General consensus on reality TV is less than favourable most of the time, even though it can be equally addictive as curiosity takes over. Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone and his co-writers have taken this concept and produced a fascinating, modern-day Italian tragedy that gradually creeps under the skin. It’s as eerily disturbing as it is … Continued
Review: Welcome To The Punch***
Stylish Brit crime thrillers seem two a penny, and it takes a very different perspective to produce one that stands out from the crowd in this day and age. Shifty Director Eran Creevy’s gritty and sassy London-based drama Welcome To The Punch echoes recent Brit flicks like The Sweeney in design, showing an alluring but … Continued
Review: Parker****
Another Jason Statham action film brings thrilling news for some who love seeing their gruff screen hero doing what he does best to bad guys, and groans of déjà vu from others, weary at yet more stylised action sequences, bad accents and corny one-liners that are the Statham trademark. However, to dismiss the actor’s new … Continued
Review: A Good Day To Die Hard**
It has been almost six years since Bruce Willis last donned his iconic vest and saved the day but he should have waited a bit longer for a better script to come along because this has to be the worst Die Hard movie in the franchise’s 25 year history. In his now infamous interview on … Continued
Review: Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God*****
In the week that has seen the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI comes a brutally uncompromising documentary about the clerical child sex abuse scandal and the extraordinary lengths the Catholic Church went to cover it up which goes all the way to the highest echelons of the Vatican. The Pontiff is in fact the … Continued
Review: Flight****
Denzel Washington is often associated playing real-life characters and ‘reliable’ ones in law enforcement. But in the last year or so, the versatile actor has decided to try his hand at challenging, flawed parts (Tobin Frost in Safe House), still managing to win our empathy at the end of each journey his character makes. Captain … Continued
Review: Chained****
Writer/director Jennifer Lynch’s obsession with desolate places where all kinds of ‘life’ flourish, as well as rendering a human being helpless is evident again in her latest film, Chained, starring oddball crime cracker Vincent D’Onofrio from Law & Order: Criminal Intent fame. This thriller engages, terrifies and ultimately questions: It’s a claustrophobic and highly compelling … Continued
Review: Zero Dark Thirty****
You don’t expect anything less rigorously researched from the engaging filmmaking pair behind the 2008 hit, The Hurt Locker, Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter/former news journalist Mark Boal. Their latest action thriller, Zero Dark Thirty does not fail to diligently lay out the facts like some on-the-scene reporter with ‘access all areas’ coverage. However, … Continued
Review: LFF 2012: The Sessions****
Once in a while there is a film that on paper seems totally different to how it’s actually perceived, and because of its plotline could be a hard sell at the cinema. Writer-director Ben Lewin’s The Sessions is such a film. However, appearances are truly deceptive here, and this feel-good drama is full of inspirational … Continued
Review: Midnight Son***
With the plethora of vampire films out there, it’s a brave debut director indeed to tackle one of the most well trodden genres of recent small and big screen offerings. However, Scott Leberecht’s debut feature Midnight Son toys with the genre and portrays it as an affliction or aliment in his low-budget film – and … Continued










