Film

By Emma Silverthorn @HouseOf_Gazelle Daniel Ribeiro’s acutely observed coming of age tale The Way He Looks is a tender-hearted and convincing portrait of this classic genre, with the added twist that it’s also a coming out tale. Sao Paulo based Leonardo is an unusual teenager, only listening to classical music, avoiding parties and having just one very, close female friend. However, like most teenagers, Leonardo craves more independence than his parents are willing to give, his burgeoning desire for autonomy...

By Corrina Antrobus @CorrinaCorrina  Aardman is back with a delightfully silly story of how a little sheep herds himself around the big city and uses  friendship and teamwork to get home sweet home. Shaun, who’s now got a little more wool on his chin after ageing-up from his 1995 appearance in Wallace And Gromit - A Close Shave, finds that his life is starting to feel a little like Groundhog day. The creature comforts of his familiar farm and the...

By Corrina Antrobus @CorrinaCorrina  In 1965 Martin Luther King, Jr, led 1000s of protestors 54-miles from Selma to Montgomery in support of black citizens’ right to vote - something that was already a constitutional right but was met with institutional hurdles. Director Ava DuVernay’s accomplished new film tells the story of those three long marches in one cinematic journey. The marches eventuated in the 1965 Voting Rights Act which spelt victory for King and his followers but shame on the...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel  thefinalreel.co.uk   After the fast paced economic implosion of Margin Call and the remote terror of All Is Lost, J.C. Chandor’s third feature takes place in a dark and icy New York of 1981. This is a place in which protagonists walk a yellow tinged balancing act between principles and power. In look and feel, A Most Violent Year resembles an old newspaper rediscovered at the bottom of a drawer. A sense of familiarity hangs over...

Ryan Reynolds gets more than a few cuddles from his fury friends in this bizarre but brilliant looking dark comedy. This affable factory worker has a secret world where he hangs out and chats to his pets, namely his cat Mr Whiskers and his pet pooch Bosco leading him seemingly down a path of no return. The Voices: Starring Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick, Gemma Arterton and Jacki Weaver Directed by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKp-lDM5fus

By Sam Inglis @24FPSUK  @24fps.co.uk  Lourdes, Jessica Hausner's third film, was my film of the year in 2010. Austere and thought provoking, it can be read in many different ways, and continues to fascinate and challenge with every viewing. This, quite apart from everything else about it, is why Amour Fou is such a massive disappointment. Set in 1811, Amour Fou takes place in what appears to be an upper middle class home. where Henriette (Birte Schnoeink) and her husband...

 By Emma Silverthorn @HouseOf_Gazelle Jules Avery’s Son of a Gun is heavy on plot twists and pseudo-intellectual chess theory but disappointingly short on character development and depth. The film has an interesting enough heist-plot but only really gives us the characters barebones meaning that we care little about their various entangled fates. Ewan McGregor does what he can with the skimpy dialogue he’s allotted but considering he’s supposed to be playing some sort of ballsy, criminal mastermind, at one point...

By Sam Inglis  @24FPSUK  24fps.org.uk Beyond Clueless is not a documentary, rather it's an example of something that has lately become fashionable in film criticism; the video essay. Writer/director Charlie Lyne uses clips from every mid 90's to mid 00's teen movie you can think of (and several you can't) alongside narration, read by The Craft's Fairuza Balk, to advance his theories about how they depict teens and high school. Before I get into this review I should say I...

 By Stephen Mayne @finalreel  thefinalreel.co.uk  Your name’s Larry Sportello but they call you Doc. You live by the Californian beach in a community shrinking by the day. Work is for suckers but you do it from time to time. In the PI game you’re a pro, or at least you know enough to say you are. Really, you’re just high; often and always. Except your heart’s broken and not fixing fast. And then she walks in again with a job....