What would you do if you ran into an ex-partner at a supermarket? In Blue Jay, Jim (Mark Duplass) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson), two high school sweethearts catch up on old times, after they see each other in a grocery store. It’s clear these two have a troubled history. This film is quick to generate our interest. […]
Read more
Pure black comedy mixed with crime, murder and mayhem: welcome to Fargo. This film is another winner by the Coen Brothers, two directors that I love. Masters of offbeat, low-key cinema, they always know how to reinvent the wheel. Set in 80s Minnesota, Fargo starts off by telling the audience that what you’re about to see is based […]
Read more
Guns, gangs and free-for-all action in a Reservoir Dogs style setting: this is a bloodthirsty action-comedy. Just the way I like it. Set in 1970s Boston, Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire is about a gun deal gone horribly wrong. Irish mobsters, Chris (Cillian Murphy) and Frank (Michael Smiley) lead their pack of goons to an abandoned warehouse, to […]
Read more
This festive-themed road movie, Hector has the spirit of Ken Loach hanging over it. It’s a social realist drama with Peter Mullan at the centre. He plays the titular Hector, a homeless man from Glasgow, seeking to reconnect with his family. I stumbled across this low budget British film on Netflix and I thoroughly enjoyed the warmth […]
Read more
After just five minutes into La La Land, I was certain that I was going to hate it. The large ensemble number, titled “Another Day in the Sun” opens the film, with numerous people jumping out of their cars, singing and dancing on a busy L.A freeway. I normally keep my distance from musicals, but I decided to give La […]
Read more
There’s little more that can be done with the ‘let’s make a band’ formula, but John Carney manages to create something really special with Sing Street. It’s a funny, lively, utterly brilliant coming-of-age story set in 1985 Dublin. It focuses on young Conor “Cosmo” Lawlor, who starts a rock band to impress a girl. This is a […]
Read more
If you think back to your childhood, there was probably a time where you found something in the woods that you thought was really cool, like an unusual object, or an old swing rope across a river. But in Watt’s film, rebellious boys Travis (Freedosn-Jackson) and Harrison (Wellford) find a cop car. Better yet, the […]
Read more
Pleasantly funny, unassuming and strangely compelling, are some of the ways I would describe Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Waititi delivers a light comedy-drama, that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Dennison portrays Ricky Baker, a rebellious young boy who gets sent to live with a couple on a remote farm in the New Zealand countryside. Chaos ensues […]
Read more
Robert De Niro is back in the ring in biopic Hands of Stone. This time though, he portrays legendary trainer Ray Arcel, who comes out of retirement to coach Panamanian boxer, Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez). Ferocious and merciless, Duran is a natural fighter and after scoring a string of knockouts, he prepares for a fight with Sugar […]
Read more
Romantic Comedies. I generally try and avoid them, but every now and again a good one comes along. Enter Crazy, Stupid Love… Steve Carell plays Cal Weaver, a middle-aged man who learns that his wife (Julianne Moore), wants a divorce after fifteen years of marriage. Shocked and heart-broken, Carl finds himself alone but eager to meet […]
Read more
In typical Marvel fashion, Ant-Man is another entertaining, action-packed, and an extremely likeable superhero flick. The film follows skilled thief, Scott Lang as he is recruited by the former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), to take on the persona of Ant-Man. The suit allows its wearer to harness its shrinking powers, superhuman abilities, and to control and […]
Read more
Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrays the accomplished high wire artist Philippe Petit, who gained notoriety for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974. This is a masterful film. The Walk makes us feels as though we are following Petite’s every step along the wire, thousands of feet above the ground. The film […]
Read more
Motion Picture Blog 