• My Life As A Courgette

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    Children’s films don’t come much finer than My Life As A Courgette, simply because of how in tune and empathetic debut director Claude Barras and writer Celine Sciamma (Girlhood) are charting the trials and tribulations of being a kid growing up, especially when broken homes and traumatic childhoods are involved. There is a level of intelligence, sensitivity and realism throughout that sets it on a level all of its own, but most of all, it lets the children’s (quite often hilarious) perspective do the talking at all times, making it a true breath of fresh air. Courgette is a young…

  • Miss Sloane

    May 31, 2017 - By 

    Miss Sloane is the perfect vehicle for an actress of Jessica Chastain’s calibre. She absolutely runs the show in the no-nonsense manner that has gained her a reputation as one of the finest actresses in Hollywood. Unfortunately, director John Madden (Shakespeare In Love) and first-time writer Johnathan Perera have brought little else to the table in this implausible and relatively predictable story, based around the corrupt and high stakes world of US lobbying. Chastain stars as Elizabeth Sloane, the most sought-after lobbyist in the US and darling of all the high-powered players in politics and business. Her ruthlessness and cunning…

  • Jawbone

    May 19, 2017 - By 

    There is no doubt that Jawbone, director Thomas Q. Napper’s debut, follows many of the usual tropes that most of the boxing/fighting movies out there fall into. You could even say that its subplot, dealing with first time writer and star, Johnny Harris’ (Gangster No 1) alcohol addiction, is a formula that has been flogged to death in this genre. However, what gives Jawbone an edge over the rest is its superb cast and acting, the brutally honest and realistic manner in which it deals with addiction, depression and societal decay, along with a refreshing lack of glorification surrounding its premise.…

  • Raw

    May 15, 2017 - By 

    The French rarely fail to impress on at least some level with their film-making. Their absolute disregard for cultural taboos is something that I’ve always admired but with Raw, you could be forgiven for initially thinking that you are watching exploitation cinema at its most gratuitous and possibly grating. To my surprise, writer/director Julia Ducournau’s debut feature turns out to be a deviously sharp horror/social commentary that makes for a carnivorous shocker that is a cut above most others in this genre. Quite the feat! Following in the footsteps of her family, Justine (Garance Marillier) is an aspiring vet and…

  • The Journey

    May 5, 2017 - By 

    With the opening credits of The Journey stating that you are about to watch an imagined depiction of what happened between Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) and Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) during a key moment in the Northern Ireland peace process, you can hopefully brace yourself for the ludicrously ill-conceived film that screenwriter and novelist Colin Bateman and director Nick Hamm (Godsend) have decided to bestow upon the public. Set in 2007, when the sworn enemies were at loggerheads over how they could cut a deal and set up a power-sharing government between Paisley’s DUP and McGuinness’ Sinn Fein, the two…

  • I Am Not Your Negro

    April 26, 2017 - By 

    If the words and legacy of poet, playwright, novelist and social commentator James Baldwin were ever in danger of being forgotten, then director Raoul Peck (Fatal Assistance) has done the world a great justice. And who better to deliver these words than Samuel L Jackson, with his suitably defiant, yet eloquent delivery of the great man’s words. I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary that compiles various writings on race relations in the US by Baldwin before he died in 1987 and ties them into the huge racial problems that still exist today. The film is centred around material…

  • Elle

    April 3, 2017 - By 

    It’s not very often that a film has me strangely anticipating which social taboo is going to be launched out of the window with amazing indifference next. Yet Elle manages to achieve this with an astoundingly entertaining edge that verges on the absurd when it’s not shocking you with its core theme of sexual assault. But all of this is unsurprising when you know that Elle is made by notorious Dutch director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop), who is at his controversial and stylistically provocative best, and stars the great Isabelle Huppert, a fearless, steely and ridiculously talented actress at the top…

  • Personal Shopper

    March 20, 2017 - By 

    If you are looking for a ghost story with a difference, then writer/director Olivier Assayas’ (Carlos) latest genre-bender Personal Shopper may be just what you are after. The film initially plods along, with Kristen Stewart (Twilight) leading in an odd combination of a haunted house type story and an insight into the world of Parisian socialites and celebrities. But what gives Personal Shopper an edge is how the movie morphs into a gripping suspense/thriller in its latter half, managing to creep me out more than any other horror that I’ve seen in quite some time. Quite the feat! Maureen (Stewart)…

  • Logan

    March 9, 2017 - By 

    Finally! Writer/director James Mangold (Walk The Line) has made up for the damp squib that was 2013’s The Wolverine, with a fantastic final outing for Hugh Jackman that transcends the usual superhero formula and delves into a much darker, violent and more vulnerable, nearly dystopian world. Unlike the many other movies of this genre, Logan gives the viewer a feeling of realism, substance and heart, of the type that has never been seen in the rest of the Marvel or DC worlds, making for an instant classic. In the year 2029, mutants are all but a thing of the past,…

  • A Cure For Wellness

    March 3, 2017 - By 

    Gore Verbinski’s (Pirates Of The Carribean) latest big budget venture is a mishmash of the mystery/suspense/horror genres, that sees the director move into painfully familiar territory. So much so that you would swear that he’s trying to evoke the ghost of Stanley Kubrick, but in the most unflattering, unoriginal and derivative manner. A Cure For Wellness tells the story of a young, cocky Wall Street executive called Lockhart, who is tasked with bringing an important CEO of his company back from a ‘wellness retreat’, located in a picturesque location of the Swiss Alps. But as soon as he arrives, an…