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Allan Hunter

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Oscars 2012 - predictions

Oscars 2012 - predictions

Some of The List's film critics give their predictions on who'll win what at the Oscars

25 Jan 2012

Best Picture. The Artist; simplicity is the reason that is soars above the other Oscar bait. The Artist probably will win, as it has won pretty much everything else going. It deserves it - when was the last time a film came along that made everyone fall…

The Woman In Black

The Woman In Black

Daniel Radcliffe's first post-Potter film lacks the requisite scares for a classic ghost story

(2 stars)23 Jan 2012

(12A) 95mins Susan Hill’s Victorian ghost story has been terrifying theatre audiences for the best part of twenty-five years, second only to The Mousetrap as the longest running show in the history of London’s West End. It has already been…

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

This Tom Hanks-starring adaptation of the 9/11-themed bestseller lacks poignancy

(3 stars)23 Jan 2012

(12A) 129mins Are the memories of the 9/11 attacks now distant enough to justify their use at the heart of a personal tale of loss and grief? Stephen Daldry’s beautifully crafted adaptation of the Jonathan Safran Foer bestseller leaves the question…

The Woman In The Fifth

The Woman In The Fifth

Elegant but baffling Paris-set drama starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas

(2 stars)23 Jan 2012

(15) 85mins Hollywood studios are often derided for making simplistic dramas that feel obliged to spell everything out. The Woman In The Fifth errs in the opposite direction, leaving bewildered viewers scratching their heads and trying to figure out…

Intruders

Intruders

Derivative, moderately engaging paranormal horror starring Clive Owen

(3 stars)5 Jan 2012

(15) 110min Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has never quite delivered on the promise of his clever debut feature Intacto. Retro chiller Intruders is cleverly constructed and suspenseful but fades when pitted against superior genre fare like…

The Hot 100 2011: 100-40

The Hot 100 2011: 100-50

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

100: Gordon Ferris. Kilmarnock crime author makes good. The already packed Scottish crime writing field has finally found a bit of elbow room for another burgeoning talent. Joining the likes of Rankin, Brookmyre, McDermid and co is this Ayrshire-born…

HOT 100 2011 - 49 to 1

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

The Artist

The Artist

Delightful celebration of the bygone age of silent cinema, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo

(4 stars)8 Dec 2011

(PG) 100min The Artist has in-built appeal for movie buffs who believe that the arrival of talking pictures was one of the worst things that ever happened to an art form that had found a universal language in the visual poetry of the late silent era.

The Deep Blue Sea

The Deep Blue Sea

Unashamedly old-fashioned film luscious proof of genius of Davies and Rattigan

(4 stars)9 Nov 2011

(12A) 98mins The combination of Terence Davies and Terence Rattigan is a match made in heaven. Rattigan’s centenary year has brought renewed appreciation of his gifts as an astute chronicler of loneliness and longing, whilst Davies is a past master…

Weekend

Weekend

Poignant and captivating story of unexpected love cut short

(4 stars)20 Oct 2011

(18) 96min A casual one night stand unexpectedly blossoms into a much more meaningful connection in Weekend, a tender heartbreaker from writer/director Andrew Haigh that is easily one of the most impressive British independent features of the…

Restless

Restless

Sweet romantic drama from Gus Van Sant, starring Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper

(3 stars)17 Oct 2011

(12A) 95min Gus Van Sant’s unpredictable career has run the gamut from mainstream sentimentality (Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester) to experimental arthouse angst (Gerry, Last Days). Restless falls softly between these extremes as it offers a…

We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Faithful adaptation of Lionel Shriver's bestselling story of motherhood and teen violence

(4 stars)12 Oct 2011

(15) 112min Lynne Ramsay admirers can breathe a sigh of relief. Her first feature since Morvern Callar in 2002 confirms that she has lost none of her skill as a compelling storyteller or visual stylist. Her smart, thought-provoking adaptation of the…

Anonymous

Anonymous

Surprisingly adept Shakespeare-themed historical romp from blockbuster director Roland Emmerich

(3 stars)12 Oct 2011

(12A) 129min Director Roland Emmerich is long established as the king of the apocalyptic blockbuster with a career defined by gung-ho event movies Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. It is quite a surprise to witness him diving…

Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris

Another warm and witty all-star comedy from Woody Allen

(4 stars)14 Sep 2011

(12A) 94min Midnight in Paris is one of the warmest and wittiest Woody Allen films in recent memory. The jaunty manner and literary bent are reminiscent of Vicky Cristina Barcelona as Allen invests what could be a New Yorker short story with a…

Hell and Back Again

Hell and Back Again

Moving but occasionally muddled documentary about the war in Afghanistan

(3 stars)14 Sep 2011

(15) 86min Constant television coverage of the Vietnam War so shocked American households that it is said to have helped turn the tide of public opinion against the conflict. The war in Afghanistan has received saturation coverage across all media…

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

Julia Leigh's modern retelling of the classic fairy tale falls short of its feminist ideals

(2 stars)14 Sep 2011

(18) 101min You could easily mistake Sleeping Beauty for a piece of male wish fulfilment. Australian novelist Julia Leigh’s first film as a writer and director may purport to be a feminist re-interpretation of traditional fairytale elements but the…

The Skin I Live In (La Piel Que Habito)

The Skin I Live In (La Piel Que Habito)

Almodovar's adaptation is measured, playful and spellbinding

(4 stars)19 Aug 2011

(15) 120min The Skin I Live In has all the elements of a campy Vincent Price B-movie. There is a meddlesome scientist driven mad by grief, a grisly revenge plot and a hapless victim, not to mention multiple murder, kidnap and rape. In the hands of…

Poetry

Poetry

A deeply moving portrayal of an elderly woman's struggles in rural South Korea

(4 stars)21 Jul 2011

(12A) 139min The quest to write a single poem becomes a heroic act in Poetry, a poignant, intricately plotted melodrama from Secret Sunshine director Lee Chang-dong. Poetry won the Best Screenplay at Cannes but it is the central performance from…

Beginners

Beginners

Whimsical, autobiographical drama from Mike Mills, starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer

(4 stars)13 Jul 2011

(15) 104min You cannot accuse Beginners of lacking ambition. Directed by Thumbsucker's Mike Mills, this wistful, intensely autobiographical drama combines a love story, a reflection on the ties that bind the generations and a history lesson on the…

Cell 211

Cell 211

Spanish prison riot thriller with plenty of meaty political subtext

(4 stars)21 Jun 2011

(18) 112min European genre cinema has been delivering some cracking titles of late, none more compelling than prison riot thriller Cell 211. Daniel Monzón’s award-winning Spanish hit takes a clever premise and moulds it into an intense, cat-and-mouse…

Hell and Back Again captures the life of a Marine in Afghanistan

Hell and Back Again depicts life of a Marine in Afghanistan

EIFF screening of photojournalist Danfung Dennis’ first feature film

17 Jun 2011

History suggests that the constant drip of unfettered, prime-time images depicting death and defeat made a vital contribution to turning the tide of American popular opinion against the war in Vietnam. It’s hard to imagine a similar decisive impact in…

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life

Terrence Malick's sprawling epic a sermon urging re-engagement with spirituality

(4 stars)17 Jun 2011

(12A) 138min Terrence Malick often seems to be the last apostle of rugged individualism still at work in the American film industry. He painstakingly crafts films that are symphonic in structure with the character of poetic, intensely personal…

Treacle Jnr

Treacle Jr.

Aidan Gillen-starring UK film where character and performance take priority

(3 stars)17 Jun 2011

(15) 85min Treacle Jr is a little gem of British independent filmmaking told with the lowest of budgets and the best of intentions. Director Jamie Thraves’ third feature returns him to his independent root that means a film where character and…

Mel Gibson steps closer to redemption in Jodie Foster-directed comedy The Beaver

The Beaver

Mel Gibson steps closer to redemption in Jodie Foster-directed comedy

(3 stars)23 May 2011

(12A) 90min Just when it seemed that Mel Gibson would never work in Hollywood again, The Beaver proves that he might have a future after all. A string of tabloid scandals suggested that Gibson had pressed the self-destruct button on his career.

Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu star in playful French comedy Potiche

Potiche

Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu star in playful French comedy

(4 stars)23 May 2011

(15) 103 min Catherine Deneuve has a gift of a role in this deliciously subversive farce from the prolific François Ozon. Deneuve is Suzanne, the ‘potiche’ or trophy wife, blithely content to be a domestic goddess in the shadow of insufferable…

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