Film

I've deliberately left the first two names you'd think of off this list. Spinal Tap and The Blues Brothers are, of course, the gold standard of movie bands, but they seemed such obvious picks that I wanted to use those two slots for other bands. Josie and the Pussycats: Josie and the Pussycats Josie and the Pussycats have had several different incarnations, in comics, animation and now on Netflix's Riverdale, but it's the version from the criminally underrated 2001 film...

By Anna Power Opening this year’s London Film Festival,  Andy Serkis’ directorial debut, a biopic of Robin Cavendish, a polio survivor and lifelong disability rights campaigner and with Jonathan Cavendish – Robin’s son, as Producer. Despite a syrupy start, wherein the couple meet and idyllically fall in love at first sight at a cricket match, the film turns towards tragedy when Robin is struck down with polio whilst working as a tea broker in Kenya leaving him paralysed and unable...

It is fair to say that Brawl in Cell Block 99 delivers on its title. It’s the kind of film that makes you feel like a bad person for liking it. Set in the Sothern states of the USA, the film opens with Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) losing his job as a tow truck driver. He goes home to find that his wife Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter) has been having an affair. After deciding to forgive her, he promises her a...

Lee Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors, adapted by Riwia Brown from Alan Duff’s novel of the same name was, at the time of its release in 1994, the highest grossing film at the New Zealand box office. A position it held for nearly a decade, until the release of Whale Rider. Centring on the Heke family, Tamahori’s film provides an uncompromising insight into the Maori experience of inner city living, alcoholism, and domestic abuse. Jake the Mus (Temuera Morrison), on account...

Winner of this year’s Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Dina follows its title character as she prepares to get married to her fiancé Scott, who works as a greeter at Walmart. They are both on the autism spectrum and each struggle with it in different ways. For the most part, though, they lead fairly normal lives. Scott enjoys rock music and Dina has a liking for the Kardashians. As the film progresses we learn about the hardships that Dina...

By Jim Mackney Alfred Hitchcock, born in Leytonstone on the 13th of August 1899, came to be known as the “Master of Suspense” and was a true filmmaking auteur. He is known for a distinct visual style now known as "Hitchcockian" where the camera mimics a person’s gaze, forcing the audience to undertake a form of voyeurism, and for using the narrative principle of a MacGuffin; a plot device in the form of a goal, desired object, or other motivator that...

Many of us, including myself, have visited tribal villages while on holiday to an African country. It is a fairly normal activity and the kind of display that opens I Am Not a Witch. So called witches are penned within a primitive Zambian settlement and are tied to ribbons to prevent them from leaving, while a guide tells tourists about their customs and beliefs. Elsewhere a young girl called Shula (Maggie Mulubwa) is blamed for suspicious activity and is accused...

On the surface The Snowman looks like one of those films that could only be good. With an acclaimed director, a strong cast, interesting source material, and even Martin Scorsese in an executive producer role, what could possibly go wrong? Based on the novel by Jo Nesbø of the same name, the film follows detective Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) as he investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around a sinister-looking snowman near her home. He...

By Michael McNulty Alan Clarke is a name not heard often enough.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that of his filmic output only two were theatrical releases.  Clarke instead made a name for himself producing teleplays for the British small screen.  But, whilst the screen may have been small, Clarke’s films certainly were not.  They are some of the most radical, ferociously intense and scathingly honest ever to be broadcast on television.  From Scum to The Firm, so...