Tag: Review
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Lolita. (1962)
Adapted from Vladimir Nabokov’s quirky novel, Kubrick’s Lolita was highly restricted by censorship laws but still remained an incredibly controversial movie. Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged British professor, develops an obsession with the teenage daughter of his land lady during his summer lodgings. The film deals with his predicament of being in love with his step daughter, after…
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Burn After Reading.
The Coen brothers know how to do so many things. They know how to tell a steady and suspenseful story like Fargo and they know exactly how to poetically linger on loneliness and whimsy, demonstrated in Inside Llewyn Davis. Perhaps what they do best of all is chaos; the madness and genius we find in Burn After Reading would certainly…
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Fargo.
Joel and Ethan Coen are known for the violence and wit found in their movies. Since the late eighties, they have successfully built up a body of work that often focusses on crime and the ethics of it. Fargo, their sixth film, is certainly one of their best. Set in the cold and snowy landscapes of…
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Muppets Most Wanted.
I grew up watching The Muppet movies. They often seemed a little dated and a little isolating because of just how darn American they were, but that was all part of the charm. I have fond memories of The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan. I recall being mesmerised and impressed by the glamorous musical sequences…
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A Story of Children and Film.
I was fortunate enough to meet Mark Cousins less than two months ago. We were very grateful to have him visit our University, giving a talk on the art of the video essay. Video essays are becoming a more and more popular form for visually expressing and presenting academic research and discussion. The video essay…
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The Act of Killing.
I have finally gotten around to watching Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, only a few days ago. A lot of the film reviews I write are written hours after seeing the films; I like to capture my gut reaction as much as possible. Yet, The Act of Killing has taken a while to sink in. I felt…
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Under the Skin.
Under the Skin is a highly ambitious film. It impresses so much in its opening half hour, setting up expectations that it ultimately struggles to live up to. True ambition is an admirable and rare quality to find in contemporary cinema and there is no denying the ambitious nature of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. Despite the…
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Edinburgh: March.
I am writing this post at 5am, having just got home from work. I have now finished my final shift in this bar, the thought of which overwhelms me with happiness. I will be transferring home to a different bar over April and will then return to Edinburgh having handed in my resignation. Knowing that…
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The Royal Tenenbaums.
This is possibly Wes Anderson’s most complete and perfect film. Often I find his approach a little too extreme and absurd. I like his films but I find that they sometimes drag on for too long. I couldn’t help but admire the artistry that went into Fantastic Mr. Fox but it drifted so far away from the…
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Rushmore.
Wes Anderson’s whimsical cinema sometimes gets a little irritating. For me, Anderson films are divided into two very distinct categories; the ones that work and the ones that drift off a little. Those that work include The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and of course Rushmore. I like both Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Darjeeling Limited very much but even a fan like myself…
Hannah McHaffie 