DVD & Digital

Film review: Freaky Tales

Garry ArnotLeave a comment

After a foray into the mega-budget mainstream with comic book movie Captain Marvel in 2019, writer and director duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have made a welcomed return to their indie roots for their latest piece Freaky Tales, an action-horror comedy anthology set in late ‘80s Oakland, California. As the paths of hitman Clint (Pedro Pascal), corrupt cop (Ben Mendelsohn), and basketball star Sleepy Floyd (Jay Ellis) cross with punks, skinheads, and underground rappers, their interconnected stories are tied together by strange supernatural happenings and blood-soaked vengeance.

Continue reading “Film review: Freaky Tales” →
DVD & Digital

Film review: Warfare

Garry ArnotLeave a comment

Off the back of imagining fictional combat through a journalistic lens in dystopian thriller Civil War, filmmaker Alex Garland has turned his hand to a very real and recent conflict in his latest feature. Sharing the writing and directing credits on this picture is Ray Mendoza, the former U.S. Navy SEAL who has based the script on his own experience and the memories of his comrades. Set in 2006 Iraq, the plot recalls a mission carried out by platoon Alpha One which included Sam (Joseph Quinn), Erik (Will Poulter), Elliott (Cosmo Jarvis) and Mendoza himself, portrayed on-screen by  D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai. As their plan is severely curtailed by a devastating explosion, they must pull together to survive.

Continue reading “Film review: Warfare” →
DVD & Digital

Film review: Death of a Unicorn

Garry ArnotLeave a comment

 Since the release of whodunnit Knives Out in 2019, we’ve seen a flurry of glossy one-location productions with various genre twists on the format. Whether it’s in fine-dining terror The Menu, social satire slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies, or sci-fi thriller Companion, we’re quickly learning that whenever a group of individuals get together somewhere fancy for the weekend, things are going to get dark. Horror comedy Death of a Unicorn is the latest to fall into this category, marking the debut of writer and director Alex Scharfman. The plot follows lawyer Elliot (Paul Rudd) as he travels to the family estate of his billionaire boss Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), taking his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) along for the ride. On the way, they accidentally hit an animal on the road, and the fantastical fallout of the incident tests their fractured father-and-daughter relationship.

Continue reading “Film review: Death of a Unicorn” →
Berlin25 · cinema

Film review: Köln 75

Garry ArnotLeave a comment

 On 24th January 1975, American jazz musician Keith Jarrett performed to a sell-out crowd at Köln’s Opera House whilst playing a broken piano. The recording has since become the best-selling solo jazz album of all time, and the gig almost didn’t go ahead. Written and directed by Ido Fluk, period drama Köln 75 tells the amazing true story of how the evening came to be – the ‘scaffolding’ supporting the masterpiece as it is put in the film’s introduction.

Continue reading “Film review: Köln 75” →
Berlin25 · DVD & Digital

Film review: Late Shift (Heldin)

Garry Arnot1 Comment

 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)” →
DVD & Digital · GFF25

Film review: On Falling

Garry ArnotLeave a comment

 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” →
Berlin25 · DVD & Digital · EIFF25

Film review: Islands

Garry Arnot1 Comment

 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” →