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Neruda – Review

Off the back of his Jackie Kennedy bio comes Neruda, Pablo Larraín’s portrait of the womanizing poet-politician unusually told from the perspective of the detective inspector attempting to track him down....
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I Am Not Your Negro – Review

"White is a metaphor for power". From its opening credits to the close, viewers of I Am Not Your Negro would be forgiven for feeling like being at the end of an LAPD police baton; mercilessly and repeatedly...
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The Discovery – Review

The question of life after death is one of the deepest imaginable, and an answer would have profound consequences on humanity. Despite some flickers of philosophy, The Discovery is neither deep nor profound...
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Graduation (Bacalaureat) – Review

Joint winner of Best Director at Cannes 2016, Cristian Mungiu returns with his finest work since his sublime Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days with Graduation, an intelligent, elegant, morally...
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Free Fire – Review

Ben Wheatley delves into the 1970s again with his fast-paced and thrilling new film, Free Fire. All set in and around an abandoned warehouse that is now host to gangs selling guns, Wheatley and Amy Jump...
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Ghost in the Shell – Review

Even ignoring the anime adaptation, Rupert Sanders’ take on Ghost in the Shell feels like well-trodden ground. Many (or all) of the film's stylistic cues feel borrowed, whether it’s the gratuitous...
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Signature Move – BFI Flare 2017 Review

Signature Move lies at the intersection of women’s wrestling, closeted homosexuality and the communities of Mexican and Pakistani diaspora in today’s Chicago. A portrait of people on the move, whether this...
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Political Animals – BFI Flare 2017 Review

After having identified the first four openly gay members of the California State legislature as women, Political Animals lacks much of an argument. At one point it problematically – divisively – suggests...
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The Lost City of Z – Review

The modern world has shrunk to a claustrophobic size – we can carry most of it around in our pockets. Countries have continued to magnetise, shackling themselves to one another with political, social, and...
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Aquarius – Review

Kleber Mendonça Filho returns to the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco to vent his anger at the redevelopment of one of its coastal towns. His condemnation comes in the form of an intimate personal...
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Power Rangers – Review

It may be a sad fact to many but the '90s are officially nostalgic now, and if ever there was a much-loved show from that decade crying out for a cinematic reboot, it's Power Rangers. Gone are the tight lycra...
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Seat in Shadow – BFI Flare 2017 Review

When, in 2007, J.K. Rowling announced Dumbledore was gay, the internet duly responded (such as this stroke of genius: "While the anagram to ‘Tom Marvolo Riddle’ is ‘I am Lord Voldemort’, ‘Albus...
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Pushing Dead – BFI Flare 2017 Review

While Pushing Dead lacks a consistently engaging narrative, writer-director Tom E. Brown has created a bravely idiosyncratic tone and style that nevertheless demands attention. The most overt component of this...