Tag: Movie
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Inherent Vice.
What makes a good movie? Perhaps the more appropriate question is who gets to dictate what is or isn’t a good movie? You can jokingly sort films into amusing categories such as “guilty pleasures” or “childhood favourites” – we do this as a way of justifying why we like a movie if it doesn’t typically…
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Whiplash.
Blood, sweat and tears are ever present in Damien Chazelle’s raucous drama about a painstaking search for genius. The innovative camera movements and invasive shots allow us to experience the anguish of every drum beat and each cymbal clash – making Whiplash the most satisfying movie I’ve seen in months. Nominated for five Academy Awards,…
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The Theory of Everything.
It’s the combination of disability, biography, physical transformation and British pride that makes me nervous about films like The Theory of Everything. More often than not, a film possessing roughly this mixture of ingredients appears at this time of year. It’s no surprise that this is the formula for award season success. Only four years…
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American Sniper.
Clint Eastwood’s latest war-hero biopic preaches to us in its opening minutes that there are three different kinds of people in the world; sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. This concept of there being only the weak, the evil and the saviours remains American Sniper‘s biggest restraint for its remaining 130 minutes. Chris Kyle, the real life…
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Selma.
I am a big fan of sarcasm. That’s why at this year’s Golden Globe Awards my favourite joke came from Tina Fey. When introducing each film the hosts, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, have a witty and controversial anecdote prepared. When Selma was brought to light, Fey stated “…the movie Selma is about the…
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Foxcatcher.
I was advised that the less you know about the true story of Foxcatcher when you walk into the cinema, the better. A shocking and morbid tale about the manipulation and self-loathing that can infect a world-class athlete, Foxcatcher is a little too focused on its performances and constant sense of dread to fully deliver or captivate.…
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Birdman.
Michael Keaton probably means something different to everyone. To many and most, he is remembered as Burton’s Batman. For children of the nineties such as myself, he is Jack Frost – the protagonist in the film of the same name in which a dead musician’s spirit resides in a snowman – I forget why. For…
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Big Hero 6.
A new year is upon us and I’m back reviewing movies here at Reel Insights. It feels nice to return – particularly to review such an exceptional movie as Disney’s Big Hero 6. Taking its source material from Marvel, whom they own, Disney have captured not only a sense of current popular culture’s fascination with…
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The Best Films of 2014.
1. Hellion 2. Calvary 3. Nightcrawler 4. Guardians of the Galaxy 5. Inside Llewyn Davis 6. The Grand Budapest Hotel 7. Blue Ruin 8. A Story of Children and Film 9. Snowpiercer 10. The Drop SOME SPECIAL MENTIONS BEST COMEDY FILM – The Skeleton Twins BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM – Tony Benn: Will & Testament BEST SCIENCE-FICTION…
Hannah McHaffie 