Journey’s End The true horrors of war feature in the somber WWI film, Journey’s End. The movies tells the story of a company led by the war-weary Captain Stanhope (Sam Claflin), waiting to take its turn in the front-line trenches in northern France. A German offensive is imminent and the officers (played by Paul Bettany,…
Watching Boy Erased is hard work. It’s a downbeat look at a religious doctrine absolutely committed to outlawing homosexuality. You pity the poor souls who face indoctrination aimed at exorcising what is regarded as a vile sin. Boy Erased tells the true story of Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in…
As the director of delicate human dramas like Call Me by Your Name, Luca Guadagnino probably wasn’t the obvious choice to direct a remake of Dario Argento’s blood-spattered cult favourite, Suspiria (1977). But that’s exactly what he’s done and the results are impressive. Guadagnino hasn’t gone for a straight remake. This is a marked departure…
The future world looks fairly simplistic. Mankind has been transformed into a superficial society in which the truly kindhearted population has nestled in one or another oasis, while the riotous part indulges in looting and hanging out in a striptease/dance temple or drug centers. Also choosing names will be simpler in that period, as it…
Rah-rah! American heroes save the world from destruction in Hunter Killer. A hunter-killer is a vessel, especially a submarine, equipped to locate and destroy enemy vessels, including other submarines. Deep beneath the icy surface of the Arctic Circle, the Cold War never really ended. Here, at extreme depths invisible to the rest of the world,…
Masterfully constructed, Wildlife is an independent film with real bite. It plays out as a tripartite coming-of-age story. It’s small town America – Montana – in the 1960s. Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould) is 14 years of age. His parents – Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) and Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) – are about to face a major shift…
Apart from some exaggerated teeth, Bohemian Rhapsody is an absorbing biopic of a man, his music and a complicated life. That man is of course Freddie Mercury, a supremely talented show pony. He fronted one of the most successful rock bands of all time in Queen and the film’s title is highly appropriate for what…
There are films that aren’t much of a story and still leave a certain impression. The same applies to Thoroughbreds where two teenage girls, each with a specific personality disorder, come up with a plan to kill someone. The two haven’t seen each other for a long time – an eternity in which much has…
Three recent drama school graduates – Katie Cawthorne, Jessica Arthur and Laura Lethlean – formed The Anchor company to produce theatre work. Over the past year they have developed this 60-minute play, Two Hearts. It comes from their experiences of past personal relationships and their perception of how important the small details of their relationships…
I defy you to try to make sense of Ghost Stories. The central character is Professor Philip Goodman (Andy Nyman), a renowned sceptic. Most unexpectedly, his idol, psychologist Charles Cameron – who had mysteriously disappeared – sends Goodman a message that he wants to see him. When Goodman rocks up, a curmudgeonly Cameron reveals he…
