Pretending to cry is almost impossible, but for the sullen-faced protagonist of Babis Makridis’ exercise in absurdist dark comedy Pity, crocodile tears are everything. Pity tells the story of a lawyer, played by the stern […]
Night on Earth Review: LIFF 2018
Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth, first premiered in 1991, is simple in its premise: it follows five taxi drivers, in five different cities, over one night. Despite this simplicity, Jarmusch’s film is an engaging character study, with […]
All Good Review: LIFF 2018
When we say ‘I’m fine’, we usually mean the exact opposite, but we say it anyway because we want to protect ourselves from revisiting the pain or from transferring it to another person. The internalisation […]
Ophelia: Not Another Shakespeare Story
So the verdicts have started to pour in on the latest instalment in an innumerable line of Shakespearean cinematic adaptations. Claire McCarthy’s British historical romantic drama Ophelia, the damsel in question being depicted by Daisy […]
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem Is A Nuanced Look At Palestinian Life
Leeds Palestinian film festival got underway today with Muayad Alayan’s Palestinian-set domestic drama ‘The Reports on Sarah And Saleem’. Centring around the extra-marital affair of the titular Saleem (Adeeb Safadi), a delivery driver from East […]
Tehran Taboo is a confrontational exposé of the treatment of women in Iran
Iranian social commentary-driven animated films are, unarguably, a niche sector of the film industry. However, director Ali Soozandeh uses this to his advantage to expose the double standards that exist in Iran surrounding sex, which […]
Bohemian Rhapsody Review
‘I want to give the audience a song that they can perform,’ Brian May tells the band. They stamp their feet and clap their hands and in that moment they have it; one of their […]
Smallfoot Review
Set in the Himalayas, Smallfoot is an animated musical adventure film directed by Karey Kirkpatrick. The film follows a Yeti named Migo, who become friends with a wildlife documentary filmmaker. The rest of the village […]
Mandy Is A Hit & Miss Thriller That Keeps You Guessing
Mandy is, truly, one of the strangest films I have ever seen. Taking inspiration from the quirky yet dark beats of Darren Aronofsky, this second cinematic entry from writer-director Panos Cosmatos does not hold itself […]
Matangi/MAYA/M.I.A. Is A Deep-Dive Into Both Music And Activism
M.I.A. released her first single ‘Galang’ via XL Recordings in the early 2000s. The track was met with great acclaim, both in England and America: who was this loud South Asian girl using garish beats […]
Venom Is A Lukewarm Antihero Film Without A Hero
In this self-contained film, we are given our first look at Marvel’s character Venom. The movie, directed by Ruben Fleischer, follows the life of gonzo journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) as he is fired from […]
Bad Times at the El Royale Review
An impressive cast brings to life this visually stunning mystery-thriller set in a unique hotel, the El Royale, during paranoid 1960’s America. The El Royale prides itself on the gimmick of having half the hotel […]