Film, Reviews
- Filtered by:
- Film
- Reviews
- Profile
-
Hitlist - Action
- Comedy
- Drama
- Family
- Foreign
- Musical
- Romance
- Horror
- Sci-Fi
- DVD
2,539 articles
Sorted by popularity / date
Song for Marion
29 Oct 2012
Sentimental British drama about an OAP choir, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp
This British drama, starring acting stalwarts Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp aims to be a universal story about the importance of family but ends up being an nauseatingly sentimental weepy. Directed by Paul Andrew Williams, who previously received…
Dark Tide
26 Oct 2012
Misjudged shark drama starring Halle Berry
John Stockwell’s name might not mean much to the general public, but he’s been carving a niche for himself as a sand-and-surf action director of such tropical and yet tepid fare as Blue Crush and Into The Blue, pitching iffy stars like Kate Bosworth…
Stitches
26 Oct 2012
Poorly handled killer clown comedy-horror starring Ross Noble
Teenager Tom (Tommy Knight) is an uptight, nervous wreck. After a traumatic experience at a childhood birthday party, at which a scuzzy kids’ entertainer named Stitches (Ross Noble) was accidentally killed, he’s grown up to be a pill-popping neurotic…
Crossfire Hurricane
24 Oct 2012
Spirited documentary celebrating 50 years of The Rolling Stones
Marking the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones, this spirited documentary from Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) is made up of vintage footage of the Stones during their prime and is brought bang up to date with new audio reflections from…
Seven Psychopaths
24 Oct 2012
Unabashed violent comedy from director of In Bruges
Martin McDonagh’s follow-up to In Bruges is as fiercely violent as its title suggests, and a whole lot funnier. Its film-within-a-film concept finds alcoholic screenwriter Marty (Colin Farrell) troubled by writer’s block; he’s got a title – Seven…
Caesar Must Die
22 Oct 2012
Compelling version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, filmed with the inmates of Rome’s Rebibbia jail
Veteran filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani craft a compelling version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in Caesar Must Die, which won the Golden Bear award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. The twist here is that the performance takes place within…
Great Expectations
22 Oct 2012
Lacklustre adaptation of Dickens’ novel starring Helena Bonham Carter and Jeremy Irvine
The challenges of bringing such a hefty literary work as Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations to the screen are no doubt great. Mike Newell’s adaptation sadly fails to overcome them, and despite an all star cast is an overlong, limp re-working, which…
Dazzle of Fog - Film City, Glasgow, Sat 29 Sep
18 Oct 2012
‘Ambisonic’ cinema soundtracks from Lafoden, Alex Smoke, Konx-Om-Pax and more
Billed as a ‘unique, experimental audio/visual event that platforms ambisonic, immersive sound technology’, Dazzle of Fog gathered the work of seven Glasgow artists, mixing live performances, film and installations over four specially commissioned…
Paranormal Activity 4
17 Oct 2012
The found footage horror series runs out of steam
Should we be suspicious of any series that manages to churn out a new film every single year? Saw managed seven years in a row, with new product in place every October from 2004 to 2010. Now Paranormal Activity is back for it’s fourth instalment in four…
Robot & Frank
16 Oct 2012
Gentle comedy about a retired burglar and his robotic friend
Jake Schreier's feature debut Robot & Frank successfully engages the head and the heart to emerge as one of the most charming independent films of the year. It's an enjoyable crime caper, an affecting meditation on old age as well as an amusing buddy…
Skyfall
16 Oct 2012
Sam Mendes delivers a belting addition to the Bond franchise
Fifty years since James Bond first appeared on screens, there was always going to be pressure on Skyfall, the 23rd official 007 movie. Even more so because Daniel Craig’s second outing as the MI6 agent, 2008’s Quantum of Solace, was a let-down.
Quartet
16 Oct 2012
Joyful, if formulaic, drama from Dustin Hoffman
Set in the fictional Beecham House, an opulent home for retired musicians, Quartet is the directorial debut from Dustin Hoffman. Studded with vintage stars, it’s joyful if formulaic matinee fare, like a posh, apolitical Brassed Off. It’s based on the…
The Master
16 Oct 2012
Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film includes an astounding performance from Joaquin Phoenix
Following up There Will Be Blood was always going to be a daunting task, but Paul Thomas Anderson truly delivers in The Master. It's the story of two men: Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a restless ex navy man, a rough bundle of nerves; Philip…
The Sessions
16 Oct 2012
Charming and gently moving story of a polio survivor and a sexual surrogate
The Sessions is the true story of the poet and journalist Mark O’Brien’s experiences with a sexual surrogate. O’Brien was a polio survivor who spent much of his life paralyzed from the neck down, largely confined to an iron lung. As a consequence he…
Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007
9 Oct 2012
Hugely enjoyable documentary looking back at the Bond franchise
A curtain-raiser to the forthcoming James Bond adventure Skyfall, Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 is a hugely enjoyable, if predictably rose-tinted look at the history of the world's biggest and most enduring film…
Sister
9 Oct 2012
Utterly absorbing drama about fractured family relationships
Swiss-French filmmaker Ursula Meier follows her feature debut, the tragic-comic domestic drama Home, with another leftfield story about a family in dysfunction. In this case, it’s a family of two comprising a 12-year-old boy named Simon (Kacey Mottet…
For a Good Time, Call...
9 Oct 2012
Substandard comedy starring Lauren Miller and Ari Gaynor
The mild hilarity of two good-hearted girls struggling to make a living in the grimy world of phone-sex provides the unpromisingly twee premise of Jamie Travis’s forgettable For A Good Time Call…, a comedy presumably funded as a goodwill vehicle for…
In the House (Dans La Maison)
9 Oct 2012
Fascinating new offering from French filmmaker Francois Ozon.
A sparkling and superbly acted black comedy, Francois Ozon’s In the House is a fascinating companion piece to Ian McEwan’s new novel Sweet Tooth, in its exploration of both creating and consuming fiction. The wonderfully deadpan Fabrice Luchini plays…
Radioman
9 Oct 2012
Documentary about the homeless New York film mascot
Mary Kerr’s feature-length documentary debut tells the extraordinary story of Craig Castaldo - a.k.a. Radioman - a New York film set ‘mascot’ who has appeared fleetingly in over 100 features, beginning with The Bonfire of the Vanities in 1990. Defined…
Hotel Transylvania
9 Oct 2012
Horror-themed animation that relies too heavily on crass fart jokes and juvenile humour
Given Genndy Tartakovsky's extensive background in animation, working on TV favourites Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars, it's hardly surprising that his feature film debut Hotel Transylvania boasts such impressive visuals. Sadly, they are not…
Reality
9 Oct 2012
Magic realist drama from Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone
Meet Luciano (Aniello Arena), a Neapolitan fish-seller and minor scam artist. Encouraged by his wife Maria (Loredana Simioli), three children and extended family, he enters the local try-outs for the popular reality TV series Grande Fratelli (Big…
My Brother the Devil
9 Oct 2012
Occasionally predictable but heartfelt story of London gang culture
A story of the ties that bind and break young men, My Brother the Devil is the heartfelt feature debut of writer-director Sally El Hosaini. It’s a convincing, intermittently powerful portrait of those on the forgotten fringes. My Brother the Devil…
Ginger & Rosa
8 Oct 2012
1960s-set drama featuring a strong performance from Elle Fanning
The handholding, bath-sharing and general giggliness that kicks off Sally Potter’s sixties-set drama suggests a warm paean to the hermetic intensities of female friendship: a Heavenly Creatures without the murder, say, or a modern spin on the playful…
Room 237
5 Oct 2012
Compelling documentary about the hidden meanings in Kubrick's The Shining
This frighteningly engrossing documentary presents a series of (supposedly) hidden meanings to be found imbedded in Stanley Kubrick’s modern horror classic The Shining. The various readings of the film, which range from quite plausible to utterly balmy…
The Knot
4 Oct 2012
Distasteful wedding comedy written by and starring Noel Clarke with Matthew McNulty
Noel Clarke emerged during the last decade as a British actor and filmmaker with distinct promise, but in recent years his prolific output has fallen far short of that potential. This wedding comedy, starring and co-written by Clarke, is surely his…
