Sliding Doors, 1998. Written and Directed by Peter Howitt. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch and Jeanne Tripplehorn. SYNOPSIS: A young woman’s life unfolds in two entirely different directions. What if? It’s a big question in all of our lives. What if I’d told her? What if we’d stayed together? What if I’d got […]

Missing Pieces, 2011. Written and Directed by Kenton Bartlett. Starring Mark Boone Junior, Melora Walters and Alana Jordan. SYNOPSIS: A kidnapper tries to make two lonely souls fall in love by putting them through a series of unique situations. Originality is what I always strive for in a review. Why read my specific review if […]

Senna, 2010. Directed by Asif Kapadia. SYNOPSIS: A documentary on the three-time Formula One racing legend Ayrton Senna. Anyone with even a fleeting interest in motor sport has heard of Ayrton Senna, but his heyday was a little before my time. I remember briefly his tussles with Nigel Mansell when I was a kid, but […]

Ghosted, 2011. Directed by Craig Viveiros. Starring John Lynch, David Schofield, Martin Compston, Craig Parkinson and Art Malik. SYNOPSIS: A model prisoner risk his own life and sanity to help a newcomer who has fallen under the spell of a psychotic convict. Do you think you could hack it behind bars? If you’re a Daily […]

Savage Streets, 1984. Directed by Danny Steinmann. Starring Linda Blair, John Vernon and Sal Landi. SYNOPSIS: Brenda (played by the pixie faced Linda Blair) and Heather (80’s scream queen Linnea Quigley) are two very close sisters. Brenda keeps her young deaf sister under her watchful eye at all times, until one fateful day when a […]

It’s taken pretty much for granted in modern cinema that, for a Chinese film role, you cast a Chinese actor. Just as leading men no longer black up in boot polish to play Othello, actresses long ago stopped painting their eyes slanted to look Chinese. It’s daft, it’s unconvincing, and to the actors turned away […]

Green Lantern, 2011. Directed by Martin Campbell. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Temuera Morrison, Taiki Waititi, Jon Tenney, Jay O. Sanders, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan and Peter Sarsgaard. SYNOPSIS: Cocky test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is granted cosmic super-powers to help defeat an intergalactic foe. You know […]

Hanna, 2011. Directed by Joe Wright. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng and Cate Blanchett. SYNOPSIS: A teenage assassin s dispatched on a mission across Europe where she is tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives. Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice) shifts gear with this audacious espionage […]

Liam Trim on the transition from page to screen of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep… Raymond Chandler’s 1939 novel The Big Sleep, the first to star PI Philip Marlowe, was ready made for the big screen. It had a zippy, twisting and engrossing plot, propelled at pace by short, sharp chapters that feel like scenes […]

The Future, 2011. Directed by Miranda July. Starring Miranda July and Hamish Linklater. SYNOPSIS: When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life is changed dramatically. Following her fantastic multi award winning (most notably Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival) debut Me, You and Everyone We Know, Miranda July’s The […]