It goes without saying that music is a complex subject. The strong feelings invoked, the interpretations and the influences that a particular piece has are almost infinite, especially when dealing with one of the masters of the art such as Johann Sebastian Bach. Erbarme Dich – Matthäus Passion Stories attempts to unpack this subject, making Read More
“Is there a connection between love and the ocean?” asked a viewer of Atlantic’s director, Jan-Willem van Ewijk, during the post-screening interview session at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. “Yes, I believe there is”, was his reply. Atlantic, the director’s second feature since his departure from a career in investment banking, is a love letter Read More
“It’s your call.” So responds a radio command at the end of American Sniper’s introductory salvo. Immediately, this gives the audience an insight into the life of the sniper: deciding who lives, and who dies. As the sound of Chris Kyle’s (Bradley Cooper) rifle shot fills the cinema, an immaculate piece of editing transports the Read More
Big Eyes is Tim Burton’s attempt at “ordinary”, but thankfully he still succeeds in injecting the film with the usual zest of kitsch and quirk that make his films so recognisable. The comedy-drama biopic follows Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) and her exploitative husband Walter (Christoph Waltz), who fraudulently assumed credit for her life’s work: paintings Read More
With nine Academy Award nominations, tying with Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel for the biggest number of nominations this year, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman sets expectations high. Transcending planes of fiction, Birdman is, at outset, a film about a stage adaptation of a Raymond Carver novel, during which the director, writer and lead actor Read More
The Theory of Everything is a compelling film, adapted from Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking. The intimate workings behind Stephen Hawking’s genius are glossed over, in this instance focusing instead upon his personal life. It is an evocative portrayal of Hawking’s struggles with MND (Motor Neuron Disease), offering a Read More
The phrase “night crawler” evokes nothing pretty – a slang term for a burglar, perhaps, or a prostitute. The only formal definition of its portmanteau version refers to a species of large earthworm, so called for its habit of surfacing at sundown. Fittingly, Nightcrawler the film is something of a creepy-crawly affair as well – Read More
Christopher Nolan’s latest feature is not so much a cinematic blockbuster as it is a meditation on the future of the human race. The director of Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy delivers a celluloid love letter to grand impossible dreams and ideas, coupled with a pioneering spirit. Interstellar is not, however, without its flaws. Read More
Over the course of her career, Emma Thompson has proven herself, irrefutably, to be an intelligent and creative woman, both on and off-screen. With Richard Laxton’s Effie Gray, she once again returns to screenwriting,transforming what might have been another ghastly Victorian costume affair into a historical drama that tugs at the heart. The opening of Read More
Photographer Elaine Constantine’s first feature film, Northern Soul shows her passion and interest in the eponymous musical movement successfully, serving as a perfect homage to the high energy, ever changing rhythm and soulful blues we associate with the revolutionary British movement. With no star leads and a low budget, Constantine’s film has still managed to Read More