The Velvet Underground

At times harrowing, at times sweet, director Todd Haynes’ lead on this documentary film effectively recreates the sensory overload of a Velvet Underground record. Haynes’ filmography is not shy of experimental musician biopics and documentaries, including I’m Not There (2007) and Sonic Youth: Disappearer (1990). In this instance, the techniques used often submerge the viewer into the avant-garde and counter-culture lifestyles depicted for the film’s larger part to hypnotising and evocative effect.

Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise

(UK, 2016) 31st October – 3rd November, DCA  Originally aired on BBC 4 in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Mark Cousins’ Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise is now touring small cinemas across the UK. Cousins, perhaps best known for his ambitious fifteen-hour long project The Story of Film: Read More

Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years

(USA, 2016) 15th -17th September, DCA   As I walked into the cinema, the first thing that struck me was the wide range of ages that were present, all eagerly waiting to see the new Beatles documentary. Even after fifty years, four working-class lads from Liverpool prove just as important and have retained the ability Read More

Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD

Irreverence isn’t a tone I often expect of documentaries, but it’s one that perfectly describes Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD. Detailing the history of Britain’s celebrated science fiction comic book, 2000 AD, the film aims to capture the subversive, almost anarchic quality of its inception in the late ‘70s, drawing explicit connections to the Read More

We Are Many

It is difficult to remain objective in reviewing certain films, not least when they are documentaries concerning the foreign policy your country’s leaders have pursued over the past fifteen years in defiance of the public’s expressions of disapproval in their actions. But let us try nonetheless. The film’s director, Amir Amirani, has worked on We Read More

Cobain: Montage of Heck

Montage of Heck opens with a recording of Kurt Cobain’s disembodied voice inviting the audience to view a rare insight into his life: “Hey, I want to show you something.” Interviewing close friends and family only, very few voices are heard, presenting an intimate portrait of the punk-rock idol. With Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic introduced Read More