DVD review: Sing Street
Following his writing and direction on Once and Begin Again, Irish filmmaker John Carney has established himself as a force within the musical comedy genre. He returns with rebellious flick Sing Street, set in 1980s Dublin. Due to the economic difficulties, Cosmo (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is transferred from posh school to comprehensive, and struggles to fit in to his new regime. When he spots mysterious girl Raphina (Lucy Boynton) lurking on a street corner donned in sunglasses and style, he tells her that he is the singer in a band in an attempt to impress. To follow up on his little white lie, he brings together new friends including the witty and wise Darren (Ben Carolan) and jack-of-all-trades musician Eamon (Mark McKenna) to form Sing Street, a play on words taken from their school’s name.
DVD review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The release of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’, like most superhero movies, has been rife with anticipation, as the comic-book fanboy dream scenario will finally play out on the big screen. Following the critical acclaim of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the Caped Crusader is re-established to be pit against the Son of Krypton in director Zack Snyder’s follow-up to his Superman origin film. Events pick up exactly where ‘Man of Steel’ left off but through the perspective of Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), watching in horror as Metropolis is destroyed in the battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and his nemesis General Zod. Fuming at the carnage caused, he plots to bring down Superman to prevent even more destruction. Meanwhile, young business tycoon Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is working to another agenda, to bring his own brand of justice to the city.
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Film review: Shepherds and Butchers
Steve Coogan may well be best known for his comedic beginnings and his recurring reincarnations as television and radio presenter Alan Partridge, but from more recent roles, in particular his part in Oscar nominated film Philomena, we now know he can do serious seriously well. In courtroom-drama Shepherds and Butchers, written and directed by Oliver Schmitz, he plays compassionate defence lawyer Johan Webber. When seven black men are callously shot and killed by 17-year-old prison guard Leon Labuschagne (Garion Dowds), Webber is given the impossible task of defending him at the trial. Set in 1987 South Africa, he is pitted against prosecutor Kathleen Murray (Andrea Riseborough), who argues that Leon should be sentenced to death. An intelligently told story unfolds, exploring and dissecting the conflicting views on capital punishment; a system which was abolished just eight years later.
DVD review: Adult Life Skills
With the central character approaching thirty and spending her days making talking thumb videos in her mum’s garden shed, the theme is less coming-of-age and more coming of the aged in Rachel Tunnard’s indie oddball comedy Adult Life Skills. Anna (Jodie Whittaker) is encouraged to move out and conform to societal expectations by her mother Marion (Lorraine Ashbourne) and grandmother Jean (Eileen Davies) but flat-out refuses, still grieving from the untimely death of her twin brother. When she reunites with school friend Fiona (Rachael Deering) and finds common ground with troubled next door neighbour Clint (Ozzy Myers), she is forced to face up to her problems.
Film review: Moon Dogs
With a television back-catalogue boasting directorial work on shows such as New Tricks, Downton Abbey and Outlander, Welsh filmmaker Philip John makes his first foray into feature film with Moon Dogs, a coming-of-age comedy set in Scotland. The story begins in Shetland where hapless teen Michael (Jack Parry Jones) is down on his luck when his girlfriend heads off to study in Glasgow. He is left behind with his dysfunctional family including oddball step-brother Thor (Christy O’Donnell), who is dealing with his own problems. The mismatched pair decide to embark on a road trip and soon become a trio when they inadvertently pick up care-free Caitlin (Tara Lee) along the way, who challenges their already fragile friendship at every turn.
EIFF interview: Stephen Graham
In 21st century cinema, British acting talent doesn’t come much more talented than Stephen Graham, the Liverpudlian known mostly for his hard-man roles across film and television, both in home-grown projects and in the US. His breakthrough role was in Guy Ritchie’s ensemble black comedy Snatch in which he starred alongside Jason Statham and Brad Pitt. Two years later, he was in the States working with Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York.
Since then, he has been perhaps most associated with playing sociopathic skinhead Combo in Shane Meadows’ This Is England and portraying the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone in HBO series Boardwalk Empire. His other notable credits include Public Enemies, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Pirates of the Caribbean.
His latest part sees him play reclusive security guard Robert in Michael Lennox’s directorial debut A Patch of Fog which is screening at the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Instead of following the rules and prosecuting, he blackmails the thief in return for friendship. I caught up with Stephen Graham to discuss the new film as well as his impressive back-catalogue of work.
We’re introduced in Edinburgh’s Caledonian hotel and as he orders a water with honey, he switches chairs a couple of times to get comfortable, apologising for looking like a ‘right goldilocks’. He’s far from that, and after I ruffle through my notes and hit record, this is what happened…
Film review: Trivisa
It is the norm in film to have one director, applying their creative vision to projects solely, though it has been known to work well with two, most notably with siblings such as the Dardenne or Coen brothers. In Hong Kong based crime thriller Trivisa, there’s not one or two, but three directors at the helm. Frank Hui, Jevon Au and Vicky Wong put their heads together collaborate with a team of three screenwriters to bring a story based on real life gangsters to the big screen. Set in the 1997 Hong Kong underbelly, Kwai Ching-hung (Gordon Lam), Yip Kwok-foon (Richie Fon) and Cheuk Tse-keung (Jordan Chan) are unconnected gangsters who happen to be spotted in the same restaurant on the same night. This leads to speculation that they have formed an unlikely alliance, planning one big deal ahead of the handover of sovereignty from the UK to China.
Film review: A Patch of Fog
After winning a BAFTA for his short film Boogaloo & Graham in 2014, Irish filmmaker Michael Lennox makes the jump to feature for his directorial debut A Patch of Fog. The suspenseful psychological thriller follows novelist and TV personality Sandy Duffy (Conleth Hill) who lives off of the success of a best-seller which gives the film its name. Not content with the luxurious lifestyle his book has given him, he develops a habit of shoplifting for thrills, loving the excitement of walking through the exit with stolen goods. Sandy gets off scot-free until he encounters secluded security guard Robert (Stephen Graham) who spots him dropping a pen into his pocket as he receives a phoney phone call. However, instead of prosecuting, he begins to blackmail the thief, threatening to expose the secret to ruin his reputation, and asks only for companionship in return for his silence.
DVD review: Deadpool
After the release of a staggering 36 films since the turn of the century, we’ve come to know what to expect from films based on Marvel Comics, whether it’s an origin story or ensemble, or should that be ‘assemble’, piece where characters weave in and out of each others movies. In to mix up the formula as part of the X-Men series strand is self-referential comedy ‘Deadpool’, marking the directorial debut of Tim Miller, who is jokingly labelled an ‘overpaid tool’ in the titles. Ryan Reynolds takes the leading role, eager to leave the green mask of universally panned ‘Green Lantern’ behind him. The plot centres around mercenary Wade Wilson (Reynolds) who undergoes an experimental treatment that goes horribly wrong, but leaves him with superpowers. Out to reconcile with girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and get revenge on villainous Ajax (Ed Skrein), can he undo the damage and get the girl?
Cinema Perspective 