A severely injured man and woman awake in an abandoned sanitarium only to discover that a sadistic caretaker holds the keys to their freedom and the horrific answers as to their real identity. The premise is simple, the cast small: a young man (Thomas Cocquerel) and young woman (Camille Stopps), both nameless, wake up next… Alive Read More
The Epic of Everest 4 stars
The official record of Britain’s 1924 Everest expedition, and Mallory and Irvine’s summit attempt. To the explorer, an intertitle card tell us, Everest is “the last of the world’s great lodestones of romance and adventure.” The Epic of Everest was filmed in 1924, nearly 30 years before the mountain was finally conquered, but it’s still… The Epic of Everest Read More
Why Don’t You Just Die 4.5 stars
Matvey has just one objective: to gain entry to his girlfriend’s parents’ apartment and kill her father Andrey with a hammer to restore her honour. But Matvey’s attempts to bludgeon the family patriarch to death don’t quite go to plan as Andrey proves a more formidable opponent than he anticipated… and Matvey, for his part,… Why Don’t You Just Die Read More
Snowpiercer 4 stars
In a future where a failed climate-change experiment has killed all life except for the lucky few who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, a new class system emerges. You can’t get more uber-Lockdown than Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho’s electrifying, horrifying and witty 2013 thriller about an uprising on board a luxury… Snowpiercer Read More
Porno 4 stars
It’s 1992 and four repressed religious teens and a straight-edge projectionist working at a small-town cinema discover a secret screening room filled with vintage exploitation films. Playing one of the old film reels unleashes a demon named Lilith, who attempts to seduce each of them in order to steal their souls. In a film about… Porno Read More
Blood Quantum 3.5 stars
The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’gMaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are immune to the zombie plague. Watching zombie movies in lockdown is a rollercoaster business. On the one hand, phew we’re safe at home! On the other, oh shit the fuckers are breaking in…. Blood Quantum Read More
Butt Boy 3.5 stars
After a child goes missing, a newly sober detective suspects that his sponsor has a super power that makes animals, objects, and humans disappear in his butt. *** Read my interview with writer / director / star Tyler Cornack *** As Sherlock Holmes said, “When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains,… Butt Boy Read More
Blue Story 4 stars
When Marco is beaten up by one of Timmy’s primary school friends the two boys wind up on rival sides of a never-ending cycle of postcode gang war in which there are no winners, only victims. This is a lyrical, polished yet unflinching film, that delivers the truth about the cycles that drive gang culture… Blue Story Read More
Playing With Fire 2 stars
When firefighter Jake Carson and his team rescue three siblings in the path of a wildfire, they quickly realise that no amount of training could have prepared them for their most challenging job yet – babysitting. This movie – about an uptight smokejumper who ends up caring for three children he saves from a burning… Playing With Fire Read More
The Iron Mask 2 stars
In the 18th century, English traveller and cartographer Jonathan Green journeys from Russia to China encountering dragons, black magic wizardry and a dragon king during an incredible but deadly adventure. Imagine a slapstick comedy with Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger hamming it up as prisoner and gaoler in Regency London, combined with a children’s adventure mystery as… The Iron Mask Read More
Storm Boy 3 stars
When Michael Kingley, a retired businessman, sees images from his past that he can’t explain, he is forced to recall his childhood memories and how, as a boy, he rescued and raised an orphaned pelican, Mr Percival. Arriving just in time for our locked-down Easter holidays, this film about self-isolation, loneliness, and our enduring connections to… Storm Boy Read More
Vivarium (London Film Festival 2019) 4 stars
A young couple looking for the perfect home find themselves trapped in a mysterious labyrinth-like neighborhood of identical houses. *** Read my interview with Vivarium director Lorcan Finnegan *** Everyone has their own line in the sand which they will not cross when it comes to settling down. Mine is those massive white canvasses with… Vivarium (London Film Festival 2019) Read More
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