cinema · LFF20

Film review: Rose – A Love Story

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Jennifer Sheridan’s feature debut Rose – A Love Story follows the mysterious life of a couple living in a shadowy cabin in the woods. Husband Sam (Matt Stokoe) and wife Rose (Sophie Rundle) are almost detached from civilisation in their somewhat strained, yet very loving, marriage. He spends his days outdoors, chopping wood for their fire and hunting their dinner, while she stays inside, working on her next book. It transpires that the pair are protecting a dark secret as when they reluctantly take in an unexpected house guest, their secluded refuge comes under severe threat.

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cinema · LFF20

Film review: Mangrove

Garry Arnot1 Comment

Steve McQueen’s work was lauded with much critical acclaim when he directed historical saga 12 Years a Slave. For his latest effort, he tells another important true story of racial prejudice, but this time it’s much closer to home. The first episode of the Small Axe mini-series, Mangrove follows modest restaurateur Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes) as he opens a West Indian eatery in the Notting Hill district of West London. His place becomes a lively neighbourhood hub for the black community and after continuous harassment from the local authorities, he is encouraged by Black Panther Movement leader Altheia Jones-Lecointe (Letitia Wright) to make a stand. Their peaceful protest soon descends into chaos, leading to an emotionally-charged trial.

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DVD

DVD review: Tenet

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Christopher Nolan continues to push the envelope of storytelling through his mind-bending plots and special effects. His latest effort, Tenet, might be his highest concept yet; an action thriller where a CIA agent played by John David Washington, credited only as The Protagonist, tries to save the world from a very peculiar threat. He teams up with Neil (Robert Pattinson) to investigate an organisation operating in the future where technology is being used to make objects move in reverse. This leads them to Russian oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) and his wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), and when they discover the magnitude of the danger, they must manipulate time to overcome the odds.

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cinema

Film review: I Used to Go Here

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 Gillian Jacobs goes back to school in indie comedy I Used to Go Here, written and directed by indie filmmaker Kris Rey. The story centres around Chicago-based author Kate Conklin (Jacobs) who, having just had her debut novel published, is asked to give a guest lecture at the college she had graduated from years earlier. This invite takes her back to the street she once lived on, reconnects her with former professor David (Jemaine Clement), and presents a unique opportunity to relive her youth.

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DVD

DVD review: Babyteeth

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Australian actress Eliza Scanlen transitioned from soap to the big screen as sickly sister Beth March in the recent critically acclaimed adaptation of classic novel Little Women. She portrays another tragic teen in coming-of-age drama Babyteeth, the directorial debut of Shannon Murphy. Based upon Rita Kalnejais’s stage play of the same name, the plot follows high schooler Milla (Scanlen) who, whilst battling cancer, falls for Moses (Toby Wallace), a low-level drug dealer with bad tattoos and a rattail haircut. The blossoming romance is met with much disdain by her protective parents Anna (Essie Davis) and Henry (Ben Mendelsohn), who are both struggling to deal with their daughter’s diagnosis.

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DVD

DVD review: Arkansas

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Arkansas-Movie-Trailer-2020

Comedy actor Clarke Duke heads to his home state of Arkansas for his directorial debut, a film which sees him behind and in front of the camera. Based on the novel of the same name by John Brandon, the crime plot follows amateurish drug runners Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Clarke Duke) as they’re paired together on a job. When their deal goes horribly wrong, they find themselves on the run from kingpin Frog (Vince Vaughn) who wants to make them pay for their mistakes.

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DVD · EIFF20

DVD review: A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur)

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Visual artist turned filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason has focused his directorial lens on a remote Icelandic town for his second feature A White, White Day. The drama centres around off-duty police chief Ingimundur (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) who is struggling to cope with the loss of his wife to a horrific road accident. As a coping mechanism, he takes fishing trips with his granddaughter Salka (Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir), and spends his days renovating a house for his daughter’s family. By chance, he makes a discovery which leads him to believe that his wife had been having an affair, and before long, his suppressed grief and a simmering anger rise to the surface.

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DVD

DVD review: The King of Staten Island

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Judd Apatow’s movies have been the gateway drug to cinema for the likes of Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, and Amy Schumer, and his latest effort The King of Staten Island introduces another new face. Plucked from the Saturday Night Live breeding ground of talent, Pete Davidson stars as Scott Carlin, a twentysomething layabout that spends his days tattooing himself or anyone that’ll let him near enough with a needle. When his younger sister flees the family nest for college and his mum Margie (Marisa Tomei) gets a new boyfriend, he is forced to finally grow up, and part of this process is the coming to terms with the loss of his firefighter father.

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