Tagged Three Stars 2015

The spirit of Barry Hines and Ken Loach is clear to see in this electrifying thriller about honour killings. Like the classic '80s drama Threads, a social-realist view of life on the Yorkshire moors...

Focus is a film of clear halves; a time jump refreshes the narrative just as you start to wonder if its hackneyed premise is actually going anywhere. Despite a somewhat predictable conclusion, Ficarra and...

Cake has all the ingredients of a good film. It has a compelling narrative about emotional and physical pain which is refreshingly explored with wit and sleight of hand. The beautiful cinematography captures...

Blackhat is that rarest of things: a thriller with an almost meditative pulse. The art of hacking is explored with a perfunctory and workmanlike rigour, as are the cast, let down by Foehl’s script. The...

As soon as the lights dim, Ten No Chasuke detonates into hilarious and fascinating existence. Armed with an inimitable concept, Sabu fearlessly dives in with a relentless arsenal of one liners and visual...

Life begins with exciting momentum. It enjoys high quality writing and is genuinely funny at times. It is aesthetically impactful. So what’s the problem? Good writing does not necessarily equal a good...

There are some who might approach Cinderella with cynicism or circumspection. Abandon these sentiments. Yes, the film begins somewhat too treacly, complete with melodramatic exchanges and breathily gasped...

Following in the vein of Simon Curtis' last feature My Week with Marilyn, Woman in Gold is a safe yet surprisingly moving film. Mirren is on startling form, delivering one-liners and thoughtful...

Countless words of exegesis on the teen movie have been published, but Lyne has winningly executed a fresh method that abandons the attempt to describe audiovisual media with only words, often instead letting...

Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Martin Scorsese team on this gritty anecdote about the past triads of '80s New York. Revenge of the Green Dragons is a tale of Chinese youths who grew up fighting in...

With its loudly trumpeted message of "be careful what you wish for", Rob Marshall’s stagey version of Stephen Sondheim’s fairy tale mash-up musical is toe-tapping good fun. Not aided by the two-part...