Reviewing the new, the old, the good and the bad.
In many ways, The Grand Budapest Hotel is the apogee of Wes Anderson’s style: witty dialogue, pastel palette, familiar cast of characters, generous use of tracking shots, and a distinct auteurial voice preserved, so clearly and indelibly suffused throughout everything in the world that Anderson had created. It is distinctively and idiosyncratically Wes Anderson. And … Continue reading
The first few minutes of Jung Byung-gil’s The Villainess are some of the most violent I have watched for a long-time. Immediately you are thrown into a bombardment of headshots, knife shots and fistfights – made all the more intense by the first person POV camerawork. Usually I am not the biggest fan of first … Continue reading
“When you strike the rock, you strike the woman. When you strike the woman, you strike the rock” South African documentary Strike a Rock had its US premiere at the 56th Ann Arbor Film Festival this weekend, where it was also the recipient of a Jury Award. The 87-minute documentary founds itself upon the … Continue reading
Cinema is often described as a tool for empathy. A lens through which we are able to witness and understand the experiences of others, a way of putting ourselves into another person’s shoes and exploring them inside out. Sebastian Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman not only adheres to this idea of what film really is, or … Continue reading
Despite the birth of the beloved franchise occurring before my time, but having played the 2015 game Rise of the Tomb Raider, I grew to love Lara Croft. Switching out the crop top and shorts for a vest and trousers (with pockets!), gave her a new appeal; she was realistic. Realistic for an adventure video … Continue reading
Based on Jonathan Ames’ 2013 novella of the same name, Lynne Ramsay’s fourth feature, You Were Never Really Here, is a gripping and intense sensory overload. Joaquin Phoenix, on top form, plays Joe, a former soldier who now carries out hitman-like retrieval jobs of missing and runaway kids, providing much more discretion and opportunity for … Continue reading
‘At 19:42:21 on 23.05.2016 LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner are at 60°23’10″N 151°19’05″W. From 23 May until 23 June 2016 You are invited to pick up the artists Whenever their coordinates are posted above And take them anywhere.’ That is how it began. American actor Shia LaBeouf and long-time collaborators (having worked on eight projects … Continue reading
