Film

La Grande Illusion and its journey to safety

This month Studiocanal, in association with La Cinémathèque de Toulouse, is rereleasing Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion, easily—and for many reasons—one of the most important films in history. After years of painstaking work the film has been re-mastered in time for its 75th anniversary, and will not only have theatrical distribution but—for the first time—will [...]

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The Monk by Dominik Moll – a review

When a mysterious acolyte appears in a mask that hides his fire-ravaged face, things, of course, are not what they seem. So when a nun with quivering knees and a face out of a Van Eyck painting gets nothing from Brother Ambrosio but pompous and merciless penance, the tripwires of vengeance, temptation and hubris are laid.

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Review: This Must be the Place

This Must Be the Place opens in a classic gambit from the strip club, a slow reveal, a burlesque tease: slowly, luxuriously, we see varnished nails, crimson lipstick, and an extreme close-up of eyeliner being applied on a powdered, furrowed face. The eye is tired, blank, drained of vivacity or interest. Pop to medium close-up [...]

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A Dangerous Method – A Review

On the eve of the century, before all hell breaks loose, a new model of the mind is coalescing in Vienna. It is the early days of psychoanalysis, when the science was inchoate and a struggle is taking place—like in all nascent movements, from newly minted republics to artistic upheavals—to determine the face of it, [...]

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Carnage by Roman Polanski – A Review

In the opening single-take—the only exterior shot in the film—children are playing in the distance. We can’t see their faces, but, like animals in a zoo, we recognize their species: we see their group movements, their clan allegiances solidifying, their stances becoming more territorial. One boy, ‘armed’ with a stick (a matter of lexical contention [...]

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Apollo 18 – DVD review

“There’s a reason why we never went back to the moon” – lack of government funds? A budget not quite big enough to handle a lunar landing? Environmental climate worries? Lack of resources even? All of the above are perfectly plausible and valid reasons; however none of the above have quite the right amount of [...]

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Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Review

There’s been much dismay over the Hollywood re-make of the Swedish, subtitled movie that was released only 2 years ago. Directed by David Fincher, it doesn’t over-scream Hollywood; it has much more of a European feel to it, for reasons other than it being set in Scandinavia. And whilst, for some, it may seem unnecessarily [...]

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Movie Kingdom – Interview with James Mullinger

If I mention the name James Mullinger, you will be forgiven for checking which section of the website you are in. No, you are not reading this in our Comedy section…James Mullinger has now spread his wings even further, and alongside his stand-up, he is the presenter of a new film review show Movie [...]

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The Long Way Less Traveled: interview with Russ Malkin

Russ has never waited for people to open the door for him. If he wants to do something he finds a way to do it.

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Gnomeo and Juliet – It won’t leave you feeling forlawn!

Sometimes taking the kids to the cinema can be a bit of a chore-bore, or an opportunity to catch up on a bit of kip. Not so Gnomeo.

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