Jason Wingard’s British comedy Eaten By Lions follows teenage brothers Omar and Pete as they head to Blackpool in search of Omar’s absent father. Starring Antonio Aakeel as Omar and comedian Jack Carroll as Pete, the supporting cast includes comic greats Johnny Vegas, Asim Chaudhry and Tom Binns. A hilarious and sharp take on family in modern Britain,… INTERVIEW: Eaten By Lions director Jason Wingard: “comedy thrives when the performers are taking chances” Read More
Fighting With My Family – 1 Minute Video Review Includes Video 4 stars
Read the full Fighting With My Family review Cast / director interviews, film clips and images
Hereditary 4 stars
A creaky floorboard and a clicking tongue. Two sounds you don’t want to hear when you’re alone in the house and the only tongue clicker you know of is your dead sister. “I never wanted to be your mother” Annie says to her teenage son Peter (Alex Wolff), “it wasn’t my fault and I tried… Hereditary Read More
Bird Box 3 stars
A stern and cold-voiced woman tells two 5 year olds named Boy and Girl that they’re going on a dangerous journey and if they don’t do what she says she will hurt them. It’s a frightening opening to this film about motherhood, not just because of the calamity it hints at but also because this… Bird Box Read More
Sometimes Always Never (London Film Festival) 4 stars
Finally, a story about the beautiful game that isn’t boring or dependent on stereotypical ideas of its players. Yes, I’m talking about Scrabble. Set near Liverpool in the North West, director Carl Hunter’s delightful film is witty and moving – and beautifully written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (with whom Hunter has collaborated previously on the shorts… Sometimes Always Never (London Film Festival) Read More
Jessica Hynes On Freedom In Filmmaking & Her “Kurosawa Scene”
Jessica Hynes, writer and star of Channel 4 comedy Spaced and star of W1A and The Royle Family (among many, many other shows and movies), has recently directed her first feature film, the micro budget seaside-set family drama The Fight. The movie follows frazzled mum Tina who takes up boxing when she’s forced to find ways to acknowledge… Jessica Hynes On Freedom In Filmmaking & Her “Kurosawa Scene” Read More
The Fight (London Film Festival) 3.5 stars
*** I chatted to Jessica Hynes at the London Film Festival – check it out here *** There are plenty of altercations in Jessica Hynes’ directorial debut, both internal and physical; as mum Tina fights her past and her resultant self-worth to stand up and take control, by climbing through the ropes into the boxing ring. Boxing is… The Fight (London Film Festival) Read More
Etruscan Smile (Boston Film Festival) 3.5 stars
Most of the characters in The Etruscan Smile are stuck in their ways, though Emily (Thora Birch) – who could easily be the most caricatured of all, with her diarised mothering, “autonomous baby”, and cry-it-out sleep training – is actually the one most prepared to accept she might have made a mistake. Her husband Ian (JJ… Etruscan Smile (Boston Film Festival) Read More
Anchor And Hope 3.5 stars
“Is it in?” Roger enquires as they try to make a baby. But in this witty and sometimes exhausting drama of emotions, this is a role reversal. Kat is trying to inseminate her partner Eva with her friend Roger’s sperm via a syringe, while Roger is in the other room. Loads of babies are conceived… Anchor And Hope Read More
The Incredibles 4 stars
“Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don’t think so. I don’t think so…” says Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), and The Incredibles movies (the sequel, made 14 years on but set immediately after the end of this movie, is out now) always manage to turn expected Superheroics on its head. Above all, The… The Incredibles Read More
Family Games 3.5 stars
“Wouldn’t it be perfect if it rained” says Sloane to her boyfriend Barrett as a taxi takes them to her dad’s isolated woodland home before his remarriage the next day. Barrett has the good grace to look uncomfortable over Sloane’s bitchiness. For her this trip is not about celebrating nuptials, putting a brave face on… Family Games Read More
Coco 4 stars
Coco is an extraordinary feast for the eyes, and rather a delight for the ears too. It’s a deliciously colourful experience, from the prettily embroidered dresses of the women in 12 year old Miguel’s family; to the glowing candles and orange marigolds filling the graveyard on the Day Of The Dead; to the Land Of… Coco Read More