Category Archives: Reviews

Tyrannosaur

The responsibility of owning a dog is so great because there is nothing you can do to stop a dog from loving you. That’s meant to be true of Christ, too. In Paddy Considine’s début as a feature director, TYRANNOSAUR, both ideas are tested to bloody destruction. One of them does not fair well.

Age of Champions

Anyone perturbed by ageing demographics in developed countries should be intrigued by this inspiring documentary about the American ‘National Senior Games’. This film illustrates that life continues well into the third age. Graham Hughes reviews.

No Trains No Planes

Comedy is notorious for its tendency to get lost in translation and while it’s entirely possible that Jos Stelling’s 1999 tragicomic farce, NO TRAINS NO PLANES will have Dutch audiences rolling in the aisles, the film’s strange brand of surreal sentimental slapstick will likely leave British viewers cold.

Occident

“A Romanian comedy?” I heard someone asking in disbelief after the film was over. And truly, the main memories evoked by the words “Romanian New Wave” are usually tedious long shots of aborted babies and people walking. It is no wonder then that it is hard to believe that one of the founding films of the new wave, Cristian Mungiu’s 2001 hit OCCIDENT, is a hearty comedy.

The Poll Diaries

Amazingly based on a true story, THE POLL DIARIES plumbs the depths of the human condition using protagonist Oda as its main focus. Discussing rarely seen topics, the film uses the Baltic coast as a backdrop for Oda’s experiences in Poll just before the start of the first world war in 1914. An older and more knowing Oda narrates intermittently, providing hindsight to a beautifully crafted film. Naomi Barnwell reviews.

Romantics Anonymous

A first date can certainly bring butterflies and clammy hands to even the most confident of people, but if you suffer from severe shyness this can be a truly terrifying situation. Maria Sell reviews ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS