The Vourdalak
While THE VOURDALAK may not entirely succeed as a film, there is something fascinating about how this early vampire story emphasises the queerness that has always been part and parcel of vampire stories in folklore.
Category Archives: Reviews
The Burning Season
Traumatic events warp the timeline of a life: their emotional gravity pulls every other event in a life back towards them like a black hole. THE BURNING SEASON uses a non-linear structure and a focus on small character details to tell the story of a traumatic event that dominates the lives of two people and … Continue reading The Burning Season
The Iron Claw
THE IRON CLAW is a familiar arena for Sean Durkin in terms of themes. Still, it has its own signature moves and an emotional core in Efron that will wrestle empathy from even the most outwardly macho soul.
Tummy Monster
TUMMY MONSTER, Ciaran Lyons’ directorial debut feature, is UNCUT GEMS by way of Glasgow, using its sense of confinement to build to a peak of anxiety and tense release that will stick with you long after the end.
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Despite its title and the in-your-face delivery of some of its most fevered sections, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD is not all apathy and ironic resignation. There may not be hope, as such, at its heart, but there is an unending belief in human ingenuity and creativity.
Disco Boy
Carmen Paddock’s review of Disco Boy directed by Giacomo Abbruzzese: “While there might not be especially new ground covered in a narrative capturing the fragmenting psyches of the colonisers and the colonised […] DISCO BOY is a stunning new entry into the canon.”
Last Swim
The British indie film scene has always had an eye for generational talent. From Oscar-winner Chiwetel Ejiofor, who got acclaim in Stephen Frears’ indie DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, to Hollywood starlet Emily Blunt in Paweł Pawlikowski’s MY SUMMER OF LOVE, there is a recurrence of British indie films finding gems. In Sasha Nathwani’s sun-soaked tale of … Continue reading Last Swim
Occupied City
With its scope, restraint of style, and honesty of content, OCCUPIED CITY is a tremendous achievement in documentary storytelling. Letting the audience form their own connections with past, present, and probable future events avoids pitfalls of over-interpretation.
Scala!!!
The Scala cinema, which closed in 1993, was an eventful place. This documentary tells us tales of drugs, sex, suicide and, of course, movies.
American Fiction
AMERICAN FICTION never feels as cutting as it could be with its commentary, but Cord Jefferson’s debut feature is witty, with sharp characters, and engaging performances from Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown are the best vehicles for the script’s funnier and more keenly observed moments