A Gentle Creature
An allegorical look at the uncompromising Russian prison system, A GENTLE CREATURE starts strong but loses its potency midway, falling into a weak finale.
Category Archives: Reviews
Berlin Syndrome
Cate Shortland’s sexual thriller examines themes of escape, desire and dependence while bringing to life the aesthetic beauty of the German capital.
In The Fade
A story about terrorism in a time that seems ravaged by it, IN THE FADE excels in its heartfelt portrayal of grief in the wake of an attack.
Twin Peaks: The Return
By retaining what made the original series so groundbreaking and doubling down on the weirdness, Twin Peaks shines in a very welcome return.
Alien: Covenant
Remember how Sam Mendes’ SPECTRE felt like it was trying to be both a sequel to every Daniel Craig-era 007 entry as well as a big fat homage to the entire Bond franchise, but failed to do justice to any of them?
How To Talk To Girls At Parties
Punk rock rules! There are extra-terrestrial goings on in Croydon as John Cheshire discovers, reviewing John Cameron Mitchell’s latest feature film at Cannes Film Festival.
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer
An eye for an eye. Is it time to break up the nuclear family to balance the scales of justice? Jack Toye reviews the latest feature film from Greek auteur director Yorgos Lanthimos at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Okja
This year’s Cannes Film Festival has sparked a certain degree of controversy around its inclusion of films produced by Netflix, one of which is acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s sixth directorial project, OKJA. Concerning itself with the peaceful life of farm girl Mija (Ahn Seo-Hyun) and her giant pet pig Okja, the film follows … Continue reading Okja
Frantz
Appropriately for a sombre story set after the First World War and adapted from Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 melodrama BROKEN LULLABY, Francois Ozon shoots most of FRANTZ in a glowing monochrome, except for the plentiful moments of high emotion, when the film blossoms into colour (rather like Gary Ross’s 1998 film PLEASANTVILLE, where colour represents sexual … Continue reading Frantz
Blade of the Immortal
Takashi Miike’s samurai bloodbath is an exhilarating, bloody action thrill ride that will live long in the memory, writes Harry Jones at the Cannes Film Festival.