The summer movie season is almost over and attention in the film world will soon be turning back to festival season, with the first slice of news from one of the most prestigious events in the film calendar announced today. Universal Pictures Everest, the mountain survival tale directed by Baltasar Kormakur (2 Guns) has been […]
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review – The Look of Silence (2014)
The Look of Silence, 2014. Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. SYNOPSIS: A family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers. After two films on the same subject, it’s difficult to tell whether director Joshua Oppenheimer is more repulsed by the perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide or fascinated […]
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review – Cartel Land (2015)
Cartel Land, 2015. Directed by Matthew Heineman. SYNOPSIS: With unprecedented access, CARTEL LAND is a riveting, on-the-ground look at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy – the murderous Mexican drug cartels. Though Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land is ostensibly about two vigilante groups battling drug cartels either side of the US-Mexico border, […]
The Callow Way – Why Cannes Still Matters
This week Neil Calloway looks at what winning the Palme d’Or can do to your box office… So we are in the middle of the Cannes Film Festival, and it’s easy to dismiss it as a two-week publicity vehicle for beautiful actresses to get photographed next to middle-aged European film directors on the Croisette, or […]
2015 Tribeca Film Festival announces Audience Award winners
The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival announced its Audience Award winners over the weekend in New York City. Two awards are given for the audience choices – the narrative award and the documentary award. King Jack, directed by Felix Thompson, was awarded the narrative prize this year, sponsored by AT&T. Jack is a scrappy 15-year-old kid […]
Sundance 2015: Films to look out for at this year’s festival
Scott Davis on films to look out for at Sundance 2015… It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when many of Hollywood’s big hitters gather together to be awarded a variety of different prices on the Awards circuit, culminating with the 87th Academy Awards on February 22nd. But on Thursday weekend in west USA […]
Canada’s Top Ten Festival announces the best of 2014
With the arrival of 2015, moviegoers will be given the opportunity to attend the 14th annual Canada’s Top Ten Festival at the TIFF Bell Lightbox where public screenings will be taking place to celebrate the accomplishments of contemporary Canadian cinema. A festival tour will be taking place with stops scheduled for Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – Birdman (2014)
Birdman, 2014. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough and Naomi Watts. SYNOPSIS: A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory. Birdman, Alejandro […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – Love is Strange (2014)
Love is Strange, 2014. Directed by Ira Sachs. Starring John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Darren Burrows and Charlie Tahan. SYNOPSIS: After Ben and George get married, George is fired from his teaching post, forcing them to stay with friends separately while they sell their place and look for cheaper housing — a situation that […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – M (1931)
M, 1931. Directed by Fritz Lang. Starring Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke and Gustaf Gründgens. SYNOPSIS: When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt. Within Fritz Lang’s first film made in sound, 1931’s M, there’s fascinating evidence of the period’s – and, of course, the […]