Film, Issue 697
- Filtered by:
- Issue 697
- Film
- Reviews
- Profile
- Hitlist
- Action
- Comedy
- Drama
- Family
- Foreign
- Musical
- Romance
- Horror
- Sci-Fi
- DVD
37 articles
Sorted by popularity / date
Woody Allen: A Documentary
7 Jun 2012
A funny and occasionally insightful overview of the American filmmaker
As a filmmaker Woody Allen is anything but showy; his films focus on characters, conversations and the absurd comedy of life, and whilst they are often beautifully photographed, Allen’s pictures, turned out at a steady rate of one a year, are defined by…
5 sartorial influences on Django Unchained
7 Jun 2012
The trailer for Tarantino's latest includes some strange wardrobe choices
Quentin Tarantino has just unveiled the trailer for his latest project, Django Unchained - a western that's already caught our attention thanks to an A list cast including Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and featuring guest spots from…
Prometheus
6 Jun 2012
Ridley Scott's return to the Alien universe is compelling but inconsistent
When contributing to a franchise with singular cultural standing and an obsessive fan base, how does one evade one’s film being largely obscured by a firestorm of nitpicking, over-interpretation and delusional theorising? If one is Ridley Scott making…
Men in Black III
1 Jun 2012
Silly, lightweight, completely unnecessary but surprisingly fun
In these times of austerity Hollywood seems scared of originals ideas. Studios demand ‘brand recognition’ before they’ll stump up the multi-million dollar budgets blockbusters require. And they seem willing to latch onto almost any brand, from comics to…
Himizu
1 Jun 2012
Earnest but morose drama set against the backdrop of the 2011 tsunami
Set shortly after the 2011 Japanese tsunami and ensuing Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster, Himizu considers the consequences of parental and governmental irresponsibility through its story of two troubled teens. Based on Minoru Furuya’s manga of…
Top Cat: The Movie
1 Jun 2012
Unfaithful to the original cartoon but this adaptation still retains a cheeky charm
Also known as Boss Cat during his regular BBC television outings, to avoid giving advertising to a popular brand of cat food, Top Cat remains one of the most fondly remembered characters in cartoon history. Despite living in a dustbin in an alleyway…
Snow White and the Huntsman
1 Jun 2012
A sinister slant on the much told tale, with Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron
This feisty fairytale from debut director Rupert Sanders takes the Brothers Grimm story and inserts feminism, viscous visual effects and a rugged love rival. Fans of the Twilight series will most likely delight at its moody aesthetic and the presence of…
Edinburgh Film Festival 2012 programme launched
30 May 2012
Chris Fujiwara reveals extensive world cinema programme for EIFF 2012
This year the Edinburgh International Film Festival 's new director, Chris Fujiwara, has devised a brave and eclectic programme in an attempt to return the festival to its former glory. With a similar format to previous years - with several strands…
Top 5 presidents on film
30 May 2012
In honour of Bill Murray's FDR in Hyde Park on Hudson, we look at the finest screen presidents
After his near miss at a Best Actor Oscar for 2003's Lost in Translation (seized by Sean Penn in Mystic River), Bill Murray appears to be taking another swipe at the wee gold fella with this portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Given America's love…
Cannes 2012: Amour
28 May 2012
Deeply sad and affecting film from Michael Haneke, and winner of the 2012 Palme D’Or
Unlike The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke’s Palme D’Or winning film from 2009), which stands out for its thematic and narrative complexities, Amour sees the Austrian director take a far simpler approach to filmmaking, with an intimate story of an elderly…
Holy Motors
28 May 2012
Hugely satisfying and inventive celebration of cinema from Leos Carax
Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) is picked up by his driver Celine (Edith Scob) for a day’s work - 9 appointments that will take him across Paris and into the paths of an array of characters. If that sounds vague, it’s deliberate - to say anymore would…
Interview: Emile Hirsch on Killer Joe
25 May 2012
William Friedkin’s violent thriller set to open 2012 Edinburgh International Film Festival
‘Oh man, the human punching bag is here!’ laughs Emile Hirsch, as he walks into the room. Don’t worry, though the 27-year-old star of Speed Racer and Into The Wild is not covered in bruises (unless you count a bruised ego). He’s recounting his time on…
Shinji Somai retrospective at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012
25 May 2012
Introduction to one of Japan’s most popular and respected filmmakers
It often seems like there’s an infinite wellspring of Japanese filmmakers revered in their home country yet barely heard of overseas, with every year bringing yet another retrospective of some unheralded cinematic maestro. It’s all enough to leave those…
Our top three Charlize Theron roles
25 May 2012
The former model is much more than just a pretty face
Discovered during the midst of an argument with a bank employee in California, South African born former model Charlize Theron is a critically acclaimed actress, yet due to the conventional roles Hollywood churns out for beautiful women (see the Milla…
Men in Black 3
25 May 2012
Silly, lightweight, completely unnecessary but surprisingly fun
In these times of austerity Hollywood seems scared of originals ideas. Studios demand ‘brand recognition’ before they’ll stump up the multi-million dollar budgets blockbusters require. And they seem willing to latch onto almost any brand, from comics to…
Lynne Ramsey reported to be working on new title with Natalie Portman
25 May 2012
The two will pair up on western Jane Got a Gun
Glasgow born director Lynne Ramsay's next project has just been announced: a Western that will star Natalie Portman. Jane Got A Gun will focus on a young woman whose outlaw of a husband is brutally attacked by his own gang. When the band of men head to…
Cannes 2012: On the Road
25 May 2012
Walter Salles’ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel struggles to capture a sense of the times
If, for two and a half hours, you can put aside the fact that Walter Salles’ (Central Station, The Motorcycle Diaries) latest work is an adaptation of one of the most famous, influential books in recent American history, you might just enjoy this…
Cannes 2012: The Paperboy
25 May 2012
Lee Daniels’ plot hole-ridden latest film is still a compelling, if occasionally ludicrous, ride
Lee Daniels follows up his sleeper hit Precious with an enjoyably trashy, if often misguided, story based on the book by Pete Dexter. It’s 1969 and journalist Ward (Matthew McConaughey) returns to his hometown of Lately, Florida to investigate what…
Anchorman 2: 5 things we’d like to see
24 May 2012
In honour of the sequel's new teaser trailers, we speculate on what should be in the final film
1 Champ’s struggle with his sexuality Sports presenter Champ Kind (David Koechner) obviously had a thing for Ron (Will Ferrell) in the first film – he broke down when Ron started spending more time with Veronica than the news team, and was visibly…
New trailer available for Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby
24 May 2012
The 3D film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire
This December sees the release of Baz Luhrmann's take on F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Renowned for his epic stories of love and tragedy – see Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet – Luhrmann seems like a fitting director to put an original spin on…
Cannes 2012: Killing Them Softly
24 May 2012
Andrew Dominik’s stylish gangster film is visually impressive if occasionally lacking momentum
Killing Them Softly, Andrew Dominik’s third film following Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, is a bleakly humourous gangster flick with an underlying commentary on modern day moral bankruptcy. It begins with…
Cannes 2012: Trashed
24 May 2012
British documentary about waste pollution could have done with burrowing deeper
Watching British documentary Trashed it’s curious to think who the filmmakers imagined their audience to be. Exploring the impact and problems of waste disposal, the film barely scrapes the surface of its subject matter, giving the air of a dry…
Paul Brannigan, star of Ken Loach's The Angels' Share - profile
23 May 2012
The actor is also set to appear with Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin
Born 1987, Glasgow, Scotland Background After working as a football coach in the Barrowfield community in Glasgow and helping to tackle knife crime as part of a Strathclyde Police initiative, Paul Brannigan was spotted by screenwriter Paul Laverty…
What To Expect When You’re Expecting
23 May 2012
A witless and bland work based on the pregnancy self-help book
‘You don’t know what love is until you’ve wiped someone’s ass,’ offers one of the many baby-boomers in Kirk (Waking Ned, Everybody’s Fine) Jones’ multi-stranded adaptation of the bestselling self-help book about the dos and don’ts of pregnancy.
She Monkeys
23 May 2012
Impressive coming-of-age drama with frank depiction of adolescent sexuality
A courageous, periodically unsettling coming-of-age tale, She Monkeys is the arresting first feature from director Lisa Aschan. It’s a Swedish production which - in its frank approach to adolescent sexuality - bears comparison with Katell Quillévéré’s…
