Since the first presentation in Paris in 1896, moving pictures have been compiled to create kinetic movement and impress audiences. The fascination of the frames moving created a collective memory in society. Technically, the media’s pushing became the obsession of cinematographers, who aimed to point their cameras to the perfect …
This loving but very sad movie obeys a stereotype of Spanish cinema by handling a complex issue – in this case, domestic violence – through the eyes of a very small girl. The Spirit of the Beehive handled the Spanish civil war this way, as Summer 1993 handled AIDS and …
Outer Town is one of the best one-day festivals in the UK; a celebration of the DIY spirit and the indie upcoming rising stars that you won’t see at the big, buzzy festivals like your Coachellas or your Reading and Leedses, or even in London; taking place in Bristol highlighting …
Marking its final adventure, the third season of Apple TV+’s acclaimed Jane premiered last week. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with two of the key creative forces behind this environmentally conscious children’s series. The seasoned duo of J. J. Johnson and Matt Bishop (best known – at least …
Bullet Train Explosion marks Japan’s return to one of cinema’s most intense rail thrillers, nearly fifty years after the release of Junya Sato’s classic The Bullet Train. This legacy sequel is directed by Shinji Higuchi (Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman) and penned by Kazuhiro Nakagawa and Norichika Ōba. While the concept …
Tolga Karaçelik is a name well known to international audiences and soon to be United States audiences as well. Psycho Killer: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer is a black comedy and the writer/director’s fouth film. It’s his latest after the Sundance-lauded …
Gareth Evans isn’t a filmmaker with an extensive portfolio, but cult classics The Raid and The Raid 2 were enough to cement his legacy in action cinema. Any avid fan of the genre recognizes these movies as a major influence – not just for the intensity of their fight set …
Australian auteur Justin Kurzel adapts Richard Flanagan’s novel to harrowing effect in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. The adaptation blends a harrowing tale of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp with a war-bound love story and a modern tale of surviving the trauma. The series doesn’t wait to set up …
Rebecca Lenkiewicz will always be in the British history books as the first living female writer to have a play produced by The National Theatre. Her Naked Skin, staged in 2008, was about the violence involved as British women fought for the right to vote; my main memory is of …
Silver Star, a determinedly quirky little movie, is a throwback to the indie cinema of the nineties in the best way. It stands and falls entirely on the actions of two unpredictable people, thrown together through a combination of foolishness and bad decisions, and who stick together through a combination …
And now, man without fear, he must face the final curtain: except of course it isn’t. Like James Bond (RIP), Reacher will return. The zeitgeist can be guessed at and striven for, but it cannot be faked and it cannot be bought, because the audience never knows what truly speaks …
This year’s Slamdance Festival featured a lot of hard-hitting films. However, Yun Xie’s Under the Burning Sun outclassed every other movie in the festival by talking about a subject that is considered taboo in many communities. Set in a dystopian world where abortion is outlawed, Mowanza (played by Stephanie Pardi) finds herself …
This year’s Slamdance Film Festival saw director Erin Brown Thomas present the pilot episode of the series Chasers. The pilot primarily focuses on Sophia (played by Ciarra Krohne) and how she is trying to navigate through her life. The series delves into the relentless grind of Hollywood’s dream-chasers, exposing the dark …
In My Omaha, former journalist Nick Beaulieu returns to his hometown of Omaha to reconnect with his father, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. As the documentary progresses, viewers gain insight into their relationship and how their political affiliations shape their opinions. My Omaha is not just about two …
After strike-induced delays, the second series of Andor arrives on 22 April 2025, almost two and a half years after the first series first appeared on Disney+. This time, it will deliver its twelve episodes over a might-tighter release window (twelve episodes over four weeks rather than ten). Revisiting Andor’s …
Ryan Coogler knew just what audiences were missing and delivered a euphoric cinematic experience as he has answered our prayer for original filmmaking with the spectacular whirlwind known as Sinners. Taking us on a dance with one or more devils and a journey through 1930s Southern US history with a …
Black Mirror, the hit dystopian anthology series, recently went into its seventh outing. Starting out humbly on Channel 4 in the UK, created by dead-pan funny guy Charlie Brooker, the show went onto new heights after he sold it to Netflix. The Americanisation of the show hasn’t landed well with …
Zeitgeisty trends combine in Peacock: how it mocks the vapid wealthy with lives so comfortable they must manufacture problems for themselves is clearly inspired by the work of Ruben Östlund. The problem is that social satire works best with a strong opinion about the behaviour being mocked. Are you teasing …
When asked to define the word eephus, many may just give up. The word sounds almost made-up if you do not come from the world of baseball. If you are a fan of the great American pastime, however, an eephus is a known quantity. It is the name for a …
I consider James Hawes’ feature directorial debut, One Life, one of the most memorable films of its release year. Based on the director alone, expectations for his sophomore effort were already high. Add to that The Amateur being a spy thriller starring Rami Malek – whose career-best performance remains his …