REVIEW: Atlantide (Venice 2021)
Italian director Yuri Ancarani declares in his Venice Film Festival statement that “Atlantide is a film that began without a screenplay.” It could very well be said that it still hasn’t got one. There are, perhaps, 15 lines of dialogue in Ancarani’s ridiculous and amateurish…
REVIEW: Crabs! (FrightFest 2021)
The start of September also marked the start of this year’s online Frightfest film festival. It’s a horror film festival that is personally anticipated every year and, this year, the organization decided to host a physical and digital edition. The personal choice for the first…
REVIEW: Spencer (Venice 2021)
Kristen Stewart packs a powerhouse performance in Spencer – Pablo Larrain’s extravagant tale based on the life of Diana Princess of Wales. But if you thought Spencer was little more than a character study of the People’s Princess, think again. Instead, Larrain has made something…
REVIEW: Wildfire (2021)
Wildfire is one of those films that succeeds on a micro-level. From scene to scene, it is packed with raw emotionality and scarily believable hysteria. When you begin to zoom out and look at the bigger picture, everything becomes less acutely focused and slightly more…
REVIEW: The Card Counter (Venice 2021)
An overhand shuffle. A riffle. A fancy flourish as a playing card leaps from one hand to the other. These little touches tell us everything we need to know about The Card Counter and its titular character. Oscar Isaac’s William is a master of misdirection….
REVIEW: The Power of the Dog (Venice 2021)
The Power of the Dog drags us into a bleak and twisted wild west, where thundering masculinity is scrutinised under a lens and left wanting. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons star as Phil and George Burbank – successful ranchers in the hills of Montana in…
REVIEW: Les Promesses (Venice 2021)
Absolute power corrupts absolutely in Les Promesses a biting political thriller that isn’t afraid to move, but one with a few too many moving parts. A Parisian mayor, Clemence (Isabelle Huppert) formed her campaign around integrity and honesty, around the idea that she would serve…
REVIEW: Dune (Venice 2021)
“He who controls the spice controls the universe.” There are certain movies that are special to sci-fi fans. Alien, Blade Runner and Moon to name just a few. The original Dune is up there, too – with a long legacy based on Frank Herbert’s original…
REVIEW: We Need to Do Something (2021)
Is there anything more terrifying than being a teenager forced to spend time with your family against your will? With his debut directorial feature, We Need to Do Something, Sean King O’ Grady pushes this idea to the extreme, locking a feuding family of four…
REVIEW: The Champion of Auschwitz (2021)
There have been so many stories of heroism, resistance, sacrifice and rebellion surround World War Two that seems almost impossible to have “missed” any. However, it is the unknown story of a Polish champion boxer that is the subject of writer / director Maciej Barczewski’s…
REVIEW: Plan A (2021)
The German nation has been undergoing the process of “vergangenheitsbewaltigung” – coming to terms with the past – since 1945. Films like Die Morder Sind Unter Uns, Die Blechtrommel, Der Untergang and Die Welle have all sought to address the national consciousness; the “Kollectivschuld”. In…
REVIEW: Handsome (2021)
Luke White’s new documentary, Handsome, follows two brothers, Nick and Alex who visit various locations across the world talking to siblings where one of the two, like Alex, lives with Down’s Syndrome. Opening with a frank admission that Nick used to be ashamed of his…
REVIEW: Isabella (2021)
Saying that creating art as a job is hard in today’s world is a huge understatement. You have to have a mixture of self-belief, stubbornness and, sometimes, stupidity to work in the creative industries. That is the truth, and that is the reality that the…
