Tag: Movie Review
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The Judge.
When charismatic lawyer Hank Palmer learns of his mother’s passing, he finds himself back in the town in which he grew up. Hank seems haunted by the town’s simplistic nature and its lack of change. He has happy memories of this place but they are overshadowed by his broken relationship with his father. Hank has…
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Fury.
War is ghastly. We already know this but Fury is determined to drive the message home. Its grizzly depiction of life for American soldiers fighting in Nazi controlled Germany in 1945 reaffirms the horror of war and the unfathomable trauma it leaves on those “lucky” enough to survive it. Fury continues to portray the violence and…
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’71.
Set amidst The Troubles, ’71 is a tale of survival. What begins as a story about a platoon, who are posted to Belfast in an attempt to support the people living on some of the effected streets of Northern Ireland, soon turns into the story of one individual and his struggle to survive on the…
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The Wicker Man (2006).
There is something majestically terrible about Neil LaBute’s The Wicker Man. It is undoubtedly the worst American horror-remake to ever be made, making a conscious effort to highlight references to Robin Hardy’s sensational original but simultaneously pushing aside everything that made its predecessor so unique and artistic. The action is moved from rural Scotland to a…
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Gone Girl.
David Fincher, with all his versatility and boldness, demonstrates his cinematic mastery in his perfectly paced and equally eerie thriller, Gone Girl. Fincher’s return to the screen seems to have come out of nowhere. Gone Girl is one of those triumphant and surprising gems that often arrives unexpectedly in October, getting us all in the mood for…
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Pride.
Political, hysterical and downright ruddy fun, Pride is brimming over with heart and soul. The film opens and closes at two consecutive London Pride marches. The year in between each event makes up the film’s narrative. When the unions refuse to accept donations from the gay community in support of the miners, the LGSM are…
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Magic in the Moonlight.
Throughout his body of work, Woody Allen has always dabbled with magic. There is something about the impossible and the mystical that seems to fascinate a man so obsessed with his own mortality. The common consensus seems to be that, these days, Allen’s movies rise and fall in a natural motion. His last six or…
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The Ides of March.
George Clooney’s intense political drama explores the sinister underbelly of a campaign between two presidential candidates. The Ides of March takes place in Ohio, a crucial destination to the campaign that could determine which side takes the lead and ultimately wins. With this knowledge in the minds of all those involved in the battle, tensions couldn’t…
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Melinda and Melinda.
Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda opened to mixed reviews ten years ago. The film’s main narrative is split between two stories which both revolve around a character called Melinda. These two stories are merely the fabrications of two friends discussing the comedy and tragedy of life over a meal and a glass of wine. Allen handles…
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Another Woman.
It’s my strong belief that Woody Allen’s work is at its best when he is doing two particular things – engaging in philosophical debate and writing for women. His masterful 1988 feature, Another Woman, shows glimmers of philosophy but primarily demonstrates just how well Allen knows women and their complexities. To enhance his insight into the female…
Hannah McHaffie 