Chilean writer and director Sebastián Silva explores social cues amongst a group of thirty-something year old men in his indie comedy drama Tyrel. Unfolding across an alcohol-fuelled weekend, the plot centres around Tyler (Jason Mitchell) who is invited by Johnny (Christopher Abbott) to his friend’s birthday celebrations at an isolated cabin in the Catskill mountains. Being the only black guy in the bunch, Tyler begins to feel increasingly uncomfortable when inhibitions are lost, and the culture gap appears to widen.
Category: DVD & Digital
Reviews of the latest UK DVD & Digital releases.
DVD review: Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben)
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has enjoyed much critical acclaim with his impactful social-realist movies, and he has turned his directorial gaze to the dusty Spanish suburbs for his latest piece. Mystery drama Everybody Knows follows Laura (Penélope Cruz) who, with her children in tow, returns to her hometown for her sister’s wedding. She reconnects with old flame Paco (Javier Bardem) at the ceremony, but the family fun comes to an abrupt end when her teenage daughter Irene (Carla Campra) goes missing in the night.
Continue reading “DVD review: Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben)”Film review: The Wedding Guest
Acclaimed writer and director Michael Winterbottom is perhaps best known for his work in the comedy genre, but has stepped into a more abstruse field for his latest feature. The Wedding Guest is a mystery thriller set on a criminal’s journey between Pakistan and India. Armed with weaponry and a pile of fake IDs, Jay (Dev Patel) flies from Britain to track down bride-to-be Samira (Radhika Apte) ahead of her forthcoming nuptials. With unclear motives, he kidnaps the young woman in the dead of night, but the crepuscular job takes an unexpected turn.
DVD review: Beautiful Boy
Acclaimed Belgian writer and director Felix van Groeningen makes his English language debut with biographical drama Beautiful Boy. Based on memoirs by father and son David and Nic Sheff, the plot explores drug addiction through the perspective of a loving parent. When David (Steve Carell) discovers that his son Nic (Timothée Chalamet) has been using marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth, he promptly checks him into a rehabilitation clinic, and the affliction soon puts a strain on their relationship.
DVD review: Stan & Ollie
Even if you aren’t overly familiar with the work of Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the duo’s distinctive image is synonymous with comedy and cinema. Jon S. Baird’s latest feature pulls back the curtain to explore the men behind the slapstick public personas. Years after their Hollywood heyday, Stan (Steve Coogan) persuades Ollie (John C. Reilly) to hit the road, and the pair embark on a live theatre tour of post-war Britain.
DVD review: The Favourite
After transitioning his work from his native language to English, madcap Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos has been making waves in the industry with his auteuristic style. His latest comedy The Favourite is a period drama which follows the trials and tribulations of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) in the early 18th century. Suffering from gout, she becomes heavily reliant on her advisor Sarah (Rachel Weisz) to manage her affairs. When Sarah’s estranged cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives at the palace as a scullery maid, the Queen’s attention is soon divided, and a family feud ensues for her affection.
DVD review: Mary Queen of Scots
Theatre director Josie Rourke makes the transition from stage to screen with her feature film debut Mary Queen of Scots. Based on historian John Guy’s novel, the period drama chronicles the 1569 conflict between Scotland and England. When Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) returns widowed to her native land at the age of eighteen, she and her Catholic nobles attempt to depose her cousin Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) from her throne.
DVD review: Widows
It’s been five years since the release of director Steve McQueen’s slave trade epic 12 Years a Slave, and now he is back to explore racial divide again in heist thriller Widows. Co-written with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, the story is based on Lynda La Plante’s 1980s crime series but has been shipped from London to modern day America for this adaptation. When an armed robbery goes terribly wrong, Veronica (Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) are left with no spouses and a lot of problems. They’re indebted to corrupt politician Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), who is embroiled in a dirty campaign against mayor Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) to be alderman of a Chicago district. However, as Veronica lays her hands on her late husband’s notes for an upcoming job, she hatches an ambitious plan to settle the arrears.
DVD review: Kler
Polish writer and director Wojciech Smarzowski has been known to cause a stir with his controversial movies in the past, and his latest feature might be his most contentious to date. Kler, which translates as Clergy in English, is a black comedy drama that follows three Catholic priests. On the anniversary of a night that changed their lives, Andrzej (Arkadiusz Jakubik), Tadeusz (Robert Wieckiewicz), and Leszek (Jacek Braciak) get together for an alcohol fuelled reunion, and we bear witness to the very different paths they’ve taken.
DVD review: First Man
After successfully saving jazz a couple of years ago, director Damien Chazelle teams up with leading actor Ryan Gosling once again for space drama First Man. Based on James R. Hansen’s biography of the same name, the plot follows the lives of NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong (Gosling) and his wife Janet (Claire Foy) during the 1960s Space Race. When Neil is selected to command the now legendary Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, he seizes the opportunity to make history.
Cinema Perspective 