Movies

Ti West’s The House of the Devil is a rarity. A back-to-basics throwback to the horror fundamentals of the late 70s and early 80s, set in the period that at no time gives a self aware wink. Made in 2009, the exceptional attention to every facet of the era is so successful that if you were flicking through the cable…

Compelling Director Darren Aronofsky leaps onto the stage of obsessive horror once more for Black Swan. Never lacking in power or imagery that resonates, this metamorphic waltz with the personal sacrifices of artistic perfection is orchestrated so that every note unbalances, prying beyond projection. Taking the most recognized of balletic productions Swan Lake and pirouetting off stage to tell the…

In recent years, the alien invasion film has been pushing at the studios imposed limitations on the genre. Defying expectation guerilla productions like Gareth Edward’s Monsters, Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 and Matt Reeves Cloverfield ration the fantasy elements replacing them with something uniquely satisfying in the form of genuine feeling. Continuing the trend, there is much to admire in the…

In much the same way as Queer As Folk pushes the barrow for the gay and lesbian crowd, Secretary takes leaps and bounds towards bringing legitimacy and empathy to another lifestyle choice. For aficionados of bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM to those in the know), Steven Shainberg’s quirky film will no doubt become a visual anthem. As well as…

Plot: K-19: The Widowmaker proves that even the trusty submarine movie can’t prevail against a weak script, poor acting, and loose film-making. Despite its slight insight into an actual Cold War submarine disaster, K-19 is $100m worth of embarrassment for A-list star Harrison Ford and the moguls at Paramount. It’s 1961 and both sides of the Iron Curtain are busy…

Plot: At face value, Alan Parker’s The Life of David Gale possesses all of the ingredients required for a successful thriller. With talented Hollywood darlings Kate Winslet and Kevin Spacey leading the cast and more twists than Chubby Checker, the film could be expected to succeed. Unfortunately, thanks to questionable plot developments, stereotypical characters, and the director’s yearning for a…

Ahhh yes, Back to the Future. It’s hard to believe that we are already two years past the year Marty went to the future. Remember, the year was 1985 and be blasted on to 2015 in the DeLorean Time Machine. At the time, we thought that the events and inventions that were present in this 2015 were outrageous and impossible.…

I was looking forward to the third of season of ITV’s Mr. Selfridge since the ending of the second series. While the third season did not exactly disappoint me, I do think that there was a bit of room for improvement. When the season begins, World War I has ended. Harry Selfridge’s daughter, Rosalie, is getting married, and a spectacular…

This 2013 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic 20th-century novel, The Great Gatsby, was directed by Baz Luhrmann.  It stars Toby Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Joel Edgerton. As in the novel, in the film Nick Carraway (played by Toby Maguire) is the narrator of the story, which is told from his perspective.  Nick Carraway is telling the…

This movie was a disappointment.  With all the publicity this movie received when released, I was very curious about it.  Unfortunately, however, I found that this film has a lot of faults that far outweigh its few (very few) positive points. The movie’s unnecessarily crude opening scene made my hope for the film’s quality quickly sink, and foreshadowed the many…

This 2011 docudrama is both fascinating and illuminating.  It is about Alan Turing, a man who has not received anywhere near the amount of praise, acknowledgement, and fame that he deserves.  As a result, you might not know who he was.  In fact, you probably don’t.  Born in 1912, he was the man who, in 1936, came up with the…

The One I Love, directed by Charlie McDowell, is about a married couple, Ethan and Sophie, who are trying to rekindle their relationship. Their marriage counselor suggests to them a weekend away together at a house that many of his clients have been to. What is great about this movie is that if you think you know where it’s going…

As I saw each successive episode of Wolf Hall, I was increasingly mesmerised by the realism and beauty of the production. Wolf Hall is based on the award-winning novels Bring Up the Bodies and Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, and is directed by Peter Kosminsky. It stars Mark Rylance, Damien Lewis, and Claire Foy. Wolf Hall depicts the events surrounding…

The Pyramid was released in December 2014, and ‘stars’ Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O’Hare, James Buckley and Christa Nicola; it was directed by Gregory Levasseur. The movie was Levasseur’s first venture into directing, having previously been better known for writing the screenplays for movies such as The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors and Maniac.   It was written by Daniel Meersand and Nick…