ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #80-61 Calum Baker December 13, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 At its very best, cinema not only influences its audience but changes the very medium around it; a great film builds itself as it plays, showing you how to view it and redefining itself in real time. And this...
ORWAV’s Top 100 Films of the 2010s: #100-81 Calum Baker December 12, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off, Top 10 Another decade, another dollar – billions and billions of dollars, that is, spent on both making and watching films. Early 2010 saw Avatar clamber to the first-ever $2 billion gross, becoming the biggest...
In Defence of Joanna Hogg’s Middle Class Problems Alex Goldstein September 6, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off Stewart Lee once referred to Joanna Hogg’s second film Archipelago as “an art film about middle class people on a disappointing holiday”. On one level, he is right. There are also plenty of fair reasons...
Defiant Souls – Filmfest München 2019 Review Josefine Algieri July 5, 2019 Reviews Waves crash violently against the cliffside in the opening shot of Defiant Souls (Insumisas): nature dwarfs the woman who faces the weather nonetheless – defiant, as the title suggests. This is the true...
Bittersweet Symphony – Edinburgh Film Festival 2019 Review Carmen Paddock June 29, 2019 Reviews Rich people problems are one of cinema’s perennial favourites; when done well, the results are last year’s Crazy Rich Asians or Joanna Hogg’s upcoming The Souvenir. When done sloppily, self-indulgently,...
Yesterday and Cinema’s Best Jukebox Musicals Carmen Paddock June 26, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 Yesterday, which opens in the UK this week, imagines a world where Sergeant Pepper, Eleanor Rigby, and a yellow submarine live only in the mind of Jack Malik – a street musician whose life changes when he is...
Five Genres That Superhero Movies Should be Embracing Phil W. Bayles June 19, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion James Gunn has become an essential player in the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe – so much so that even an idiotic campaign by right-wing internet trolls couldn’t keep him away. But as we eagerly await...
X Rated: Every X-Men Film Ranked James Andrews June 4, 2019 Analysis, Features, Top 10 As the "will they, won't they?" saga of the X-Men's migration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues following Disney's takeover of Fox, the mutant franchise returns for what could be the final go-around...
A Hidden Life – Cannes 2019 Review Tom Bond May 20, 2019 Reviews There’s a stereotype of a Terrence Malick film, if you’re feeling mean. Beautiful, sure; but also a glorified perfume ad, full of twirling girls and little substance. His most recent efforts – To the...
Five Video Games Hollywood Should Adapt Next Katy Moon May 9, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion Video games are a rich vein of narrative potential that Hollywood is still struggling to mine. It’s often the case that the mediums just don’t translate – after all, spending a couple of hours merely...
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile – Review Joni Blyth May 7, 2019 Reviews Zac Efron is certainly enjoying himself in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Sexy serial killer is definitely in his wheelhouse, and Efron goes for broke, hamming it up as the infamously charming...
Live-Action Disney Remakes: Cynical Cash Cows or New Takes on the Classics? Carmen Paddock March 25, 2019 Analysis, Debate, Features Dumbo hits UK cinemas this week, and it promises a stellar cast, some tear-jerking animation, and a hopeful return to form by Tim Burton. While judgement cannot yet be passed on the film itself, the most...
Is Captain Marvel Here to Save Women in Film? Alex Goldstein March 5, 2019 Features, One Off, Opinion It’s a big ask, being brought back from the past to save half the universe from a Mad Titan. As if that wasn't enough, the woman behind Captain Marvel is flexing her own muscles to drive change for women...
The Souvenir – Review Kambole Campbell February 25, 2019 Reviews This review was originally published as part of our Berlinale festival coverage on 25/02/2019. Based on the filmmaker’s experiences when she attended film school in the '80s, The Souvenir is fascinated with...
The Kid Who Would Be King – Review Rory Steabler February 19, 2019 Reviews The long wait for writer-director Joe Cornish’s second feature is over, and The Kid Who Would Be King does not disappoint – though it may not be quite what fans of Attack the Block were expecting. While...