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Brimstone – Review

To get to the heart of what makes Brimstone a terrible film, one has to look at the tone. On the surface this 19th century-set tale is bleak, as it charts the life of the mute Liz (Dakota Fanning)....
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Frantz – Review

In Frantz Franco-German relations in the wake of the Great War are explored, but at its heart Ozon has crafted an old-fashioned movie that nevertheless pulses with a modern vitality. The setup is simple...
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Hacksaw Ridge – Review

To Mel Gibson and Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge is a shot at redemption. For Garfield, it’s to be taken seriously again after the failure of the Amazing Spider-Man films. For Gibson, well, it’s a lot more...
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La La Land – Review

Damien Chazelle's third feature, La La Land, confirms two trends in the director's still relatively young career. Firstly, an inclination towards jazz. Secondly, a tendency to make thrilling, moving...
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Bitter Money – Venice 2016 Review

In China over 300,000 people work in the textile industry. With Bitter Money Wang Bing documents the grinding lives that these people have to endure, offering a sympathetic insight into their world. In...
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Malaria – Venice 2016 Review

By framing its story through recovered mobile phone footage discovered by unseen investigators, Malaria immediately hooks in its audience. Set mainly in Tehran, director Parviz Shahbazi utilises the mobile...
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Never Ever – Venice 2016 Review

In the wake of The Babadook new ghost stories should be welcomed with open arms. However, Never Ever squanders its potential by being utterly tedious. The first half of Never Ever actually intrigues as...
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The Bad Batch – Venice 2016 Review

Ana Lily Amirpour falls victim to the sophomore slump with The Bad Batch. Like her strong debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, she creates a strange world for her characters to inhabit. However, a languid...
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Une Vie – Venice 2016 Review

Adapting the eponymous novel by Guy de Maupassant, Une Vie is a textured film that may just be too dour for its own good. Charting Jeanne’s (Judith Chelma) descent from landowners’ daughter to a...
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The Journey – Venice 2016 Review

From the very first frame, it’s clear that The Journey is more of an ITV drama than a film. Cheap in its look and firmly middlebrow, there’s nothing of note to recommend it. Timothy Spall transforms...
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Gukôroku – Venice 2016 Review

Gukôroku is the most frustrating kind of film, because so many of its elements work only to be let down by a story that does not warrant this low level of filmmaking. Gukôroku entices the audience with...