Gimme Danger review: This documentary charting the success of The Stooges is a tribute to true outsiders November 17, 2016 Jim Jarmusch directs this portrait of The Stooges, told through animated archive footage and interviews with the remaining members. It explores the notorious live gigs, frontman Iggy Pop’s counter-culture mystique, and their eventual acceptance as music pioneers. Rockumentaries tread a thin line between celebration and investigation; too critical, and you risk losing the fan base [...]
Indignation review: A moody but glacially slow Philip Roth adaptation November 17, 2016 The normally wide-eyed young actor Logan Lerman gets cynical for this 50s drama. He plays Marcus, a gifted but self-isolating college student from Newark dealing with life and relationships against the backdrop of the Korean War. Like last week's American Pastoral, Indignation is an adaptation of a Phillip Roth novel made by a first time [...]
In Pursuit of Silence: a blissfully quiet film about our noisy world October 20, 2016 This intriguing, quiet documentary explores the effect our noisy society has on our well-being. Filmmaker Patrick Shen talks to various, disparate people including monks, authors and explorers to discuss the benefits of having space to reflect. Initially feeling like a pitch for a wellness retreat, his film actually opens up an interesting discussion about how [...]
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children review: Tim Burton returns to form with this surprisingly visceral adventure September 30, 2016 Tim Burton returns to big budget studio films with this Narnia-esque story. Asa Butterfield plays a young man who discovers a school of supernatural children whom he must protect from a vicious evil. Visually sumptuous and surprisingly grisly, the film’s flourishes gloss over a story that doesn’t go anywhere unexpected. Eva Green’s ornate, pipe-smoking title [...]
The Free State of Jones review: This overly long and indecisive war flick goes nowhere and amounts to little September 30, 2016 Matthew McConaughey’s Free State of Jones was one of the surprise disappointments of the summer over in the US. The Oscar winner plays Newton Knight, a disillusioned Confederate soldier in the American Civil War who returns home and rebels against his former comrades, creating a “Free State”. Coming in at a two hours and 20 [...]
Swiss Army Man review: Daniel Radcliffe dumps over his wizard legacy from the greatest possible height September 29, 2016 The first thing Daniel Radcliffe did after he finished being Harry Potter was flash his junk in Equus, and ever since then he’s been upping the ante, scaling ever greater heights from whence he can shit on his wizarding legacy. He played a jerk version of himself in BoJack Horseman, he threw Nazi salutes in [...]
The Magnificent Seven: This weak Western lacks true grit September 22, 2016 Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven was always going to face significant challenges. Remaking not one but two classics, it also has to buck the trend of recent big budget westerns that have badly flopped. Nevertheless, the Training Day director has some impressive hired guns. Denzel Washington takes the lead as Sam Chisolm, a bounty hunter [...]
De Palma review: An incisive and revealing doc about the director’s best, and worst, work September 22, 2016 In this documentary, two young filmmakers interview the great Brian De Palma about his career, philosophies, and the often frustrating business of working with Hollywood, from his early days making avant garde and disturbing thrillers, to hits like Carrie, Scarface and Mission: Impossible. De Palma is disarmingly honest about his failures, often bemused by his [...]
Imperium review: Racist Harry Potter is the most remarkable thing about this undercover drama September 22, 2016 Ever wanted to hear Harry Potter utter every racist epithet under the sun? In Imperium, Daniel Radcliffe shaves his head and gets rowdy as an FBI agent going undercover to find out the full extent of the threat from White Supremacist terror groups in America. However you feel about potty-mouthed Potter, it’s jarring to see [...]
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week review: Ron Howard has made the definitive Beatles documentary September 16, 2016 Eight Days A Week is a fascinating look at a vital few years in the story of The Fab Four, covering their initial success, Beatlemania, and the unprecedented American success that caught a country unawares. Films about The Beatles often struggle to capture why they made such an impact. In Ron Howard's film archive footage [...]
