Tag: Movie Review
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Happiness.
One hardly knows where to begin with reviewing such a film. Todd Solondz’s Happiness is many things but let’s start with the acknowledgement that it is a challenging film. It is a disgusting masterpiece that taunts its audience who tend not to know how to react to it. The sensational Roger Ebert summarised the spectator’s battle with Happiness in…
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Worst New Releases: 2013.
Amongst the thrills, laughter and emotion that the best cinema of 2013 brought us, there was also some yawns, some boredom and plenty of cringe-worthy moments. 2013 was as full of terrible tripe as it was mastery. Luckily, I avoided 99% of the rubbish due to good judgement. This is perhaps the only joy I…
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Best New Releases: 2013.
2013 has certainly been an exciting year for cinema. Amidst the many hours I’ve spent in dark cinema screenings, a few films have stood out. The following list documents what I consider to be the best new releases I’ve seen since January. This post will be followed up by a piece discussing the worst releases…
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The Piano Teacher.
Perhaps Michael Haneke’s most refined and meaningful piece of work, The Piano Teacher is far from an easy watch. In typical Haneke-style, there is unpredicted physical violence, repression and unanswered questions but all of this comes together to form a majestic yet twisted piece of contemporary European cinema. This take on the melodrama, tells the story of…
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Last Days.
I mean, talk about a yawn-fest. Last Days is one of the most dull and uninteresting films I have ever seen. I’m familiar with Van Sant’s style so I was prepared for long scenes of “not much really happening” but Last Days takes this to an unbearable level. This is Gus Van Sant’s depiction of the final days of…
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Jesus Camp.
Regardless of the highly obvious position taken by the makers of Jesus Camp, I found myself getting increasingly angry about the subject at the heart of this film. This documentary looks at a particular American Christian summer camp on which young and, most importantly, highly impressionable children learn about the importance of dying for Christ and preparing…
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A Woman Under The Influence.
When A Woman Under the Influence first came out in the mid seventies, many rejoiced in its honest and realistic depiction of marriage and family. Where Hollywood provided either ‘happy’ or ‘unhappy’ marriages, John Cassavetes’ masterpiece presented a much more truthful and complex image of love, madness and marriage. Mabel, first and foremost, loves her family. Mabel’s…
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Blue Jasmine.
It is no secret that Woody Allen is my favourite. The reason I love cinema and the reason I believe in good characters and great writing; Allen’s work is always a comfort and a pleasure. Making a new film every year, there is one opportunity, annually, to sit in a cinema and witness a new…
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The Moo Man.
Stephen Hook has named each individual dairy cow that he owns. With only seventy cows, all named and known, Stephen Hook is an unusual and incredibly unique dairy farmer. The Moo Man explores Hook’s caring attitude towards dairy farming and his passion for his animals and the way that they are treated. Stephen’s farm remains…
Hannah McHaffie 