Benediction
Simon Bowie reviews Terence Davies’ BENEDICTION, a biopic of poet Siegfried Sassoon that wrestles gamely with the idea of how to depict the effervescence of poetry on film.
Category Archives: Festival Coverage
Vortex
Simon Bowie reviews Gaspar Noé’s VORTEX, a relentlessly heartbreaking but thoroughly entrancing experiment of a film.
The Gravedigger’s Wife
Simon Bowie reviews THE GRAVEDIGGER’S WIFE, a well told story that brings to life a profound portrait of life in Djibouti.
A Banquet
Simon Bowie reviews Ruth Paxton’s A BANQUET, a stylish women-led horror film tackling fears around disordered eating.
Ashgrove
ASHGROVE boldly takes on heady questions and deftly intertwines the personal with the global in an intensely relatable way for anyone living through the ongoing global pandemic and slow destruction of Earth through climate change.
Freaks Out
There is never a shortage of World War II-adjacent films, but Gabriele Mainetti’s latest feature gives a sentimental superhero makeover to the well-trodden narrative of infiltrating the Nazis.
Please Baby Please
Does Please Baby Please break new ground? Possibly not. Does it entertain, thrill, and captivate continually, using its cast of familiar character faces to great effect? Absolutely. Kramer’s vision is a raucous delight that will grow on every rewatch.
Life of Crime 1984-2020
In the opening minutes of Jon Alpert’s real-time biographical documentary, Jon stays with two men who are preparing a burglary in broad daylight on a main street in Newark, New Jersey. The tools are unloaded, the car prepared for a fast getaway, and smiles and jokes bounce between the two soon-to-be thieves. When asked what … Continue reading Life of Crime 1984-2020
Kinorama – Beyond the Walls of the Real
Without the all-encompassing, state-of-the-art picture that one would find in a properly equipped cinema, the cracks in KINORAMA – BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE REAL show.
Ida Lupino: Gentlemen and Miss Lupino
While perhaps little more than a glorified introduction to one of the 20th century’s great filmmaking talents, IDA LUPINO: GENTLEMEN AND MISS LUPINO is built with love. In a world where, once again, studio dominance seems all-pervasive, one hopes Lupino’s thoughtful, challenging pictures find an audience.