Reviews of the latest UK DVD & Digital releases.
Working class life in Britain is often depicted in a gritty or bleak manner that was coined as kitchen-sink realism back in mid 20th century. It would perhaps be more accurate to describe crime drama Reputation as kitchen-knife realism as the first-time feature filmmaker Martin Law brings a streak of threat and violence to this tale of woe.
Continue reading “Film review: Reputation”
After working mostly in television across her career, actor Leonie Benesch has garnered acclaim on the big screen of late with standout appearances in The Teachers’ Lounge and September 5 – both of which see her character’s work life take traumatic turns for the worse. Her latest portrayal is in another workplace thriller as she stars in Swiss-German feature Late Shift. Written and directed by Petra Volpe, the plot follows a hectic day in the life of surgical nurse Floria at a severely understaffed hospital ward. As problems mount from challenging patients and their family members, she comes under intense pressure.
Continue reading “Film review: Late Shift (Heldin)”
For over fifty years, Ken Loach’s films have become synonymous with working-class life in Britain, his important ‘kitchen-sink’ stories giving a cinematic voice to the undervalued. It would appear that he’s ready to call it a day, the veteran filmmaker stating that his 2023 drama The Old Oak would be his last.
The latest feature from his production company is On Falling, marking the debut of writer and director Laura Carreira. Set in and around Edinburgh, the social-realist plot follows the humdrum routine of Aurora (Joana Santos), a Portuguese migrant that works long hours as a warehouse picker for an unnamed conglomerate. Struggling to make ends meet, she becomes increasingly lonely and worn down by her daily grind.
Continue reading “Film review: On Falling”
Set on the scorched island of Fuerteventura, mystery drama Islands marks the third feature from German writer and director Jan-Ole Gerster. The neo-noir plot follows washed-up tennis coach Tom (Sam Riley) who slipped through the net of turning professional, now working at a luxury resort. Spending his evenings raving in the local nightclub and his days nursing hangovers while showing tourists how to improve their forehand swing, his hedonistic lifestyle is interrupted when British couple Anne (Stacy Martin) and Dave (Jack Farthing) arrive and ask that he gives their young son Anton (Dylan Torrell) some private lessons.
Continue reading “Film review: Islands”
Based on his own short of the same name, indie thriller Sew Torn is the first feature from writer and director Freddy Macdonald. Set in a picturesque village nestled in the Alpine mountains, the plot follows seamstress Barbara (Eve Connolly) who is grieving her mother’s death whilst struggling to keep the family business afloat.
Continue reading “Film review: Sew Torn”
From spaghetti westerns to blaxploitation flicks and martial arts action, iconic auteur Quentin Tarantino has made a habit of celebrating cinema within his own work. Carrying this on to a degree by paying homage to QT himself, writer and director Danny Turkiewicz presents Stealing Pulp Fiction.
Developed from his own 2020 short, the plot follows cinephile pals Jonathan (John Rudnitsky) and Steve (Karan Soni) as they attend a special screening of cult classic Pulp Fiction in Los Angeles. After they discover that the 35mm print they’re watching is the director’s personal copy, they hatch a plan to steal the reels.
Continue reading “Film review: Stealing Pulp Fiction”
As central locations go, restaurants have proven themselves to be hotbeds of big screen drama in recent years with the success of films such as Boiling Point, The Menu, and The Taste of Things and writer and director Alonso Ruizpalacios has put his own artistic spin on this recipe for his New York-based piece, La Cocina.
Based on the 1957 stage play by Arnold Wesker, the plot follows a group of colleagues at tourist trap Times Square eatery The Grill during a hectic lunch service. After some cash goes missing from the register and a broken drinks machine causes a flood, tensions rise between cook Pedro (Raúl Briones), waiter Julia (Rooney Mara), new start Estela (Anna Diaz) and the rest of the staff.
Continue reading “Film review: La Cocina”
Twenty years on from his critically acclaimed Johnny Cash picture, writer and director James Mangold returns to the musical biopic sub-genre with 1960s drama A Complete Unknown. Based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, the plot follows a young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) on his sudden rise to fame. Arriving in New York with nothing but his guitar, he begins a relationship with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) then after meeting fellow singers Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), he is welcomed into the city’s bohemian folk scene.
Continue reading “Film review: A Complete Unknown”
Anxiety and mental health issues have become part of our daily conversations on the trials and tribulations of modern life. In his sophomore directorial effort, actor-turned-filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg pits these challenges against the backdrop of acknowledging the trauma of his own ancestors in comedy drama A Real Pain. The plot follows estranged Jewish cousins David (played by Eisenberg himself) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they embark on a trip to Poland to honour their late grandmother. Throughout the tour, the pair both bond and bicker as they navigate their grief in different ways.
Continue reading “Film review: A Real Pain”
The musician biographical drama is a subgenre that has become increasingly saturated of late, with Elton John, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Bob Dylan among others having their stories told on the big screen within the past five years. The latest in the category is Better Man, which tells the rags to riches tale of controversial pop performer Robbie Williams who rose to fame in boyband Take That before embarking on a successful solo career. Directed by Australian visual artist turned filmmaker Michael Gracey, known for his work on the Greatest Showman, there’s a trick that separates this biopic from the rest – the star is portrayed as a CGI-animated monkey.
Continue reading “Film review: Better Man”
Cinema Perspective 