Sean Baker made some waves in the film industry when he released crime comedy Tangerine a couple of years ago, shot entirely on an iPhone. The critical acclaim of the micro-budget marvel helped to springboard the director to his next feature The Florida Project; a mother-daughter drama set in the dishevelled surroundings of Disney World. Taking place at the Magic Castle motel run by Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the story centres around fun-loving six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her friends. As they happily run riot around the town, her mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) struggles to make ends meet, going to increasingly desperate measures to pay the rent each week.
Category: DVD & Digital
Reviews of the latest UK DVD & Digital releases.
DVD review: The Killing of a Sacred Deer
After crafting string of indie movies in his native language, Greek writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos enjoyed a critically acclaimed breakthrough with madcap quasi-comedy The Lobster. He has now reunited with the lead Colin Farrell for his next feature The Killing of a Sacred Deer. The plot follows cardiac surgeon Steven Murphy (Farrell) who lives a strange but comfortable life with his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their children. Unbeknownst to his family, he befriends teenager Martin (Barry Keoghan), a former patient who looks up to Steve. Events take a sinister turn when the admiration turns to obsession and Martin places a bizarre curse on Steven, presenting him with an impossible choice.
DVD review: mother!
It’s commonplace for viewers to adopt a passive approach at the cinema, but a filmmaker that continually challenges audiences and encourages debate is Darren Aronofsky, known for bringing his dark directorial visions to the big screen. With his latest psychological thriller mother!, he has crafted what has become one of the most talked-about movies of the year. The story follows a couple played by Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem who appear to enjoy marital bliss in an idyllic rural house that they are renovating. Their peace is shattered when a doctor (Ed Harris) and his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) come to stay unexpectedly and bring mayhem which rudely interrupts the couple’s sense of tranquility.
DVD review: It
Stephen King terrified readers with his iconic horror novel back in 1986, which was adapted into a cult television movie. Now the red carpet has been rolled out as it receives a fresh adaptation with director Andy Muschietti pulling the strings. The story has been brought forward to the late 1980s where the kids of Derry, Maine are confronted by their worst fears. Following the strange disappearance of Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) at the hands of evil clown Pennywise (Bill Skårsgard), his big brother Billy (Jaeden Lieberher) rallies his friends together to hunt down the demon that has cursed their hometown.
DVD review: Wind River
Taylor Sheridan has already made quite an impact on cinema in recent years, penning the scripts for Sicario and Hell or High Water with acclaimed filmmakers at the helm. Now he has returned to the director’s chair for mystery drama Wind River which he has referred to as the last chapter in a loose trilogy about the modern American frontier. The story follows game tracker Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) who works at the Indian Reservation which gives the film its name. When the body of a teenage girl is discovered, FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) is called to the scene of the crime. The pair join forces and as the investigation unravels, Cory is forced to wrestle his own personal demons.
DVD review: Logan Lucky
Steven Soderbergh announced his retirement from filmmaking back in 2003 to focus on oil painting but after already going back on his word to direct for television, now he makes his fully fledged feature comeback with comedy crime caper Logan Lucky. The madcap plot follows downtrodden construction worker Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) who, with the help of his one-handed brother Clyde (Adam Driver), hatches a plan to rob his former employers when he gets laid off. To assist with their cunning scheme to steal cash from a NASCAR speedway track on the day it’s biggest rally, they recruit incarcerated safecracker Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) and his idiotic brothers. What could possibly go wrong?
DVD review: A Ghost Story
It’s not uncommon for filmmakers to reunite with actors they have worked with previously, which is exactly what writer and director David Lowery has done in reconnecting Rooney Mara with Casey Affleck on-screen. Their past collaboration was a Western romance, and the latest piece is something not only very different from that, but unlike anything you’ll see all year. Indie drama A Ghost Story follows lovers credited only as C (Affleck) and M (Mara) and their suburban married life. After tragedy strikes and C is killed in a car accident, he returns home as a white-sheeted ghostly presence to watch over his wife as she struggles to cope with the enormity of her loss.
DVD review: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Veteran filmmaker Luc Besson certainly has a vivid imagination, and is associated with French 1980s movement ‘Cinéma du look’ which is said to favour style over substance. His latest feature is sci-fi space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and it’s arguably his most visually daring project to date. Based on a comic-strip series devised by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières, the story follows operatives Major Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne) who are tasked with protecting the universe around 700 years in the future. When their peaceful city of Alpha comes under attack from a mysterious life form, they team up with commander Arün Filitt (Clive Owen) to neutralise the dangerous threat.
Continue reading “DVD review: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”
DVD review: Dunkirk
Visionary filmmaker Christopher Nolan has carved a career out of writing and directing imaginative movies, telling mind-bending tales in a way that only he can. His latest feature marks a departure of sorts as he turns his attention to World War II for action-drama Dunkirk, telling the story of the Operation Dynamo evacuation in 1940. As Allied soldiers including Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), Gibson (Aneurin Barnard) and Alex (Harry Styles) are trapped on the beach to await their fate from surrounding Nazi forces, fighter pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden) provide cover from the skies. Meanwhile, mariner Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance) along with son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his friend George (Barry Keoghan) embark on a brave civilian rescue mission.
DVD review: War for the Planet of the Apes
The modern Apes trilogy has spanned six years and following the Rise and Dawn comes War for the Planet of the Apes, the third and final instalment directed and co-written by Matt Reeves. The story is picked up as leader of the apes Caesar (Andy Serkis) is hiding out in the woods with his wife Cornelia (Judy Greer), his wise orangutan adviser Maurice (Karin Konoval) and the rest of his tribe. After coming under an unprovoked attack, he offers a truce to the merciless Colonel (Woody Harrelson), a soldier that vows to wipe out the apes once and for all. However, when the call for peace is not reciprocated, a brutal battle for survival ensues.
Continue reading “DVD review: War for the Planet of the Apes”
Cinema Perspective 