Category: Hidden Gems
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Reece Beckett runs a magnifying glass over an under-appreciated film from an under-appreciated director.
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Gifted has been out for a while (since 2017 to be exact), but with names like Chris Evans, Lindsay Duncan, Octavia Spencer and Jenny Slate, it is surprising how little this film is discussed. Director Mark Webb and writer Tom Flynn take well-known themes and tropes – particularly the gifted child narrative – and expand…
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While the anticipation of Nomadland (2021) winning the next Best Picture brews — a film that sidetracks the artificial compulsion to captivate the audience’s attention by complex narratives, and recedes to postmodern realism in emphasis of the beautiful sceneries surrounding the characters — I intuitively recall a similar film written and directed by Jeff Nichols…
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Continuing with our hidden gems series, Max Williams rediscovers Lindsay Anderson’s eccentric black comedy from 1982.
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James Franco is a name typically associated with his many versatile performances in Hollywood throughout his seasoned career, one which has been active for around thirty years since Franco found his start in Freaks and Geeks in the 1990s. Much less is known about Franco’s foray into directing and producing films, with only The Disaster…
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Reece Beckett explains why James Gray’s 2008 romantic melodrama has been overlooked since its release.
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The Australian Outback: an unforgiving, empty, uninhabitable frying pan of death. If the frontier life of North America looks arduous, the Australian equivalent is Hell. The extreme heat, complete lack of shade, swathes of persistent midges and potentially lethal wildlife all create a hostile environment that has barely been cinematically exploited. 2016’s Goldstone is an…
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**Spoilers for the movie below!** Based on the early years of Shia LaBeouf’s acting life, Honey Boy is a semi-autobiographical American drama that was written by LaBeouf as a seemingly cathartic exercise whilst in rehab, with the final product of the project being released in November 2019. The film’s narrative focuses around Otis Lort in…
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**Spoilers ahead!** Set in the swampy outer banks of North Carolina, The Peanut Butter Falcon is an endearing film that follows a Huckleberry Finn inspired story of friendship, liberation and redemption. The film sees Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a 22-year-old with Down’s syndrome, who runs away from his assisted living facility to follow his…
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Jacob Hando explains why Barry Levinson’s 1996 crime drama should be regarded as a hidden gem.
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Sam Pegg offers up why this Mexican-inspired animation should be
