Mention the name Joe Dante, and some of the films that immediately spring to mind include Gremlins. Explorers and Innerspace. However, few people mention his sublime 1993 homage to cinema ‘Matinee’. A film that joyously celebrated the power of the big screen; the end of innocence and final years of monster driven exploitation filmmaking. While taking inspiration from the real …
Placing Charles Dickens classic novel David Copperfield into the hands of Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin), may sound rather audacious. But Iannucci’s love of all things Dickens found itself highlighted back in 2012. With the fabulous BBC documentary ‘Armando’s Tale of Charles Dickens‘. In which the writer/director explored Dickens work with contemporary social eye. While equally focussing on the …
Do you remember the long summer holidays away from school at the tender age of 15? For many of us we now look back at this time through the rose tinted specs of adulthood. But the truth is these breaks were often painful, disappointing and challenging for both the us and our parent/s. Our hormonal confusion and desire for freedom …
This review is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Vertigo Releasing While the thematic base of Alex Thompson’s debut feature film ‘Saint Frances’ may sit within familiar ground; the disillusionment of thirty-something life. His film transcends the usual comedy/drama tropes, by embracing a frank, honest and loving exploration of the female experience. While layering this with a …
Despite featuring some of the finest on screen talent of recent years, the latest film from Woody Allen ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ is a decidedly damp affair. Its narrative combining a mix of 1950s nostalgia, 1980s affluence and his trademark whimsey alongside a 21st Century backdrop. Ultimately creating a film that feels both disconnected and distant; a relic …
The 1990s offered a period of large scale change in both the U.K and Ireland, as the social structures of the 80s were challenged by a newly emerging social confidence. In Britain this led to the birth of Brit Pop and political change, while across the Irish Sea young people began to question the beliefs of their parents, government and …
Waves batter an isolated rock, while hungry gulls circle for their next meal. The beaming torch of the barnacled lighthouse providing safety for travelling sailors. While its thick stone walls hold two ‘wickies’ prisoners of the sea. Their relentless maintenance and isolation surrounded by empty bottles of booze. As both men search for meaning and purpose beyond the light of …
You know you are in for a bonkers ride when a film opens with quotes relating to fatherhood from Shakespeare and Beyoncé. Two figures you would hardly place in the same literary class when it comes to their views on life. However, this mix of classic and contemporary sums up New Zealand director Ant Timpson’s debut feature ‘Come to Daddy’. …
This film review is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Breaking Glass Pictures Fresh from the 2019 TIFF and Sundance film festival, filmmaker Fernando Grostein Andrade brings us a sweet exploration of cultural and gastronomic fusion. In a film that follows a simple yet nuanced narrative, encompassing themes of both individual and social identity. As we follow …
We can only imagine the scene at the Warner Brothers offices back in 1983/84. When Steven Spielberg pitched a new film to nervous executives desperate for the Spielberg magic in box office revenues. After all, this was a director who continued to push the boundaries of filmmaking. With E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jaws …