REVIEWS
Here's my views on the latest releases. Feel free to agree or disagree via social media or the contact form on the home page!
Note I may stray into tiny spoilers at times, but I try to keep the big 'uns safely under wraps. I'll always give a [spoiler] heads-up before revealing any major plot points.
MOONLIGHT -- 4/5
24th February 2017
Three ages of a homosexual man living in Miami are explored in Barry Jenkins's Oscar contender.
The director draws directly from his own experiences of his mother, a drug user, in constructing this ensemble piece. Naomi Harris (the only actor...
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE -- 3/5
12th February 2017
It was always going to be a struggle to follow-up 2015's The Lego Movie. This Batman spin-off has its hilarious moments, particularly when sending up previous incarnations of the caped crusader, but it is never as consistently funny as its...
20th CENTURY WOMEN -- 3/5
11th February 2017
Whilst this film featured a decent script and some excellent performances -- young Lucas Jade Zumann matching the heralded Annette Bening in my opinion -- it just didn't excite me. It is possible this is down to a lack of drama...the conflict at the...
TONI ERDMANN -- 5/5
11th February 2017
A hilarious tale of a practical-joking father who invades the life of his workaholic daughter. A sign of a good feature is when it doesn't feel as long as its running time. Toni Erdmannruns at just under three hours; it went by in a...
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA -- 5/5
10th February 2017
A truly fantastic film, where an accomplished script, stellar performances, and canny direction combine to produce a devastating yet heartening exploration of grief.
There is one tiny, miniscule thing I personally would change (a moment when...
CHRISTINE -- 4/5
8th February 2017
And so to Christine. Another biopic, this time centred on Christine Chubbuck, a local Floridian newsreader who, in 1974, [spoilers] committed suicide live on air.
Watching this back-to-back with Jackie, I was struck by how much...
JACKIE -- 3/5
7th February 2017
My instincts tell me there is something inherently unfilmic about a biopic. At some point between reality and retelling, some detail must be lost, or added, and that knowledge -- that what you see contains at least some embellishment -- has a tainting...
LOVING -- 3/5
5th February 2017
Much like the real-life characters at its heart, this film is an unassuming homage to the couple, Mildred and Richard, whose plight changed the American constitution in favour of the right to marry whomever one chooses, regardless of...
LA LA LAND -- 5/5
22nd January 2017
Damien Chazelle's follow-up to the masterful Whiplash is a glorious musical homage to Hollywood and modern love. Much like The Artist did five years ago, it ticks off the tropes with abandon, and yet maintains a firm grip on realism...