Tag: Cinema
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Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
Never. Rarely. Sometimes. Always: A multiple choice many will be familiar with in some form or another. These are the typical options that face anyone being asked to assess their mental and physical wellbeing in a medical setting. These words can appear anywhere from a dentist surgery form to a direct question from a therapist.…
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My Favourite Films of 2019.
This year, documentaries, horror films and adaptations of classic American literature all make it into my top ten. Following on from Get Out, Jordan Peele exceeded all expectations with the astonishing, original and confident Us. It’s closely followed at the top of my list by Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart which hit a painful, truthful nerve as well…
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For Sama.
Reviewing documentaries is a very different beast to reviewing fiction. There are different considerations to be taken when attempting to weigh up the positive and negative qualities of a documentary film. Attempting to review For Sama is a whole separate challenge. Where to start with this compelling, horrifying, masterful movie? Director Waad Al-Kateab filmed many…
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In Fabric.
Infamous for the intensity his film’s exude, Peter Strickland returns with In Fabric – following his critically acclaimed Dukes of Burgundy and Berberian Sound Studio. Though different in subject, all of his films overflow with an evident love of cinema, with Strickland having proved himself a master of bringing together the technical elements that make his films so…
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Booksmart.
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.…
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Us.
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…
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Ray & Liz
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 &…
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If Beale Street Could Talk.
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…
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Island of the Hungry Ghosts.
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…
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My Favourite Films of 2018.
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…
Hannah McHaffie 