in filmmaking. Directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1945, this is considered to be the first film to use...

Film Student from Milton Keynes Creates Heart Wrenching Documentary on the Syrian Refugee Crisis For most of us, the genre of ‘student film’ sparks connotations of budget sets and pranks. But one student has pushed the boundaries of the genre with his poignant exploration of the ramifications of the war in Syria and can reveal those living in the camp would prefer to be seen as ‘visitors’ than refugees. For his film ‘Oh Syria, My Syria’, 29-year old Ismael Ahmed,...

by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada “The Right to Happiness”, this year’s Berlinale motto, is clearly linked to the one most talked about topic in the German media this year: Refugees. Donation boxes for the Berlin Centre for Torture Victims in every cinema, various programmes to help refugees in Berlin, from free tickets to school projects to traineeships, are the concrete ways the Berlinale participates in the effort to welcome refugees. Even George Clooney, star of the opening film “Hail, Caesar!”, has...