Film

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel Has it really been 25 years since maverick Chilean Alejandro Jodorowsky last released a film? Such is his ability to burn surreal imagery permanently into my memory, it’s hard to believe he’s been absent for so long. Not that he’s been resting on his laurels of course. The intervening years since The Rainbow Thief (1990) have seen him dabbling in a wide array of cultural pursuits, from theatre to comics. It’s good to have him back...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel It takes something a little bit out there to reveal how crushingly conventional so much of what we watch is. We all love the familiarity that comes with genre of course, and conventions often become conventions because they’re simply the best damn way of doing something, but where’s the excitement? As far as family films go, Canadian émigré Kenton Hall knows. His feature debut A Dozen Summers shows its budgetary constraints, and with such a frenetic...

By Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada   Quirky twenty-something underachiever Jane gets fired from her job for being too quirky and underachieving and has to come up with a way of earning a living that doesn't involve having to be on time or doing any actual work. For the spoilt child of rich parents she is, begging on the streets isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but after being mistaken for a beggar by a sympathetic passer-by, she and her...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel Russia’s increasing global belligerence raises concerns in most, but not all quarters. One part of America in particular is likely to relish the return of the old enemy. For Hollywood, there will be no need to drag out hard to locate Islamic terrorists, bland corporate villains or implausible neo-Nazis. The Cold War is back and it’s time to hang the celluloid bunting. Time has moved on of course. Celluloid is turning digital across the film industry,...

Since his quirky supernatural TV show Being Human became a smash hit for BBC3 in 2008 (making stars of its leads Aiden Turner, Lenora Crichlow and Russell Tovey in the process) writer Toby Whithouse’s career has gone from strength to strength. His latest glossy six-part drama, The Game, was lauded by critics and fans alike – and he’s even being talked about as the next Doctor Who showrunner. Felicity Evans caught up with him to find out more…   The...

By Hannah Claire Pinnock, Arts Critic IRIS is an engaging and truly witty documentary showcasing the life of Iris Apfler, one of those marvelously eccentric characters that seem to be unique to the New York fashion scene. Acclaimed documentarian Albert Maysles paired up with the 93-year-old to document her remarkable creativity and exceptional life in interior design and as a fashion icon. Iris Apfler is an expressive dresser; her accessories would on anyone else seem superfluous. She manages to effortlessly...

By Emma Silverthorn @HouseOf_Gazelle Desiree Akhavan is not Lena Dunham. Yes, both are females, both hail from New York and both are filmmakers but one does not subsume the other. Why are “minorities” so often reduced in this way? Minorities in double quotes because women are over half the population after all! Yet still in the context of filmmaking females are still unfortunately counted as a minority. It’s true that comparisons are always made within the arts and fair enough,...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel Amy Poehler is on the up. She’s already emerged as a comedy superstar in America off the back of a number of high profile gigs including Saturday Night Live, the lead role in hit sitcom Parks and Recreation, and as a highly lauded host, along with friend and fellow comedy superstar Tina Fey, of the Golden Globes. In the UK, her profile is lower, though this is not likely to remain the case for long. At...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel At least Ruth & Alex knows its strengths, opening with a patented Morgan Freeman voiceover, before offering the gentle pleasures of Freeman and Diane Keaton hanging out together in New York. It hardly makes up for the mess on display elsewhere as a tangle of sub-plots generate an awful lot of noise without saying very much at all. Keaton and Freeman are the title’s Ruth and Alex, a happily married couple living in a beautiful New...