During a particularly treacherous thunderstorm in rural Wales, a series of travellers are forced to seek refuge in an eerie and isolated house. Their hosts are an elderly eccentric pair of siblings and their mute brute of a butler. As the night unfolds, the stranded party realise that the house […]
Movies & Documentaries
La Chinoise (1967) More fun than the dry, doctrinaire Godard it is accused of being (Review)
There’s no greater feeling of kinship than learning someone shares your hot take, so let’s start this review of Arrow Academy’s Blu-Ray of La Chinoise by praising one of the extras – a great, informative, witty discussion of the film by Denitza Bantcheva. Listening to Bantcheva, I finally felt like […]
Pyewacket (2017) Black Magic Rituals, Demons and Character led Horror (Review)
Horror films take another trip to the woods, this time in Canada courtesy of Adam MacDonald’s Pyewacket. Leah and her mother have recently lost her father, and they move to a house in the middle of a local forest to make a fresh start. Their relationship has deteriorated since Leah’s […]
Sleeping Dogs (1977) a dystopia so stark it makes Mad Max look like Mad Max: Fury Road (Review)
The first time my uncle heard of a club putting on a 1970s nostalgia night, he was stunned. He’d lived through the decade and had no plans to revisit it. If they want a true taste of Britain in the ’70s, he said, someone should go and cut the power […]
An Actor’s Revenge (1963) Pays thoughtful homage to Japanese theatre’s Kabuki history (Review)
It’s late Edo-period Japan. An acting troupe from Osaka has arrived in the capital city to perform. Thieves and pickpockets stalk their prey among the paying audience, while merchants and aristocrats watch from the balcony seats. Yukinojo, a slightly paunchy onnagata (kabuki actor who plays female roles), sits centre stage, […]
ReBorn (2016) Tak Sakaguchi’s return is a case of mixed blessings (Review)
Tak Sakaguchi retiring was a bit of a running joke once upon a time, with news reports flipping sides on a near-daily basis. “Today he isn’t retiring, tomorrow he is”. Unfortunately, the ‘speed master’, friend of Sion Sono, and surprisingly good actor within the martial arts community faded from our […]
Shirley: Visions of Reality (2013) A Beautiful, Off-Kilter recreation of Edward Hopper’s Painting (Review)
In his book Which Lie Did I Tell?, William Goldman offered a typically pugnacious definition of the difference between a director and a cinematographer: “You say to your cinematographer, ‘I want this to look like a Hopper painting’, and you pray he can do it.” The choice of Edward Hopper […]
Beyond the Woods (2018) Irish Low-Budget Horror whose characters trump all (Review)
Seven Irish friends get together for a weekend at an isolated house in the middle of the woods. They have chosen a pretty bad time to do so, because a couple of miles away a large sinkhole has opened up, and the air smells strongly of sulphur. But that’s the […]
Hotel Salvation (2017) a respectful, tender exploration of old age and dying (Review)
It’s not easy being an independent film-maker anywhere in the world, but spare a thought for Indian directors outside the system. This should be their time: films like Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court have cleaned up at international film festivals, while directors like Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur), Vishal Bhardwaj (Omkara) and R. […]
Shiraz: A Romance of India (1928) Indian Silent Film whose strengths lie in its romantic story (Review)
When I discuss the golden era of silent film with friends, many adjectives come to mind that describes the movies made in this period. What words can I use, I think to myself? Is it ‘timeless’? ‘Beautiful’? ‘Masterful’? All these adjectives imply that every silent film is perfect and pure […]