The sophomore effort from writer-director Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter concerns blue-collar father Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon), happily married to Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and proud parent of a deaf daughter. When Curtis starts having apocalyptic visions of a biblical thunderstorm, and of his loved ones turning on him, it begins to tear his family apart. For…
Five points on how not to conduct yourself at the big screen
In his previous film, The House of the Devil, horror director Ti West successfully paid homage to independent horror films of the late 1970s and early 1980s through his use of grainy imagery and camera work, whilst almost playfully covering both the slasher and satanic possession sub-genres. In his latest outing, The Innkeepers, West moves on…
If you’ve never heard of Bill Hicks, I’m guessing you’ve heard of Muhammad Ali. That brash and forthright hero of boxing who was much more than just a sportsman; a social and political icon who through his actions, words and spirit, inspired millions. Though revered the world over and without a doubt “up there”, Ali…
Getting lost in hype, excitement and expectation in today’s tweeting, squeaking and beeping social networking society is as easy as a female of a nocturnal persuasion. It’s safe to say that Prometheus is just this, but instead of a calm transaction within its draped brothel, it thought it would be a good idea to steal…
Now I have entered the no-work haven of the Summer months, I have been catching up on some films I missed when they were released in cinemas. The latest bunch of films I have greedily consumed includes The Rite, an exorcism horror film. It tries its best at being both a thought-provoking story about the more controversial…
This bleak and interesting drama about a worldwide flu-like pandemic is a recent offering from the prolific Steven Soderbergh. I haven’t liked much of his past work – the Ocean’s films had a smug obnoxiousness about them – but this is something quite different. The best thing about Contagion is that it tries to systematically show, from different viewpoints,…
I realise I’m quite late in adding my views of The Artist to the chorus of support that has already embraced it. As you will probably have heard already (or witnessed yourself, if you have seen the film), it is a wonderful picture, a film that has the power to speak to anyone and everyone. And it’s…
The original was a masterpiece, and a bloody tough act to follow, but this really sickeningly terrifying horror sequel is almost as good. When a man is murdered whilst taking part in a radio phone-in, Police officer Dennis Hopper convinces DJ and journalist Caroline Williams to use it as bait to catch the perpetrators. But…
Rupert Sanders, director of Snow White and the Huntsman, is from the world of advertising. This has been discussed a lot in the many preview articles and reviews of this film – the second big-screen adaptation of the classic fairytale to reach screens this year. It’s understandable why people are making a song and dance…
George Clooney‘s previous directorial efforts have been erratic in quality. Good Night, and Good Luck won him critical plaudits whilst the more recent Leatherheads proved to be a mis-step on his resumé, disappointing audiences with its confusing pace and uneasy use of the screwball genre. Thankfully, The Ides of March is more akin to the former and is…
It’s pretty safe to say that what little knowledge us Brits have regarding major American sports like baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football tend to stem from cinema. These titanic past times that comprise a lofty part of US culture and identity just don’t get the coverage they arguably deserve over this side of…
Prometheus is one of this year’s big pre-summer blockbusters and upon entering the cinema I was ready to be wowed. The film has some solid foundations – it has been labelled as an ‘almost’ prequel to Hollywood classic horror Alien (1979), retaining original director Ridley Scott and a $120-130 million budget. Following in the footsteps of the ancient…
The term ‘Black comedy’ probably won’t find a greater fit than this; a comedy about cancer. However, the cast and screenwriter Will Reiser – who injects his own personal experience with the disease into the film – manage to make the film funny, insightful as well as touching, without ever stepping into disrespectful territory. The numerical…