“The book was better.” We’ve all heard it. Many of us have even said it. We’re walking out of the theater after seeing some movie, one that we we’re probably pretty excited about. When the lights go up, we’re left with a sense of something unfulfilled. It feels as if we’ve been cheated. We haven’t …
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Written by: Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer Directed by: Zack Snyder USA, 2016 “Wouldn’t it be cool if..?” should be Zack Snyder’s motto. He should print it on a t-shirt and wear it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. His entire career is based on capturing …
Die Another Day Directed by Lee Tamahori Written by Neal Purvis (story) & Robert Wade 2002, UK The end of Die Another Day’s first act provides a set up to what could potentially have been one of the most freshly original Bond installments, an opportunity to explore deliciously dark corners of the iconic spy’s psyche. …
Spectre Written by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth Directed by Sam Mendes UK, 2015 “It’s just a matter of perspective,” says James Bond to evil mastermind Oberhausen as they discuss the difference between killing and dying, and this line best sums up how much an audience will enjoy Spectre, the latest – and quite …
It is difficult to discuss Evolution without giving away a lot of its surprises. Needless-to-say, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s masterful film (only her second in a decade) is disturbing, beautiful and restrained. Mysterious from beginning to end, the film challenges and intrigues, reaching down inside to grab hold of something within us all that is ancient and primordial, engaging on a level that exists within not only a collective imagination but our collective biology
One often wonders what they would be capable of if their life depended on it. Would you take charge, delegate responsibility but do your part, or would you completely break down and cower in the corner? Would you be able to think clearly enough to find a solution to the problem or would your emotions be too overpowering?
In 2013, renowned Russian filmmaker Alexey German died before he could complete his astonishing final film Hard to Be a God which, after being completed by his wife, screenwriter Svetlana Karmalita, and his son Alexey German Jnr, screened at last year’s London Film Festival.
A quick search of the film Ruined Heart: Another Love Story between a Criminal and a Whore reveals that it is an expanded version of a 2012 short by Filipino poet Khavn De La Cruz (known simply as KHAVN) and that pretty much explains the feature’s shortcomings in a nutshell.
Yakuza Apocalypse is the greatest yakuza vampire movie ever made. It also appears to be the only yakuza vampire movie ever made, and if Miike’s surreal, violent, hilarious and unashamedly bonkers film is anything to go by, it will probably be the last.
Director Pablo Larraín is known for his extremely fascinating social commentaries about his native Chile. Most famously, he tackled the Pinochet regime and its legacy with his trilogy comprising Tony Manero, Post-Mortem and No. With The Club, Larraín looks at Catholicism, another major Chilean institution, and the abuses of power that can occur within the priesthood.
The objectification of women and the ravenous consumption of celebrity culture are some of the very clear themes that inform the narrative of The Corpse of Anna Fritz, the debut feature of Spanish director Hèctor Hernández Vicens.
Following the brilliant A Touch of Sin, auteur and Chinese master Jia Zhangke returns with a similarly structured, yet more narratively linked, portrait of China in the new millennium. Mountains May Depart is two-thirds of a gripping relationship drama that captures not only a China in constant flux, but also the universality of human experience.
To describe Bone Tomahawk as a “horror-Western” is good shorthand, but could be a little misleading. The film indeed has horror elements but novelist turned screenwriter/director S. Craig Zahler seems more interested in spending time with his four main protagonists as they travel across country, letting their different personalities and world views, and the harshness of the terrain, challenge them on their journey
Assassination is pure entertainment. Director Choi Dong-hoon pulls together an astonishing group of talent both in front and behind the camera to portray a story close to South Korea’s heart with humour, pathos, gorgeous cinematography and a series of impressively bombastic action scenes to create one of the most exciting adventure films in recent years.
Suffragette Written by Abi Morgan Directed by Sarah Gavron UK, 2015 As the high-profile spearhead of UK film culture, the London Film Festival thrives on promoting the heritage films that its indigenous industry clings to so dearly: the historical and period dramas which keep the production designers, wardrobe wranglers and most of the Royal Shakespeare Company solvent throughout another procurement drive of Elizabethan ruffs, …
Parabellum Written by Ana Godoy, Esteban Prado and Lukas Valenta Rinner Directed by Lukas Valenta Rinner Argentina/Austria/Uruguay, 2015 Cinema is certainly no stranger to Armageddon scenarios. Whether it’s environmental collapse, zombie uprising, or alien infestation, these CGI-stuffed extravaganzas aren’t exactly known for their subtle charms. Parabellum, the debut film from Austrian director Lukas Valenta Rinner, proves that …
Faith is such a tenuous concept that it’s hard to believe that it has the strength that it does. The act of believing in the existence or the potential of a supreme being despite any earthly evidence or causation should be treated with suspicion or disdain right from the outset.
Stories about slavery can be a tricky proposition, especially if your story is from the Caucasian point of view, because there is a delicate balance to be struck when considering the protagonist’s actions and motivations.
Pan Written by Jason Fuchs Directed by Joe Wright USA, 2015 Peter Pan gets the Star Wars treatment by way of Baz Luhrmann in Joe Wright’s Pan, an attempt at putting a somewhat original spin on a children’s classic. In true Hollywood style, however, the film is so hampered by studio notes that it almost …
It was 2004 and I was fifteen years old when I read Charles R. Cross’ Heavier than Heaven. I remember finishing the last chapters, sprawled on the floor of my family’s cottage as I cried so hard I started to dry heave. At the time I was unaware of the controversy that surrounded the adaptation, both in how Cross took liberties in certain facts (some information was later disproved, or at least not substantiated) and the decision he made to create what was ultimately a fictional take on Kurt’s final days up until the point he killed himself. Like many teenager before and since, Kurt Cobain represented a romantic and ultimately tragic figure to look up to – for better or for worse.
Le Chat Dans Le Sac Written and Directed by Gilles Grouix Canada, 1964 A movie that is difficult to find but well worth the effort, Le Chat Dans Le Sac captivates moviegoers through its hand held camera usage, John Coltrane soundtrack, twenty-something characters struggling with the world around them. You don’t have to be familiar …
Storm In The Andes Written & Directed by Mikael Wiström Sweden, 2015 After her death in 1988 the Guzmán family spoke little of Aunt Augusta, and before her passing she was rarely discussed in the family home. Along with her husband Abimael she was one of the founding members of Shining Path, the Maoist guerrilla movement who engaged in a long and …
Presented in the Bright Future Premieres programme section of IFFR 2015 as one of the nominees for the FIPRESCI prize of the festival, The Man in the Wall is a tense, excellently paced psychological drama with fleshed out characters that seem pulled on-screen directly from life itself. Although purportedly not (auto)biographical, the story nonetheless feels very personal.