2015 has been a big year for the box office flop. Mega budget films have appeared in our cinemas and disappeared faster than you can say ‘Johnny Depp’s moustache in Mortdecai is creepy.’ The usual […]
British Short Film Competition
On Sunday 15th November, I attended a screening of eight films that had been entered into the British Short Film competition. All the films were under 15 minutes and each one surprised and entertained the […]
Oscars Run- Up: Best Foreign Language Film
Yes, it may seem massively premature, but film aficionados never really stop thing about the Oscars and next year’s Academy Awards are already really starting to get going. In the last couple of weeks the […]
Review: The Tipple Taxi
Incongruously placed in the centre of Leeds Trinity shopping centre sits the Tipple Taxi, a London-black-cab-come-miniature-cinema, showing 5 short films on a half-hour loop, as part of the 29th Leeds International Film Festival. The interior […]
Is Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse as unoriginal as it sounds?
In a similar vein to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Zombie Strippers and KFZ (Kentucky Fried Zombies), recent cinematic release Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse attempts to draw in hordes of unsuspecting victims to […]
Tangerine – More than just the world's first iPhone film
Set against the sun-stained skies of Los Angeles, Sean Baker’s latest offering continues his taste for challenging yet unavoidable plot lines. In Tangerine, we’re on the streets with Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya […]
Apocalypse Now Revisited – A look back at Francis Ford Coppola’s classic
The Gryphon re-experiences Apocalypse Now as part of Leeds International Film Festival on Monday 16th November 2015 The story of Captain Benjamin Willard’s search for reportedly deranged Colonel Walter E. Kurtz has been regarded as one […]
Review: Brooklyn – an emotionally-charged, life-affirming tale
Brooklyn, based on Colm Toibin’s novel of the same name, is the new directorial effort from John Crowley. Already alight with Oscar buzz, the film is a rich visual spectacle with wonderful performances from the […]
Review: Spectre – Exotic, sexy, stylish
The success of 2012’s Skyfall hung heavily over all our expectations. With virtually unanimous applause, it redefined a ‘tough act to follow’. I therefore admit that I was sceptical – could director Sam Mendes really […]
Why A Sexist Bond Is No Longer Fit For The 21st Century
Spectre is a fantastic film – it’s not as good as Skyfall, but it comes somewhere close. Craig, Waltz et al are superb, and that opening scene is one of the best ever put on […]
Comment: The Breakfast Club – Still the seminal tribute to teen angst
The Breakfast Club currently sits at number 1 on Entertainment Weekly’s best High School movies as the absolute benchmark of teenage life caught on film. It’s now over 30 years since its release, but walk […]
Review: Rainbow Collective Film Festival – "Bafana" and "AmaZulu: The Children of Heaven"
The Rainbow Collective Film Festival, hosted by the University of Leeds, last week screened humanitarian films produced by the graduates of the Northern Film School in Leeds, Richard York and Hannan Majid. The two short films […]