Grave of the Fireflies, (Japanese: Hotaru no haka) 1988. Directed by Isao Takahata. Featuring the voice talents of J. Robert Spencer, Rhoda Chrosite, Amy Jones and Veronica Taylor. SYNOPSIS: A tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister’s struggle to survive in Japan during World War II. Celebrating its 25th anniversary and UK […]

All Is Lost, 2013. Directed by J.C. Chandor.Starring Robert Redford. SYNOPSIS: A man is drifting 1700 nautical miles from the Sumatra Straits. How did he get there and will he ever reach dry land again? J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost is an original and totally absorbing tale of one man pitted against the elements. It […]

Do Elephants Pray?, 2010. Directed by Paul Hills.Starring Jonnie Hurn, Julie Drey, Marc Warren, Rosie Fellner and John Last. SYNOPSIS: An uninspired advertising executive struggles to find any meaning in his life. The arrival of a mysterious free-spirited French woman into his life leads him to question everything. On the face of it, there are […]

Only God Forgives, 2013. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringam, Yayaying Rhatha Phongam and Tom Burke. SYNOPSIS: Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok’s criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother’s recent death. Nicolas Winding Refn’s […]

Behind the Candelabra, 2013. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.Starring Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Dan Aykroyd, and Scott Bakula. SYNOPSIS: An intimate study of Liberace’s five-year relationship with Scott Thorson. It is hard to believe, watching Behind the Candelabra, that the word bling was not coined in Liberace’s honour. This man was the king – […]

The Great Beauty (Italian: La grande bellezza), 2013. Written and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino.Starring Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone and Sabrina Ferilli. SYNOPSIS: Jep Gambardella, doyen of the chattering classes, undergoes an existential crisis. Paolo Sorrentino, riding high on previous successes, most notably Il Divo, comes to Cannes with a Roman tale of Jep Gambardella (Toni […]

Epic, 2013. Directed by Chris Wedge.Featuring the voice talents of Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O’Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, and Beyoncé Knowles. SYNOPSIS: A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is […]

Fast & Furious 6, 2013. Directed by Justin Lin.Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Elsa Pataky, Jordana Brewster and Gina Carano. SYNOPSIS: The gang of car thieves and illegal street racers are brought out of retirement to face a global menace…and track down a long-lost member. This sixth (yes sixth) […]

Black Sabbath (Italian: I tre volti della paura),1963. Directed by Mario Bava.Starring Boris Karloff, Jacqueline Pierreux, Michèle Mercier, Lydia Alfonsi, Mark Damon,# and Milo Quesada. SYNOPSIS: A three part horror anthology featuring a woman who is terrorised by phone calls from an escaped convict, a nurse who steals a ring from the corpse of a […]

Inside Llewyn Davis, 2013. Directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen.Starring Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garret Hedlund, and Oscar Isaac. SYNOPSIS:  Cannes Festival darlings Ethan and Joel Cohen return to the Croisette and to magnificent form with the eponymous tale of failed folk singer – and a failure in so many other things […]