The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray, a would-be internet ‘influencer’, sells his soul – perhaps figuratively, perhaps literally – for an experimental photo filter which will keep his online persona eternally young and perfect. At once, Filloux-Bennett and director Tamara Harvey’s interest in retelling this story becomes clear. One can only guess at the biting wit Wilde might have imparted regarding the modern world’s seeming obsession with personal brands, para-social relationships and the drive to ‘sell’ an image of oneself on social media. A digital age of political radicalisation, misinformation and ever-eroding privacy.

It

IT, USA, 2017   It’s been twenty-seven years since IT’s predecessor haunted the silver screen: uncanny coincidence, or deliberate marketing ploy for a story about a monster known to resurface every twenty-seven years?   Either way, Andy Muschietti’s interpretation of Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel presents a nostalgic reinvention of an iconic cult classic that takes Read More

Beauty and the Beast

(USA, 2017) 31 March- 13 April 2017, DCA Having directed Maleficent, The Jungle Book and Cinderella with relative success in recent years, Bill Condon is well practiced at the adaptation of popular literature. Now, with a star-studded cast and a lavish budget, he turns his attention to a Disney fan-favourite, Beauty and the Beast. Though Read More

The Girl on the Train

(USA, 2016) 14th – 27th October, DCA   Tate Taylor’s The Girl on the Train, adapted from Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel of the same name, recounts the story of alcoholic Rachel (Emily Blunt) who has been left traumatized by her recent divorce and her inability to have a child. Every day she gets on a train. Read More

High Rise

Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump’s latest project sees them tackle J.G. Ballard’s eponymous novel which, often deemed “unfilmable”, has been in the pipeline for forty years. Safe to say they make it entirely cinematic with the help of Mark Tildesley’s incredible production design and clinical camera work by Laurie Rose. With signature black humour, their Read More

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Jane Austen’s renowned 19th century novel received a rather unique twist in this adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s book of the same name. Though the idea has great potential, its attempt to both please lovers of Austen and to create a chilling and scary atmosphere for lovers of horror will end up leaving most viewers unsatisfied Read More

Dad’s Army

Forty-eight years after its television show introduction, Dad’s Army is a film burdened by audience expectations. It is not necessarily a remake or a re-telling, but nearly half a century later, the television sitcom that inspired the storyline is still considered one of the nation’s favourites and with that will surely come followers who would Read More

Carol

As one of the most nominated films of the year Carol sinks only your heart, and exceeds expectations. Set in early 1950s Manhattan – a tough climate for sexual deviancy and independent women – Todd Haynes’ latest picture of homosexuality is his most refined and subtly powerful. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Read More

Sunset Song

“Nothing endures but the land”, and nothing quite captures the overarching theme of Lewis Grassic Gibbons’ classic novel than this, its most famous quote. Sunset Song, the first novel of the trilogy “A Scots Quair”, is set in The Mearns (now Aberdeenshire) on the eve of the First World War. Widely regarded as one of Read More