Film

By Linda Marric There are films which will make you fall in love with them almost instantly, they may not look as polished or roll as smoothly as you might have hoped, but you somehow develop a deep love and admiration for what the director and his cast have tried to achieve. Rules Don’t Apply can firmly be placed in that category; from the opening tittles you are completely gripped by what is to come, and you can’t even bring...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP The monochrome style and real life boxing story may draw comparisons between The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki and Raging Bull, but there is little else in common with the Finnish film being much gentler, smaller, and understated than Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece. Told simply, this film follows the preparations of Finnish featherweight boxer Olli Mäki (Jarkko Lahti) in the lead up to his world championship fight against American Davey Moore (John Bosco Jr.)....

By Linda Marric When it comes to films about people doing heroic deeds during WWII, it becomes impossible to review the film without taking into account the real people behind these truly harrowing stories. Based on a non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman, The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the story of a couple who bravely put their own lives in harms way to save over 300 Polish Jews from certain death by hiding them in their zoo. Directed by Niki Caro, the...

By Linda Marric The very first time I came across The Belko Experiment was a few weeks ago through a controversial review in which an American critic explains why he felt the need to walk out of the screening of the film out of sheer despair and anger at the violence being shown on screen. As I am not here to judge another reviewer’s actions, I will instead attempt to justify why I didn’t completely hate the film, and why...

By Stephen Mayne There’s a grand ambition to Clash that belies its closeted setting. The entire film takes place in the back of a riot van. The van might move but the camera never leaves the confined metal space. Yet by throwing in a broad spectrum of Egyptian society, writer/director Mohamed Diab manages a near perfect distillation of the problems facing a country wracked by uncertainty and division. The action takes place in 2013 in Egypt after the elected President...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP Their Finest is set at the height of the Second World War and away from the front line. The British government turns to propaganda films as a way of boosting moral and convincing the America to join the war. They realise that the female parts are underwritten and hire Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) to work as a scriptwriter on an upcoming Dunkirk picture and give it a “woman’s touch”. As bombs land on London Catrin and...

By Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP In the last couple of years, almost as a reaction to the overproduced and sickly Twilight franchise, there have been a number of vampire films that have reimagined the genre in a more realistic and creative way. With Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lover’s Left Alive and the more recent A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night the real potential of vampire tales has really been shown. Made on a low budget with relatively unknown actors, it...

By Michael McNulty Why not Celebrate Good Friday with a good film? Here’s this Friday’s Forgotten Film. Written, edited and produced by Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin and Ray Ashley, Little Fugitive is a stalwart of American independent cinema. Using only their experience in photography and a miniscule budget they produced a film that was welcomed by audiences, enjoyed financial success, won a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and picked up an Oscar nomination, ultimately proving that films could...

By Linda Marric Film adaptation of well loved books haven't always had a good reaction from fans of the original source material. However, when an adaption is well crafted, it can sometimes add a whole other layer to the story and might even motivate those unfamiliar with the books to delve deeper into the writer’s other work. To celebrate the release of Ritesh Batra's brilliant adaptation of Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize winning novel The Sense Of An Ending, here’s...