Film

By Linda Marric There is something rather familiar about the new Jamie Foxx vehicle Sleepless, and it isn’t just because the film has been adapted from a far superior French movie. What is familiar about it is its attempt at emulating the highly successful Fast and Furious franchise; it’s big, it’s noisy and has more guns and cars than you can shake a stick at. Yes, it is a predictable, and yes it is as hollow and as meat-headed a...

By James McAllister Richard Thorncroft (Julian Barratt) is Mindhorn… or rather he was Mindhorn, back in the 80s. Armed with a robotic eye that allowed him to “literally see truth”, Detective Bruce P. Mindhorn was the Isle of Man’s answer to Bergerac; a treasured TV sleuth with dapper looks and a seductive charm. The ladies loved him, his co-stars envied him, and audiences adored him. Fast-forward 25 years, however, and Thorncroft’s career is in a critical condition. Overcome by his...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP In many ways Jane Jacobs is rather an unassuming figure. For much of her life she was dismissed as merely a house wife and had to fight to be heard at time when the gender divide was much greater than it is now. Yet despite never holding an academic position her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities still remains one of the most influential books ever written about urban areas. Apart from being...

By Michael McNulty A searing yellow sun sits in the deep oranges of the Australian sky, the dark red earth below it. Moments later we see the reflection of a man in the rear view mirror of his car as he falls in and out of sleep. The vehicle swerves off the road, into the brush and flips onto its back, before a man crawls out through an open window, unscathed. This is Foley, a “gun” sheep shearer, larrikin and...

By Linda Marric Adapted from Maylis de Kerangal’s fantastic novel of the same name, Heal The Living is the third feature from critically acclaimed French director Katell Quillévéré (Suzanne, Love Like Poison). This beautifully atmospheric and truly devastating piece of filmmaking, is one of the most emotionally charged films of the year. First shown as part of the programme at the London Film Festival in 2016, the film is finally getting a nationwide release courtesy of Curzon Artificial Eye, which...

To celebrate the release of A Dog's Purpose in cinemas May 5th (with preview screenings over the bank holiday weekend) we're offering dog loving TLE readers the opportunity to win some very special A Dog's Purpose merchandise!! The packs include a ball-thrower, a doggie bowl, a themed blanket, a waste-bag dispenser and a dog-treat jar! (See pic below) We have three packs to give away and all you have to do is tweet us @TLE_Film with a picture of your loveable four...

  Cultural curator, video remixer / audio-visual DJ Eclectic Method has revisited the Eighties and the sound of 80s synth lasers for this brilliant musical homage to time-travelling kung fu cop Kung Fury, the cult Swedish homage to everything that was on telly and silly in the Eighties. Kung Fury (you can watch it below) is an English-language Swedish Kung Fu comedy action flick written, directed by, and starring David Sandberg, paying homage to 1980s martial arts and police action films with more visual...

By Linda Marric Fans of the Shakespeare might be a little surprised to find out that William Oldroyd’s brilliant debut feature Lady Macbeth isn’t exactly an adaptation of one of the Bard’s most loved tragedies. Set in rural England, this Victorian chamber piece is every bit as dark and twisted as any shakespearian tragedy worth its salt. Not only does Oldroyd manage to immerse his audience in this suffocatingly patriarchal world, but he also offers a very modern stance on...

By Michael McNulty It’s Forgotten Film Friday, here’s this week’s instalment. Gus Van Sant’s 2003 film Elephant won both the Best Director and Palme d’Or awards at Cannes. It’s a piercingly quiet, stunningly effective, nightmarish film based on the Littleton, Colorado Columbine school shooting of 1999 which left 12 students and 1 teacher dead. Unlike the media storm that surrounded the Columbine shooting, desperate to explain and assign blame, Elephant is unafraid to leave questions unanswered. It doesn’t try to...