For anyone who had a reasonably good time at high school, the memories remain romanticised. The simultaneous frustration of wanting to escape and the overwhelming sorrow at a poignant chapter coming to a close, it remains bittersweet. It’s no surprise that so many teen movies conclude with graduation ceremonies – a hopeful and uncertain time. … Continue reading
It’s not very often that a film is so striking, so complex and so delicious that attempting to write a review of it proves overwhelming. Where am I supposed to start with reviewing Jordan Peele’s Us? The director’s follow up to his 2017 debut confirms the true, consistent talents of Peele, undoubtedly a horror film … Continue reading
Bleak and brilliant, Ray & Liz opens with scenes from a fly-infested council-flat bedroom where a man resides – sleeping, smoking, drinking, but never leaving. He passes the time looking out the window and listening to the radio. This is Ray, alcohol-dependant and isolated. These scenes make up one third of Richard Billingham’s Ray & … Continue reading
In early 2017, I saw and reviewed Moonlight – Barry Jenkins’ remarkable coming of age story about sexuality, poverty and masculinity. Almost two years later, to the day, I am sitting down to review the directors’ next film, If Beale Street Could Talk. American movie romance doesn’t come much more sublime than this. Director Barry Jenkins … Continue reading
With less than 2,000 residents, Christmas Island – an Australian territory located in the Indonesian Ocean – has a detention centre where thousands of individuals are held indefinitely. As well as these facilities, the island is also known for its annual red crab migration, in which over 40 million crabs make their journey to the … Continue reading
2018 has been a rather disappointing year for my personal cinema expeditions. With the exception of The Shape of Water, award season was a collection of deflated disappointments with the likes of Lady Bird, Three Billboards and I, Tonya all leaving me a little let down in their mere adequacy. The most unexpected treats of … Continue reading
A year of countless trips to the cinema involves many a disappointment, with 2018 proving no less cinematically woeful than others. This year, duds were released not only on the big screen but on VOD platforms too. Now, audiences have the (dis)pleasure of being bored to death, angered and let down by new releases from … Continue reading
With astonishing access to a truly horrifying issue, A Woman Captured is as astounding as a directorial debut gets. Formerly a film school student in Budapest, Bernadett Tuza-Ritter embarks on an emotional journey with house slave Marish, who has resided with an abusive family for over a decade. Tuza-Ritter’s access is the most remarkable element of the … Continue reading
Sean McAllister returned to his hometown of Hull in 2017 after being appointed Creative Director of City of Culture. Residing back with his parents after years spent all over the world making award winning documentaries, McAllister now faced a new kind of challenge. Over the course of the year McAllister would attempt to engage his … Continue reading
Crystal Moselle’s follow up to debut The Wolfpack is being praised as a docudrama-hybrid; a scripted, fictional narrative woven into the director’s real-life experiences with an all-female Manhattan skate collective. Loner Camille, lives an isolated existence across the water in Long Island. In the film’s opening minutes Camille is already in hospital after an eye-watering skating accident. … Continue reading
Reel Insights 