First impressions are everything. Taking this into account, the first impression of the DCA this Saturday was that of a sea of children sitting rows in front of me with mouse masks on, whispering excitedly about the school trip they were on. A sense of wonder hangs over the cinema. At the film’s gentle, self-referential Read More
A story of war, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master is vibrantly and colourfully created, clashing with the dark and serious issues dealt with in the narrative. Freddie (Joaquin Phoenix), a World War Two soldier, returns home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The film briefly covers his time within a military hospital but focuses mainly Read More
Argo is the third feature length film to be directed by Ben Affleck, who also plays the leading role. The film is both a tense hostage rescue drama and a comedy that gleefully mocks the machinery of Hollywood. As indicated in its introduction, the film is based on real events. In 1979, the US embassy Read More
Skyfall has already proved to be a phenomenal success both with critics and at the box office. Even viewing the film two weeks after its release, at an afternoon viewing, the cinema was verging on being full to capacity. This is the twenty-third James Bond film and coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the release Read More
As part of the Discovery Film Festival the DCA screened Punch (Wan-Deuk-I), directed by Lee Han. The film was a phenomenal success in South Korea, selling around five million tickets during its box office run. Based on the novel Wandeuk (2008) by Kim Ryeo-Ryung, the story revolves around 17 year old Doh Wan-Deuk (played by Read More
Swedish film, The Crown Jewels, (Kronjuvelerna) is an intriguing escape into the world of magical realism. The film, which was shortened for theatrical release from the original television series, delivers an enormous amount of information for the audience to digest in a very short amount of time. Providing a snapshot of relationships between people in Read More
Overburdened by its fame and its status as a classic in the horror canon, The Shining (1980) could only ever be a disappointment see outside its initial release. It is an unfortunate fact that horror, unlike other genres, simply cannot bear the brunt of repetition. Its iconic scenes – “redrum”, “All work and no play Read More
Sally El Hosaini’s My Brother the Devil takes a thought provoking look at life for Arab families living in inner city London. Hosaini’s first feature film as writer and director was a labour of love as the film took six years to come to fruition. She began writing the script and envisioned shooting much of Read More
Jennifer Lynch’s Chained is an impressively directed psychological thriller concerning the relationship between a murderer and rapist known as Bob (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his abductee Rabbit (Eamon Farren). Although the plot follows the conventions of the genre, the overall execution is excellent with thoughtfully arranged mise-en-scène and great performances from both leads. The opening sequence, Read More
A huge commercial success in America, young director Benh Zeitlin’s first feature film Beasts of the Southern Wild was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for drama at Sundance and the Caméra d’Or at Cannes. Adapted by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar’s one-act play Juicy and Delicious, the film follows the story of Read More