REVIEW: Encanto (2021)
Everyone knows the power of the big six-oh. Sixty is a milestone that exemplifies maturity, growth, self-assuredness, and elegance. All that can be said, too, of Disney’s 60th motion picture, Encanto. Literally meaning “charm”, “spell”, or most obviously, “enchantment” in Spanish, Encanto takes you by…
REVIEW: Advent Calendar (2021)
For some, the countdown to Christmas starts as the clock ticks past midnight on 31st October and Halloween becomes an instantaneous distant memory. For the sane amongst us, the prospect of the imminent holiday season looms large as December begins. The period of Advent is,…
REVIEW: 7 Prisoners (2021)
The sounds that welcome you to the Brazil of Alexandre Moratto’s 7 Prisoners (7 Prisioneiros) are warm. Sounds of bustling nature, laughter and daily chores. A farming family, living deep in the Brazilian countryside, are preparing food, ready to enjoy a meal together. The meal…
REVIEW: Courage (2021)
Imagine a world where your vote is worth less than the paper it is cast on. A world where loved ones simply disappear. A world where censorship of the arts and of newspapers is freely committed. This isn’t the plot of some dystopian novel or…
REVIEW: The Humans (2021)
A family gathering takes a series of ominous turns in Stephen Karam’s film adaptation of his Tony award-winning play The Humans. Niceties slowly begin to unravel at the dinner table in a Thanksgiving-set drama laced with unease, in a manner that is both beguiling and…
REVIEW: The Deep House (2021)
Curiosity kills the cat, but how about content creators? In their hunt for the ultimate viewer booster, Tina (Camille Rowe) and Ben (James Jagger) visit a place that they definitely should not have, awakening the horrors within. Pro tip: When a Virgin Mary statue is…
REVIEW: The Devil’s Drivers (2021)
There is rarely a year goes by where the ongoing Israeli / Palestinian conflict doesn’t make international news headlines with accusations of subterfuge, sabotage and substantial terror threats. But, in amongst all of these headlines are real people. Real people who have families and homes….
REVIEW: Bruised (2021)
Halle Berry has played iconic roles and shined on the screen, from Storm in X-Men to Sofia in John Wick: Parabellum. For Bruised we see her as a fallen from grace MMA fighter, Jackie Justice, and this time the actress is also in the director’s…
REVIEW: Out Of The Blue (1980)
The narrative of Dennis Hopper’s post-Easy Rider (1969) career is famously contentious. To some he was a brilliant visionary with ideas that were too radical for mainstream Hollywood. His directorial debut was seen as the hippest thing around when it was first released and, for…
REVIEW: The Wheel Of Time (Episode 1-3)
Amazon has invested heavily in its attempt at filling the void left by Game Of Thrones departure from our screens. In addition to the adaptation of the Outlander series of novels and their imminent journey to Middle Earth with the upcoming Lord Of The Rings…
REVIEW: House Of Gucci (2021)
As high society’s Patrizia Reggiani reaches for bottom-barrel tactics to get things done, the third meaning of Gucci’s interlacing Gs surfaces – and claims prominence. What used to be a dignified reference to the fashion house’s founder, and an alliterative signifier of wearable luxe, now…
REVIEW: Lamb (2021)
You can always count on A24, the daring darlings of the independent film world, to deliver on their promise to support first-time feature filmmakers and bring unique visions to our screen. The studio’s commercial brand may have become something of an overpriced cliche and the…
REVIEW: Doineann (Belfast Film Festival)
Produced by DoubleBand Films with support from the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, BBC Gaeilge and TG4, mystery thriller Doineann becomes the very first Irish language feature film made in Northern Ireland. Brought to life from an idea first discussed in a coffee shop on Botanic…
