Cel Mates: Waltz with Bashir Conor Morgan March 13, 2015 CEL Mates, Features, Independent Waltz with Bashir is a 2008 Oscar-nominated Israeli animated documentary written and directed by Ari Folman. The film follows the director in his search to clarify to himself his role during the 1982 Lebanon...
Selma, Bond and Race: Examining Hollywood’s “Invisible White Men” Madeline Joint March 1, 2015 Analysis, Close-Up, Features 1 Comment The Oscars: a night to celebrate the film industry’s “best and whitest.” Thanks Neil Patrick Harris, you hit the nail on the head - but frankly the issue deserves a little more than a cheap pun....
A Love Letter To… Zoolander Conor Morgan February 20, 2015 Features, Love Letter, Nostalgia In Zoolander, Ben Stiller’s 2001 send-up of the fashion industry, the shadowy controlling figures of the trade task leading designer Mugatu (Will Ferrell) with finding a suitable candidate to assassinate the...
Casting Call – Spider-Man Tom Bond February 13, 2015 Behind The Curtain, Casting Call, Features Finally, Spider-Man has been saved. After two entries in the cruelly mistitled “Amazing” Spider-Man reboot, the character has been given a new lease of life by the arrival of Marvel. Teaming up with...
Short of the Week – My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117 Conor Morgan January 26, 2015 Features, Independent, Short of the Week http://vimeo.com/17438937 The warped mind of black comedy genius Chris Morris won a BAFTA for My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117, a title that refers to the most recent in a long list of wrongdoings committed...
Ex Machina – Review Danielle Davenport January 24, 2015 Reviews 4 Comments Alex Garland is in confident control from Ex Machina’s boldly brisk beginning to perfectly-pitched end. Carefully composed shots, swift cuts and succinct dialogue bestow the tumultuous pace and visual...
Maybeland: Barbarella Madeline Joint January 16, 2015 Features, Independent, Maybeland Barbarella (1968) is campy '60s madness – hilariously dirty, adorably silly and oddly captivating. In the far future, humanity has moved past sex, war and jealousy and created a universal harmony of love -...
Birdman – Review Tom Bond December 30, 2014 Reviews I act therefore I’m not. Riggan Thompson (Keaton) is selfless in the middle of an identity crisis, and selfish in his egotistical pursuit of an impossible play. Shadows of the mask he once wore as Birdman...
ORWAV’s Top 20 Of 2014: 5. The Wolf Of Wall Street Tom Bond December 26, 2014 Analysis, Features, Top 10 2 Comments Do you want to be Jordan Belfort? Do you want what he has? The money, the drugs, the women, the power? You’re not alone. You’re only human. Debates raged with the manic energy of coked-up stockbrokers...
Scene Stealers: Fred Willard in Best In Show Conor Morgan December 4, 2014 Analysis, Features, Scene Stealers A mockumentary by the undisputed master of the genre, Christopher Guest (of This Is Spinal Tap fame), Best In Show follows five pairs of owners and handlers of dogs competing in the prestigious Mayflower...
Maybeland: Equilibrium Madeline Joint November 27, 2014 Features, Independent, Maybeland As is customary in dystopian cinema, it is hard to figure out what Kurt Wimmer’s Equilibrium (2002) is in favour of as opposed to what it condemns. Starring Christian Bale as John Preston (most likely no...
St. Vincent – Review Bertie Archer November 26, 2014 Reviews Equal parts heart-warming comedy and heart-breaking tragedy, St. Vincent is a retelling of a well-worn story which leaves the broad-strokes of the plot predictable from the start. Some salvation comes from...
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Review Christopher Preston November 24, 2014 Reviews The Hunger Games hasn’t given birth to twins. Instead, it has stretched out the limbs of its concluding chapter to the point of cracking dislocation. The bite of the adaptation’s first instalments has...
CEL Mates: The Secret of Kells Conor Morgan November 19, 2014 CEL Mates, Features, Independent The Secret of Kells is a 2009 Irish-French-Belgian animated film starring Brendan Gleeson, Evan McGuire and Christen Mooney, directed by first-time Irish director Tomm Moore, for which he received an Academy...
Nightcrawler – Review Christopher Preston November 2, 2014 Reviews Jake Gyllenhaal unfurls creepy wings as Lou Bloom, a determined vulture ready to feather his own nest in the shade of the American Dream. Lou’s maniac eyes share the same greedy glint as his hungry camera....