Film

By Emma Siverthorn  @HouseOf_Gazelle From its opaque start through to its ambiguous denouncement Robin Campillo's Eastern Boys is a brilliantly complex exploration of power dynamics. In the opening scenes, the Eastern Boys, (hailing from the Ukraine, Russia and Romania), roam the Gare Du Nord, their purpose and intention unclear but their sense of pack protection obvious. Yet as the film progresses this sense of immigrant solidarity quickly darkens and shifts to something more akin to captivity than camaraderie. The leader...

By James Mackney  @JimMackney Open Bethlehem is as much Leila Sansour’s film as it is Bethlehem’s. It chronicles Leila’s mission to ensure that Bethlehem is a free and open city and not one at the whim of Israeli pressure. Leila herself left Palestine and Bethlehem at age 18 and returned several years later to film this documentary however the documentary states that her family is depleting around her. They are feeling the pressures of the regime that is keeping Palestine...

By Corrina Antrobus  @corrinacorrina There are twists in Foxcatcher that go beyond what we know of the true story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz and his relationship with millionaire coach John du Pont. Steve Carell with a huge prosthetic nose puppeteering Channing Tatum in a leotard and a face like a rucksack, sounds like a recipe for a naff comedy. However Foxcatcher, directed by Bennett Miller, is a tender, rich and incredibly sad drama with a throbbing sinister vein. If...

By Anna Power  TLE Film Editor @TLE_Film  After last year’s “Let’s put a roof on this house” Labor Day debacle, Jason Reitman’s back with Men, Women and Children, following in the footsteps of Spike Jonze’ fascinating futuristic film Her, Reitman seeks to explore our very ‘new’ relationship with technology and its impact on how we relate both to ourselves and each other in its wake. It’s a brave new world, with big brother watching us and us watching each other....

By Sam Inglis @24FPSUK  24fps.org.uk School of Babel is inescapably political. It doesn’t feel like it is hectoring you with its viewpoint, but it is impossible to watch it without viewing it through the prism of the controversial discussion around immigration, multiculturalism and integration and you won't be in doubt what the film's view is by the end. The film takes place almost entirely in the reception class of a French junior high school, with pupils aged between 11 and...

By Anna Power, Film Editor @TLE_Film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves.  The Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed the vast wealth of their homeland, but now must face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying Dragon, Smaug, upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Please find some exclusive clips (see links below) "The Dwarves are...

By Emma Silverthorn Simulating the lifestyle of a bonobo ape has its attractions. The bonobo, our closest living relative, are compassionate, free-loving animals who very rarely experience conflict; when problems do arise amongst them the bonobo’s quickly diffuse them with bouts of promiscuous sexual activity. The species is a vision of sixties counterculture utopia and the ripe inspiration for Matthew Hammet Knott’s first feature length film. In the Dorset countryside, magnetic Anita (wonderfully played by Josie Lawrence) has formed a...

By Anna Power, Film Editor @TLE_Film Exodus: Gods and Kings is an upcoming biblically-inspired epic directed by Ridley Scott and written by Steven Zaillian. The film stars Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley. It is an interpretation of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt led by Moses and related Old Testament Book of Exodus. The premier event is starting at 5.30 today (3rd December) and you can watch it here on live...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel  As anyone with even a passing knowledge of science knows, you have to test a theory to prove it stands up.Horrible Bosses 2 does just that, stepping determinedly forward to add further weight to the already overwhelming body of evidence suggesting sequels yield diminishing returns. Sean Anders’ follow-up to 2011’s successful original is not without funny moments, perhaps inevitably so given the strength of the cast. If only it could let them loose without majoring in...