Child 44 – Review Phil W. Bayles April 18, 2015 Reviews "Then they came for me," bemoans the end of Martin Niemöller's poem, "and there was no one left to speak for me." In Child 44 Daniel Espinosa has crafted an interesting drama about the bureaucracy of...
Last Knights – Review Stephen O'Nion April 18, 2015 Reviews Looking like a rather drab Meatloaf video (think candles and chambers) played on half-speed with a perma-frowned Clive Owen solemnly plodding about, Last Knights struggles to engage from the off. As its...
The Last Five Years – Review David Brake April 18, 2015 Reviews Broadway and musicals are a perfect couple. However, problems arise when you decide to add another to the relationship: the medium of film. On stage, energy is easy to sustain - and that is likely where The...
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – Review David Brake April 12, 2015 Reviews Life has a balance and if you break this equilibrium, bad things happen. In this case, the result is Hot Tub Time Machine 2. In the first outing, the balance between puerile humour and nostalgia was just...
Cobain: Montage of Heck – Review Nick Evan-Cook April 11, 2015 Reviews Somewhat overlong and not as incisive as it could be, Cobain: Montage of Heck is nonetheless a satisfying portrait of a troubled genius. Cobain's turbulent story is told mostly through a collage of...
Lost River – Review Rachel Brook April 11, 2015 Reviews Virtually plotless, Lost River is a lurid technicolour nightmare featuring a senseless mishmash of shot types, a warped Miss Havisham and a caricaturish Matt Smith. There’s no subtlety here; the sparse...
Jauja – Review Tom Bond April 10, 2015 Reviews Jauja* would work much better as a short film. Framing the vivid Argentinian landscape in a 4:3 ratio is a provocative choice that pays off far better for Alonso than his bloody-minded insistence on static...
Good Kill – Review Bertie Archer April 9, 2015 Reviews From their portacabin of death, all-American jocks get to blow shit up with only RSI to fear; the lady cries yet complies; Ethan Hawke has a moral crisis whilst remaining utterly immoral; Betty Draper makes an...
John Wick – Review Phil W. Bayles April 8, 2015 Reviews It's fitting that the seemingly ageless Keanu Reeves should play John Wick. Like its leading man, the film feels unstuck in time; a forgotten '80s classic that would have starred the likes of Stallone or...
Kidnapping Freddy Heineken – Review Stephen O'Nion April 5, 2015 Reviews Heineken’s protagonists are just "a bunch of local jerkoffs" hit hard by the recession, unfairly losing their business and their purpose. So why not kidnap a billionaire? So crazy, so true?! Well, it...
Fast & Furious 7 – Review Phil W. Bayles April 4, 2015 Reviews 1 Comment Fast & Furious 7 feels like it was written by a 13 year-old on a sugar bender, which is entirely a good thing. James Wan directs glorious action sequences with the manic energy of a Saturday morning...
While We’re Young – Review Rachel Brook April 3, 2015 Reviews While We’re Young is a natural progression from Baumbach’s Frances Ha, yet it breaks new ground by using older protagonists to provide a fresh perspective on twentysomething New Yorkers. Meanwhile, it...
Mala Mala – BFI Flare 2015 – Review Danielle Davenport April 1, 2015 Reviews Sleekly sensual montages and a wonderfully hypnotic soundtrack set the tone for this stylish documentary. Meanwhile, thoughtful structure and fantastic tempo provide the foundation for an expertly filmed and...
Tab Hunter Confidential – BFI Flare 2015 Review Danielle Davenport April 1, 2015 Reviews Tab Hunter Confidential is a fascinating and comprehensive biography that successfully conveys Hunter’s golden-boy status and subsequent career. Through its logical structure, rare film clips and...
The Water Diviner – Review Bertie Archer April 1, 2015 Reviews The Water Diviner is a poignant, beautiful and captivating film, showing the ongoing ravages on both sides after WW1’s Gallipoli campaign. The extraordinary courage needed from a man who lost everything...