Category Archives: Reviews
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012)
J…A…S…O…N…Jason. B…E…C…K…E…R…Becker. N…O…T…Not. D…E…A…D…Dead. Y…E…T…Yet. In Jason Becker’s world, communication is an arduous affair – a particularly poignant problem for a musical genius of almost unprecedented talent; a man for whom, in the past, making his guitar speak for him
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012)
J…A…S…O…N…Jason. B…E…C…K…E…R…Becker. N…O…T…Not. D…E…A…D…Dead. Y…E…T…Yet. In Jason Becker’s world, communication is an arduous affair – a particularly poignant problem for a musical genius of almost unprecedented talent; a man for whom, in the past, making his guitar speak for him
DESTRICTED (2006)
Porn and the Cannes Film Festival go together like caviar and mother of pearl spoons; a combination of unapologetic indulgence. In 2006 a series of short pornographic films by eight artists called Destricted debuted to much acclaim on the croisette.
DESTRICTED (2006)
Porn and the Cannes Film Festival go together like caviar and mother of pearl spoons; a combination of unapologetic indulgence. In 2006 a series of short pornographic films by eight artists called Destricted debuted to much acclaim on the croisette.
Spoilt For Choice: 56th BFI London Film Festival
Love film? Don’t want to sit on your arse at home watching a dvd? Tickets for October’s 56th annual BFI London Film Festival go on sale for BFI members TODAY (09:30, 14/09/12), meaning that hundreds of your (and our) most
Spoilt For Choice: 56th BFI London Film Festival
Love film? Don’t want to sit on your arse at home watching a dvd? Tickets for October’s 56th annual BFI London Film Festival go on sale for BFI members TODAY (09:30, 14/09/12), meaning that hundreds of your (and our) most
Bowiefest
The good name of David Bowie conjures many different images. Across his several-decade career he has assumed a multitude of different personas, hairstyles and styles; making music, setting trends and becoming an icon. Bowiefest celebrates just one string of many in Bowie’s
Bowiefest
The good name of David Bowie conjures many different images. Across his several-decade career he has assumed a multitude of different personas, hairstyles and styles; making music, setting trends and becoming an icon. Bowiefest celebrates just one string of many in Bowie’s
Swandown (Andrew Kötting, 2012)
According to the press release Swandown (Andrew Kötting, 2012) is a “Dada performance and cultural investigation” – it certainly seems to fuse irreverence with document. The film straddles the documentary/art film divide managing to both capture a certain reality yet
Swandown (Andrew Kötting, 2012)
According to the press release Swandown (Andrew Kötting, 2012) is a “Dada performance and cultural investigation” – it certainly seems to fuse irreverence with document. The film straddles the documentary/art film divide managing to both capture a certain reality yet
Electrick Children
Describing a film as ‘shoegaze’ is a pretty unusual thing to do. It sounds like the film is so bad or so scary that the only place you can look is at your feet. But there just isn’t a suitable
Electrick Children
Describing a film as ‘shoegaze’ is a pretty unusual thing to do. It sounds like the film is so bad or so scary that the only place you can look is at your feet. But there just isn’t a suitable
Thoughts on Shame (Steve McQueen, 2012)
Sitting down in a stiflingly warm, sold out auditorium with fellow audience members averaging 65 years of age to watch Shame (2012), was one of my most affective cinematic experiences of recent years. Driven close to panic several times during
Thoughts on Shame (Steve McQueen, 2012)
Sitting down in a stiflingly warm, sold out auditorium with fellow audience members averaging 65 years of age to watch Shame (2012), was one of my most affective cinematic experiences of recent years. Driven close to panic several times during
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
For those of you lucky enough to be experiencing a film by Wes Anderson for the first time, Moonrise Kingdom (2012) is perhaps his most idiosyncratic, bombastic film, proving either utterly charming or totally twee for the budding ‘Wesbian.’ In
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
For those of you lucky enough to be experiencing a film by Wes Anderson for the first time, Moonrise Kingdom (2012) is perhaps his most idiosyncratic, bombastic film, proving either utterly charming or totally twee for the budding ‘Wesbian.’ In
Nine Films by Luther Price: Thomas Beard and Ed Halter at the LUX/ICA Biennial
“Luther Price is Brakhage after Punk” – Thomas Beard (Light Industry) According to Biennial writer in residence Amy Budd, Luther Price displays a “renegade” attitude towards his chosen medium: 8 and 16mm film. Abusing its surface, he “scratches,” “defaces” and
Nine Films by Luther Price: Thomas Beard and Ed Halter at the LUX/ICA Biennial
“Luther Price is Brakhage after Punk” – Thomas Beard (Light Industry) According to Biennial writer in residence Amy Budd, Luther Price displays a “renegade” attitude towards his chosen medium: 8 and 16mm film. Abusing its surface, he “scratches,” “defaces” and
Friends with Benefits: Ben Rivers at the LUX/ICA Biennial of Moving Images
“This programme is about making films with the good, the unbelievably obliging, and the sometimes long-suffering folk around you” – Ben Rivers Beautifully thought through and yet totally unassuming, Ben Rivers’ Friends with Benefits was a programme that transpired to
Friends with Benefits: Ben Rivers at the LUX/ICA Biennial of Moving Images
“This programme is about making films with the good, the unbelievably obliging, and the sometimes long-suffering folk around you” – Ben Rivers Beautifully thought through and yet totally unassuming, Ben Rivers’ Friends with Benefits was a programme that transpired to
Two Years at Sea (Ben Rivers, 2012)
“Too much exposition is the kind of thing that makes me bored with Hollywood movies (…) I like films that leave a lot to the audience.” - Ben Rivers ‘Slow Cinema’ is a new term that has found purchase in film
Two Years at Sea (Ben Rivers, 2012)
“Too much exposition is the kind of thing that makes me bored with Hollywood movies (…) I like films that leave a lot to the audience.” - Ben Rivers ‘Slow Cinema’ is a new term that has found purchase in film
John Akomfrah and The Black Audio Film Collective: A (Trans)National Treasure
“Each generation necessarily engages in a process of rewriting/reconstituting the past. Film makers have to paint their own landscapes, they must breathe new life into each moment in cinema. That can only be achieved when practitioners have mapped out the
John Akomfrah and The Black Audio Film Collective: A (Trans)National Treasure
“Each generation necessarily engages in a process of rewriting/reconstituting the past. Film makers have to paint their own landscapes, they must breathe new life into each moment in cinema. That can only be achieved when practitioners have mapped out the
Safe (2012) & the Vigilante Film
Safe (Boaz Yakin, 2012) – UK Release 4th May Jason Statham stars as Luke Wright, an ex-supercop turned vigilante, who has 94 mins to beat the living crap out of corrupt cops and NYC mobsters. After a run-in with Russian
Safe (2012) & the Vigilante Film
Safe (Boaz Yakin, 2012) – UK Release 4th May Jason Statham stars as Luke Wright, an ex-supercop turned vigilante, who has 94 mins to beat the living crap out of corrupt cops and NYC mobsters. After a run-in with Russian
The Bad and the Beautiful
Vincente Minnelli’s exploration of Hollywood’s wounded artists in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) is an immensely enjoyable piece of myth-making in line with the film industry’s troubled years in the early 1950s. The film’s use of a multiple-perspective narrative,
The Bad and the Beautiful
Vincente Minnelli’s exploration of Hollywood’s wounded artists in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) is an immensely enjoyable piece of myth-making in line with the film industry’s troubled years in the early 1950s. The film’s use of a multiple-perspective narrative,
Plurarity vs. Polarisation – Battleship (2012)
There are no two ways about it, Battleship (2012) is a very odd film. First there are the obvious things, like the fact it is based on a board game which lacks any narrative context, or the fact that it
Plurarity vs. Polarisation – Battleship (2012)
There are no two ways about it, Battleship (2012) is a very odd film. First there are the obvious things, like the fact it is based on a board game which lacks any narrative context, or the fact that it
The Kid With a Bike/Le Gamin Au Vélo (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2011)
“When one is really alone, objects take on another type of importance” – Pierre Dardenne The Kid With a Bike (2011) does not offer anything in terms of psychological insights, it just shows characters as they react and interact. Cyril
The Kid With a Bike/Le Gamin Au Vélo (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2011)
“When one is really alone, objects take on another type of importance” – Pierre Dardenne The Kid With a Bike (2011) does not offer anything in terms of psychological insights, it just shows characters as they react and interact. Cyril
BFI LLGFF: Gun Hill Road – Intimate Spaces and Identities
Screening of Gun Hill Road (Rashaad Ernesto Green, 2011, USA) Concentrating largely on the family unit, Gun Hill Road follows Enrique’s (Esai Morales) return home after three years in prison to find that his son has begun the process of
BFI LLGFF: Gun Hill Road – Intimate Spaces and Identities
Screening of Gun Hill Road (Rashaad Ernesto Green, 2011, USA) Concentrating largely on the family unit, Gun Hill Road follows Enrique’s (Esai Morales) return home after three years in prison to find that his son has begun the process of
BFI LLGFF: Orchids, My Intersex Adventure – Coming to Terms with Shame
Screening of Orchids, My Intersex Adventure (Phoebe Hart, Australia, 2010) Phoebe Hart grew up ashamed: born part male and part female, she never learned what made her feel so different from the other girls at school until her mother revealed
BFI LLGFF: Orchids, My Intersex Adventure – Coming to Terms with Shame
Screening of Orchids, My Intersex Adventure (Phoebe Hart, Australia, 2010) Phoebe Hart grew up ashamed: born part male and part female, she never learned what made her feel so different from the other girls at school until her mother revealed
Can this get any more contemporary? Girl Walk // All Day (2011)
Mashup musician Gregg Gillis (a.k.a. Girl Talk) released his fifth album, ‘All Day,’ in November 2010 as a free download. This distribution method was made famous by Radiohead who digitally released ‘In Rainbows’ prior to its release on CD and
Can this get any more contemporary? Girl Walk // All Day (2011)
Mashup musician Gregg Gillis (a.k.a. Girl Talk) released his fifth album, ‘All Day,’ in November 2010 as a free download. This distribution method was made famous by Radiohead who digitally released ‘In Rainbows’ prior to its release on CD and
BFI LLGFF: Love Free or Die – An Encounter with Bishop Gene Robinson
Love Free or Die (Macky Alston, USA, 2011), with opening song “The Bishop of New Hampshire” performed by Fingersnap (David McAlmont and Guy Davies), followed by Q&A with Bishop Gene Robinson In close-up: tears surge forth in Bishop Gene Robinson’s
BFI LLGFF: Love Free or Die – An Encounter with Bishop Gene Robinson
Love Free or Die (Macky Alston, USA, 2011), with opening song “The Bishop of New Hampshire” performed by Fingersnap (David McAlmont and Guy Davies), followed by Q&A with Bishop Gene Robinson In close-up: tears surge forth in Bishop Gene Robinson’s
BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival: Thoughts from the Opening Night Gala
Cloudburst (Thom Fitzgerald, Canada, 2011), followed by Q&A with Thom Fitzgerald and actors Brenda Fricker and Ryan Doucette, 23rd March 2012. “I’m not out yet, where I’m from” says a voice a couple of seats away. I just manage to
BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival: Thoughts from the Opening Night Gala
Cloudburst (Thom Fitzgerald, Canada, 2011), followed by Q&A with Thom Fitzgerald and actors Brenda Fricker and Ryan Doucette, 23rd March 2012. “I’m not out yet, where I’m from” says a voice a couple of seats away. I just manage to
“The Difference is Spreading.” Self-Obliteration (1967) Yayoi Kusama/Jud Yalkut
“Kusama’s trademark polka dots are everywhere.” Watching a film as part of a gallery exhibition is problematic at the best of times, let alone at one of the busiest galleries in the country containing one of the most talked about
“The Difference is Spreading.” Self-Obliteration (1967) Yayoi Kusama/Jud Yalkut
“Kusama’s trademark polka dots are everywhere.” Watching a film as part of a gallery exhibition is problematic at the best of times, let alone at one of the busiest galleries in the country containing one of the most talked about
Las Acacias (Pablo Giorgelli, 2011)
“I was writing about my feelings, reflecting on my loneliness, but there was no story. But slowly those ideas started to transform into one, and a journey started taking form” - Pablo Giorelli quoted in Sight and Sound Pablo Giorgelli’s debut
Las Acacias (Pablo Giorgelli, 2011)
“I was writing about my feelings, reflecting on my loneliness, but there was no story. But slowly those ideas started to transform into one, and a journey started taking form” - Pablo Giorelli quoted in Sight and Sound Pablo Giorgelli’s debut
Wes Anderson on the Sidelines, Bottle Rocket (1996)
“In a climate where coolness reigns and nothing matters, the toughest stance to take is one of engagement and empathy.” Anticipation for Wes Anderson’s new film Moonrise Kingdom (2012) is reaching stratospheric heights since the announcement that it will be
Wes Anderson on the Sidelines, Bottle Rocket (1996)
“In a climate where coolness reigns and nothing matters, the toughest stance to take is one of engagement and empathy.” Anticipation for Wes Anderson’s new film Moonrise Kingdom (2012) is reaching stratospheric heights since the announcement that it will be
All Eyes on Haydée. La Collectionneuse (Eric Rohmer, 1967)
Eric Rohmer’s La Collectionneuse (1967) is the fourth movie in his Contes moraux (Six Moral Tales) series. The film follows a womanising art dealer Adrian (Patrick Bauchau) and his painter friend Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) as they go away for a
All Eyes on Haydée. La Collectionneuse (Eric Rohmer, 1967)
Eric Rohmer’s La Collectionneuse (1967) is the fourth movie in his Contes moraux (Six Moral Tales) series. The film follows a womanising art dealer Adrian (Patrick Bauchau) and his painter friend Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) as they go away for a
A Useful Life (Federico Veiroj, 2012)
“A Useful Life is a moving, pawkily funny movie about the end of an era, not quite the death of cinema, but a change in public taste that makes a certain kind of serious, dedicated cinephilia a thing of the
A Useful Life (Federico Veiroj, 2012)
“A Useful Life is a moving, pawkily funny movie about the end of an era, not quite the death of cinema, but a change in public taste that makes a certain kind of serious, dedicated cinephilia a thing of the
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
Days of Heaven (1978) is as sensual and as cinematic an experience as any cineaste is likely to desire. Terrence Malick’s tendency for creating experience through the weaving of image, music and sound is as mature and as accomplished in
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
Days of Heaven (1978) is as sensual and as cinematic an experience as any cineaste is likely to desire. Terrence Malick’s tendency for creating experience through the weaving of image, music and sound is as mature and as accomplished in
Patience (After Sebald) – Grant Gee Q&A at the Watershed, Bristol – Feb 2012
“You don’t get films that creep up on you in that way normally” – Jarvis Cocker (BBC 6music 12/02/12) On Friday 10th February, 2012 The Watershed in partnership with Encounters Film Festival and NBCQ (New British Cinema Quarterly) hosted a
Patience (After Sebald) – Grant Gee Q&A at the Watershed, Bristol – Feb 2012
“You don’t get films that creep up on you in that way normally” – Jarvis Cocker (BBC 6music 12/02/12) On Friday 10th February, 2012 The Watershed in partnership with Encounters Film Festival and NBCQ (New British Cinema Quarterly) hosted a
