I am shocked and confused by how little respect was paid to Peter Landesman’s confident, important, and all together sad true life story Concussion, which documents the mostly futile attempts by the brilliant Dr. Bennet Omalu to wake the NFL up to a massive health issue, played in a nearly career topping performance by Will…
It was that time of year again as the Birmingham NEC opens its doors once again to let the hoard of cosplay, comic and film fans flood the halls. MCM Comic Con 2016 Review This year MCM had a very subtle build up to it’s Birmingham show. I remember being so hyped by the fact…
10 Cloverfield Lane is a fun and effective chiller that is disingenuously positioning itself as a sequel or side-quel or whatever you want to call it to Matt Reeves’ multiple genre-busting 2008 film Cloverfield. Much has been made about how Dan Trachtenberg’s 10 Cloverfield Lane originated as a totally separate project, having nothing to do…
Triple 9 is my kind of movie. But I expected that. This is a John Hillcoat film. Hillocat has only made movies that I have loved. The Proposition, The Road, Lawless, and now this nasty, 70’s-flavored cop film that has streaks of Lumet while possessing a stylish and modern aesthetic hand. Matt Cook’s hard boiled…
Ghost Nets is a film about three friends that search for some peace on a desolated beach only to make a find that would change their relationship forever. Shot on the coast of Kent, at Joss Bay, Ghost Nets provies raw and beautiful location that looks incredible, the story could have tranquil silence and still…
I’m not a horror movie guy. They don’t scare me, I’m always aware of cinematic artifice, and I find most attempts at “scary movies” to be cheap and obvious and boring. The Witch, however, is a cut above the genre competition, despite not really being the film I expected to see and avoiding certain horror…
The Lost Tree revolves around Noah who after a serious traumatic accident, leaves his old life behind and moves to an isolated cabin to start over but soon learns about the sinister past of his new surroundings. Instantly the movie visually looks like a drama piece, and depicts it’s surroundings to match the tone and…
The Feast of Varanasi centres around a spate of gruesome killings, where four young girls have been burned to death. Beyond the capabilities of the local police force, a CBI officer from New Delhi is sent to investigate. For officer Arjun Das (Adil Hussain, LIFE OF PI, THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST), it’s a return to his…
Who’s Driving Doug revolves around a reclusive wheelchair-bound young man (Mitte) who goes against his over-bearing mother’s wishes and takes a road trip with his new driver Scott (Ray Wiliam Johnson) and high school crush Stephanie (Paloma Kwiatkowski) that transforms their lives. This movie pulled me left and right to the point where I…
I really enjoy categorizing films into different genres or folders on my beloved laptop as I am a rather organized man. One of these categories is “Bad But Good Films”, something simple that can give me giggles for the wrong reasons. The first Samurai Cop has gained a cult following, and I wasn’t warm and…
Straight Outta Compton is robust, vital entertainment, painting a vivid tapestry of one of the most turbulent periods of modern societal unrest, and telling an oversized, extremely engrossing tale that’s distinctly American and part of the greater cultural shift over the last 20 years. In a field of 10 potential nominees, even if I felt…
Brooklyn is a delightful film that had me crying pretty much all throughout. It’s heartfelt, it’s poignant, it’s sentimental (in the best possible way), and it features a performance of exquisite care and radiance by Saoirse Ronan, who in film after film has impressed, but here, genuinely dazzles. And completely steals your heart. And did…
Black Mass is grim, ugly stuff. There’s nothing glamourized here about the familiar crime and mafia ingredients that the well-worn narrative traffics in. Director Scott Cooper does a solid job with a lot of material, but something about this story screamed for epic length; this is the second consecutive picture for Cooper where I felt…
During the cocaine explosion of the 80’s and 90’s New York City police officer Michael Dowd led a crew of crooked cops to build his own crime empire. These officers protected high profile kingpins and robbed drug dealers for their own benefit before going into the drug distribution game. This documentary really hits you like…
Anthony DiBlasi’s supernatural horror LAST SHIFT is coming to UK DVD & VOD on Monday 18th January 2016 courtesy of Solo Media and Matchbox Films. Starring Juliana Harkavy (The Walking Dead), Joshua Mikel (Nashville) and J LaRose (Saw III & IV). Rookie police officer Jessica Loren has been assigned the last shift at a transitioning…
The Revenant, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s aggressively masterful new wilderness epic, is the true definition of a consummate big-screen experience. Comparisons to Apocalypse Now, Aguirre, The Wrath of God, Jeremiah Johnson, Deliverance, and so many others before it are apt and fair; even after only one viewing, I feel confident in saying that this film belongs…
