Film

Reviewed by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada Mavis! explores the life and career of Mavis Staples, from her beginnings as a young girl performing gospel songs with her dad Pops and her siblings as the Staples Singers, through their transition to soul, some of her most important collaborations, and the ups and downs of a career in a changing musical industry. With interview footage from herself, prominent collaborators and friends, and ample concert footage, it's an engaging portrait of a never-tired singer...

Review by Ben Holliday/@bholliday Bad Neighbours 2 follows a trend of sequels that weren’t asked for nor needed but thankfully, that is where the similarities with poor 2016 comedy sequels end. The Nicholas Stoller helmed sequel is full of laughs and most surprisingly of attempts to tackle societal issues. With life having surged on since the events of the first film, Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) and wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) are preparing to sell their house and move on to...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt/@Afrofilmviewer Carl Bernstein: All these neat, little houses and all these nice, little streets... It's hard to believe that something's wrong with some of those little houses. Bob Woodward: No, it isn't.    - All The President Men, 1976, Alan J. Pakula. Like so many recent Oscar Winners. It’s easy to feel, much like the #OscarSoWhite hubbub, that Spotlight has already seemed to be forgotten. The likes of Mad Max: Fury Road and its director is still...

Review by Ben Holliday X-Men: Apocalypse is the latest entry in the 16 year old franchise and marks the fourth time director Bryan Singer has helmed an X-Men picture. Unfortunately, it may be time for him to move on from the genre he helped create. The film starts off strong enough with a visceral set piece introducing us to the main villain Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) in ancient Egypt. In fact the first half an hour or so flies by, bringing...

The first teaser for Trainspotting 2 has been released almost 20 years after the release of the first film. Sony released the teaser trailer which gives an indication of how the film might pan out, although it doesn't include any original material. Filming began in Edinburgh last week with former cast members including Ewan McGregor (Mark Renton), Ewen Bremner (Spud), Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy) and Robert Carlyle (Begbie) looking worse for the wear. Its official, #Trainspotting2 begun filming in #Edinburgh...

Bad Neighbours 2 follows a trend of sequels that weren’t asked for nor needed but thankfully, that is where the similarities with poor 2016 comedy sequels end. The Nicholas Stoller helmed blockbuster is full of laughs and most surprisingly of all, attempts to tackle societal issues. With life having moved on since the events of the first film, Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) and wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) are preparing to sell their house and move to pastures new after they learn...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt Note: This review contains what could be considered mild spoilers Twenty four year old Joy (Brie Larson) and her son Jack (Jacob Trembley) live as hostages inside a squalid shed in Ohio, which they describe as Room. They eat, sleep and exercise all within this tiny space as captives of a man they name “Old Nick” who routinely abuses Joy. Jack (a product of abuse) is often hidden from Nick by Joy, who does her...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt Moments after the title credits for Everybody Wants Some pop on the screen, it’s clear to many that College was never like this. But director Richard Linklater’s latest feature is the type of coming of age film that allows a few viewers to wallow into the fantasy that this college is what they wish it would be. Considered a spiritual successor to the hazy 70’s set cult hit Dazed and Confused (1993), Everybody Wants Some,...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt Jeremy Saulnier’s stomach churning thriller; Green Room hits you with the blunt force of a dull cleaver. Its execution is brutal, it's characters timely and its tension more than palpable. Saulnier previously delved into the mundane yet murky effects of amateur revenge in his earlier feature; Blue Ruin. Here in Green Room, he mines at the often mentioned white anxieties with a similar, creepy accuracy, compacting a measurable amount of visceral thrills into a tight...