Film

By Michael McNulty “Whad-da-ya hear, whad-da-say, ” Warner Brother’s 1939 gangster offering saw James Cagney earn the first Oscar nomination of his career. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Angels with Dirty Faces is a gangster film that’s morally conscious. The film opens as a young Rocky Sullivan and friend, Jerry, hang on the steps of a ramshackle building in a poverty stricken neighbourhood. The two, without a penny to their name and nothing to do, decide to knock off a goods...

After a recent run of lacklustre form, the Judd Apatow brand has finally found its mojo again thanks to this tenderly handled rom-com from stand-up comedian Michael Showalter. While in recent years the output of Apatow’s production company – Trainwreck, This is 40, The Five-Year Engagement – has become synonymous with overlong runtimes and an unhealthy commitment to narrative convention, here’s a film that triumphs in staying true to the producer’s bittersweet spirit, whilst also subverting the genre’s formula with...

By Michael McNulty Let’s be honest, independent film has become a term that’s murkier than an unattended fish tank. But, hey, forget that noise and leave that conversation for another time – perhaps after having watched one these films. To celebrate the release of US Indie Comedy The Big Sick - here are 5 of the best comedies independent cinema has to offer. 1. Slacker Richard Linklater’s 1991 film, Slacker, helped to propel independent film making in the nineties and...

By Michael McNulty The sun baked streets of Perth shimmer in the December heat. A group of teenage high school girls play netball. Their movement to the leering eyes of John (Stephen Curry) and Evelyn White (Emma Booth), who sit spying on them from the sweaty interior of their car, an orgiastic ballet of short skirts and tanned skin, youth and innocence. The game is over and the girls head their separate ways. John and Evelyn offer a lone traveller...

A first look trailer for Proud Mary is out. Taraji P. Henson is Mary, a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad. Proud Mary comes to cinemas on February 2nd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuGup6VtgHg&feature=youtu.be

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP There is something enjoyable about watching the slightly cheesy horror films that enter the cinemas each summer. Dating back even before the original Friday the 13th this brand of slightly crude but ultimately entertaining movies have been a welcome addition to our viewing calendars. More recent films like The Cabin in the Woods and Paranormal Activity may not be great works of art but they are fun and not a bad way to spend an afternoon...

By Michael McNulty Mick Rock, the man behind some of rock n’ rolls most iconic photos and responsible for some of the greatest album covers of all time, has been given the big screen treatment in Barney Clay’s debut feature length film, Shot! The Pyscho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock. It spans the length of Rock’s life, from the photos he took of Syd Barrett and David Bowie in the early days of his career, to the sessions he held with Lou...

By Michael McNulty With Orange is the New Black’s, albeit slightly disappointing, season 5 now well and truly behind us, you may find yourself thirsting after another prison set drama. Look no further. Here to satisfy your needs is Jules Dassin’s 1947 film, Brute Force. Set in Westgate Penitentiary, a prison run by a weak willed Warden, Barnes (Roman Bohnen), who is facing increased pressure from the board to up the discipline. The Chief Guard, Monsey (Hume Cronyn), a fierce...

By Michael McNulty Thomas Kruithof debut feature film, Scribe, has all the trappings of a taut, American, political thriller. It’s a tense, dark, paranoia flick and although it may, at times, find itself a little lacking it still a good run for your money. Scribe opens as Duval (François Cluzet), an accountant pushing retirement age, frantically struggles to put together, having been dumped with the task last minute, an important file for an even more important meeting. As the night...