New Movies

By Linda Marric I Am Not Your Negro, five simple words which carry with them 400 years of American history. In this moving documentary drama, Raoul Peck gives legendary civil rights hero and award winning writer James Baldwin, a voice from beyond the grave almost thirty years after his passing. Credited in the film as writer, James Baldwin’s words can be heard through the masterfully solemn narration by Samuel L Jackson and tell a story from the frontline of the...

By Linda Marric Every so often a film comes along and awakens something in its audience, something so visceral, so real and so utterly mesmeric that you are left wondering why there are not more films like it being made. As luck would have it, Julia Ducournau’s film Raw definitely falls in that category. This beautifully shot and brilliantly acted production made a big splash back in October 2016 when it was selected as part of the official competition at...

By Linda Marric What is there left to say about Terence Davies that hasn’t already been said? Considered to be one the most accomplished filmmakers of his generation, the director of Sunset Song, Distant Voices Still Lives and Of Time And The City amongst other gems is back with his new film A Quiet Passion, in which he tackles the story of reclusive American poet Emily Dickinson. The film is a beautifully crafted, witty and moving account of a woman...

By Linda Marric Terence Davies never does anything by half, his ultimate devotion to every single subject he touches upon is the very thing which makes him into one of the most honest and uncompromising artists of our time. In A Quiet Passion, Davies delivers a beautifully nuanced and witty account of another uncompromising artist whose success only came to light after her untimely death. Emily Dickinson first featured in Terence Devies’ work in his now iconic poetic love letter...

By Linda Marric First released in 1974, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats The Soul has become one of the German filmmaker’s most poignant work to date. This beautifully crafted melodrama deals with themes of love, alienations and racism in post-war Germany. Credited by some as being single-handedly responsible for reviving German cinema after the war, Fassbinder’s films were part of the New German Cinema movement, and saw him become one of the most influential directors of his time, at...

Never mind knocking, you’d be better off giving this uninspired urban chiller from director Caradog James the widest of berths. His 2013 debut feature, The Machine, may have garnered enough critical praise to suggest he was a filmmaker who could talk the talk, but Don’t Knock Twice, his stagnant second film, indicates that he’s yet to acquire the creative confidence needed to walk the walk. What makes this filmic failure all the more frustrating is that within the narrative is...

By Linda Marric @linda_marric Hailed as one of the most talented and prolific directors of his generation, it is deeply satisfying to see how Ben Wheatley manages to come up with the goods year after year. Fans and critics alike can breathe a sigh of relief to discover that his latest offering is every bit as exhilarating as his earlier work. After a brief absence during the making of his critically acclaimed adaptation of J.G Ballard’s High-Rise, Wheatley is back...

One could contemplate, for hours, the arguments for & against the judgment of director Rupert Sanders & his Hollywood moguls to cast a very caucasian Scarlett Johansson in the lead role of a live-action remake that’s based on an adored Japanese property, but the conclusion would ultimately be the same; no matter who they picked to play the iconic Major of Section 9 squadron, it wouldn’t make this drab & inert sci-fi thriller any more involving. Indeed, Johansson is arguably...

Shades of Spielbergian energy cast an endearing silhouette over this airy but assured big-screen adaptation of Spain’s much-loved 1950s comic book series ‘Zipi y Zape’; an affectionately adventurous vigour that matches the irresistibly mischievous vim of José Escobar Saliente’s original strip. Sent away to summer school as a punishment for their unruly behaviour, the titular twins (Raúl Rivas & Daniel Cerezo) find themselves at the mercy of an oppressive teaching establishment that forbids all forms of recreation & entertainment. Determined...