Reviews of the latest UK cinema releases.
When a youngster is snatched by the Mexican cartel, their distraught parent goes vigilante in a desperate attempt to get them back. This is the plot of Belgian-Romanian writer and director Teodora Mihai’s crime thriller but if you’re expecting something along the lines of action flick Taken, think again.
Continue reading “Film review: La Civil”
Nanni Moretti is a prolific actor, writer, director, and producer who has been putting out regular work for the best part of his fifty years in the business. For the first time in his illustrious career, he is adapting someone else’s story for the big screen. His latest piece Three Floors is based upon the best-selling novel Three Stories by Eshkol Nevo, relocated from its Tel Aviv base in the original material to Rome for its cinema adaptation.
Continue reading “Film review: Three Floors (Tre Piani)”
After bringing the true story of his nation’s most notorious outlaw to the big screen a couple of years ago, Aussie auteur Justin Kurzel sheds cinematic light on another deeply dark tale from down under in his latest feature. Nitram is a psychological character drama that centres around the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, a horrific mass shooting in Tasmania during which 35 people were murdered.
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Whether getting away from their problems or sprinting towards the one they love, we regularly see young women running in indie romcoms. Following in the footsteps of Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha, Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza, and Renate Reinsve in The Worst Person in the World, Anaïs Demoustier chases her tail in this charming French twist on the genre.
Continue reading “Film review: Anaïs in Love”
Writer and director Olmo Omerzu pokes fun at a crumbling family empire in his latest feature Bird Atlas, co-written with his regular collaborator Petr Pýcha. The sharp black comedy plot centres around patriarchal figure Ivo (Miroslav Donutil) who has long been at the helm of a large electronics firm. A shocking discovery within his company’s finances leads to a heart attack, so his family soon rally to show their support, including his son Martin (Martin Pechlát), first in line to inherit the business. After some investigation, all suspicions lead to Ivo’s accountant Marie (Alena Mihulová) who’s been enjoying a blossoming romance with a mysterious American soldier.
Continue reading “Film review: Bird Atlas (Atlas Ptáku)”
As an actor, the talent of Sean Penn has rarely been called into question yet behind the camera, his work has been known to divide audiences. His previous effort was infamously met with a chorus of boos at Cannes Film Festival five years ago, but he’s back in the director’s chair once again for family drama Flag Day. Based on the memoir Flim-Flam Man: A True Family History by author and journalist Jennifer Vogel, it tells the true story of troubled con artist John Vogel (Sean Penn) and how his crimes impacted upon his relationship with his daughter (Dylan Penn), who is working through issues of her own.
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Fantasy drama Memoria marks the English-language debut from acclaimed Thai writer and director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who was adamant that his latest should be seen only in theatres, not at home. Tilda Swinton stars in the beguiling arthouse piece as Jessica Holland, a Scottish woman running a flower market in Medellín, Colombia. When visiting her sister Karen (Agnes Brekke) in Bogotá, she is awoken in the dead of night by a strange, almighty sound. Unsettled by the mystery around the cause of this, she begins an investigation that leads her out of the hustle and bustle of the city, deep into the country’s verdant wilderness.
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Writer and director Paul Andrew Williams takes on the classic tale of revenge in his latest feature Bull. Neil Maskell stars as the eponymous protagonist who arrives back in his neighbourhood after ten years away. It is unclear exactly where he’s been for the past decade but there’s no mystery around the reason for his return; to get his own back against those that have wronged him. His unsuspecting targets include his crooked father-in-law Norm (David Hayman), old pal Marco (Jason Milligan) and his ex, Gemma (Lois Brabin-Platt), and he’ll stop at nothing short of total retribution.
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It’s the norm for footballers to move onto careers in coaching or punditry when they hang up their boots, but for Icelandic national goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórsson, he’s chosen a very different path. After dabbling in filmmaking previously with work on commercials, music videos, and a spot of editing, he has now written and directed his debut feature. Cop Secret is an action comedy that centres around policeman Bússi (Auðunn Blöndal) who is forced to team up with new partner Hörður (Egill Einarsson) when his colleague Klemenz (Sverrir Þór Sverrisson) is injured in the line of duty. A series of heists orchestrated by mastermind Rikki Ferrari (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) attract the attention of the authorities, but as well as fighting crime, Bússi also faces an internal struggle with his sexuality.
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Unplanned pregnancy has been at the centre of conversation in coming-of-age comedies in the past, such as in Jason Reitman’s Juno or Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, coincidentally released in the same year. Norwegian writer and director Yngvild Sve Flikke tackles the topic in a playfully original way for her sophomore feature Ninjababy.
Continue reading “Film review: Ninjababy”
Cinema Perspective 