When Martha and Sean’s baby dies shortly after her home birth, the months that follow see relationships around her fracture as Martha tries to navigate her grief. When Martha goes into labour, she and her husband Sean find their chosen midwife stuck with another birthing mother. They’re sent Eva instead, an unexpected development but not… Pieces Of A Woman Read More
The Midnight Sky 3.5 stars
A scientist in the Arctic trying to contact a spaceship to warn them of a disaster back on Earth must travel to another base with the small girl he’s looking after. This is another apocalyptic film that doesn’t really explain what is happening to the world, something I find very frustrating. I always want to… The Midnight Sky Read More
Greenland 4 stars
As a comet heads to Earth, a family tries to make their way to safety in Greenland. Despite the early Greenland trailers heralding something out of the ’90s (and how many of us expected Gerard Butler to stab the comet in the head before telling it to “go back to Alpha fucking Centauri”?) the film… Greenland Read More
Relic: it’s coming from inside the house!
Very spoilery article, once you’ve recovered from watching the film… (my review is here) In many ways Relic is a classic horror film, part haunted house and part demonic possession. But it’s also about family and memories, and how dementia and ageing can snatch away that which feels most valuable to us, that we most… Relic: it’s coming from inside the house! Read More
An American Pickle 4 stars
An immigrant worker at a pickle factory is accidentally preserved for 100 years and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn. An absurdist and enormously entertaining takedown of both cancel culture and cancel “cancel culture” culture, An American Pickle is about reconnecting with one’s history in a world that hasn’t really changed as much as we… An American Pickle Read More
Impetigore 3.5 stars
Realising that she might inherit a property from the rich family she’s never met, Maya returns to her home village with best friend Dini – unaware of the danger waiting for her. Maya, the heroine of new Indonesian folk-horror Impetigore, goes on quite the journey – starting off a a classic horror victim, she tries… Impetigore Read More
Perfect 10 gets a release date & a new trailer
It’s available from Friday 7 August on Curzon Home Cinema and BFI Player. Perfect 10 is the debut feature film from Eva Riley, whose short film Patriot competed for the Short Feature Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Leigh, an aspiring teen gymnast who lives with her neglectful father, has her world is turned upside down with the… Perfect 10 gets a release date & a new trailer Read More
3 Teaspoons Of Sugar (Short Film) Short Film 3.5 stars
In a household where mealtimes are for celebration, fellowship and good eating, three members of this tight-knit family are diagnosed with diabetes over the years. Animated short 3 Teaspoons Of Sugar is an informative health message warmly wrapped in a witty tale about South African family relationships. That setting isn’t just a way of delivering… 3 Teaspoons Of Sugar (Short Film) 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
Impetigore trailer: do you really know your family?
*** My review and article are now live *** Impetigore, the upcoming horror from Satan’s Slaves director Joko Anwar, now has a trailer – and “blood-soaked” seems like an understatement. If you’re generally sanguine about the weirder members of your family, check it out below. Maya (Tara Basro), doing her best to survive in the… Impetigore trailer: do you really know your family? Read More
Astronaut 4 stars
A lonely widower battles his family, ill health and time to win a competition for a golden ticket to space. One of the reasons I love films about older people fulfilling their desires is that they make me feel, at 49, like I still have time to achieve something – anything! – before my time… Astronaut Read More
My Spy 2.5 stars
A CIA operative is given the job of surveilling a single mother and her young daughter Sophie in their apartment block – but the tween quickly works out what’s going on… JJ (Dave Bautista) may be ex-Forces with military commendations as long as his bicep circumference, but as a spy he’s on the ropes with… My Spy Read More