biography

COMING OUT: A Modern Look At LGBTQ Lives
COMING OUT: A Modern Look At LGBTQ Lives

Coming Out is the personal story of young filmmaker Alden Peters. The film follows his coming out process as he tells his parents, friends and siblings how he has repressed his sexuality for a number of years. In using a homemade video style of filming, Coming Out gives us an insight into not only Peters’ journey but into his mindset as he starts to immerse himself into the 2016 LGBTQ lifestyle.

DEEPWATER HORIZON: An Environmental Blockbuster
DEEPWATER HORIZON: An Apolitical Environmental Blockbuster

Preservation of the environment shouldn’t be a political issue, let alone a controversial one. Yet the right wing governments of the western world are frequently abandoning environmental and climate change issues, even building entire grand-standing platforms on how the entire act of climate change is a mere myth. The masses no longer trust “experts”, no matter how many facts they have on their side about the devastating realities of our changing environment.

SULLY: A Subtle, Satisfying Character Study

I still fondly remember the day that was subsequently christened the “Miracle on the Hudson”, when it was discovered that a plane successfully landed on the Hudson River after an incident in the air when both engines were destroyed. Amazingly, everyone on board survived. It was one of the first times I had heard of something like this happening, and I would say that most of America, if not the world, was equally spellbound.

Sculptures in Time Pt. II: Tarkovsky's ANDREI RUBLEV
Sculptures in Time Pt. II: Tarkovsky’s ANDREI RUBLEV

For Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, the artist was inextricably joined to his society, both its benefits and its ills. Tarkovsky defined these colloquies between society and an individual artist as “dialectics of personality.” In other words, individual development was indefinably caught-up within personal and distant interactions with a society.

HANDS OF STONE: Champion With A Chip On His Shoulder
HANDS OF STONE: Champion With A Chip On His Shoulder

Edgar Ramírez is electrifying as welterweight boxing champion Roberto Durán in the new movie Hands of Stone. Unfortunately, writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz’s routinely conceived, routinely executed boxing biopic is a dull canvas for a performance, slashed in such angry red brush strokes. The movie goes the distance, though not as cleanly or directly as we might have wished.

ANTHROPOID: Martyrdom At The Heart Of War
ANTHROPOID: Martyrdom At The Heart Of War

When it comes to World War II, there is never a shortage of stories that are needed and are waiting to be told. Anthropoid is one of these stories. The film begins with an introduction to the true events that have led up to the assassination of a high-ranking Nazi official to be rendered a necessary means in a time of war.

STEVE JOBS And The Current State Of The Biopic
STEVE JOBS And The Current State Of The Biopic

“Based on a true story.” “Based on true events.” “Inspired by actual events.

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS: Charming & Delightful

It’s very easy for the media to get overexcited about a new Meryl Streep film, and one costarring Hugh Grant and directed by Stephen Frears at that, but this time there’s something different. I think maybe, what with the recent success of The Iron Lady and the confusion over Suffragette (where she was on screen for only a few moments), the media and filmgoers are suffering from a little overindulgence when it comes to one of the world’s greatest actresses. So although Florence Foster Jenkins has been promoted widely, it hasn’t been the film on everyone’s lips.

EDDIE THE EAGLE: An Adorable Underdog of a Movie
EDDIE THE EAGLE: An Adorable Underdog Of A Movie

I have been following the production of Eddie The Eagle for a very long time it seems. I’m a great devotee of director Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine On Leith is excellent), I love a good sports movie, even better, I love a British underdog sports movie. Of course, if you know me or are familiar with me at all you’ll know I also absolutely adore Taron Egerton.

Jane B. Par Agnès V.
JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V.: Personal Observations On A Public Life

First released with Kung-Fu Master! in 1988, Jane B. Par Agnès V.

Trumbo
TRUMBO: A Surprisingly Insightful Look At The Hollywood Blacklist

Hollywood and the golden age of film have now all but faded into history, and any glimpse into that world is for that reason a glimpse into history itself. Trumbo is a look at the show business world following the Cold War, when Hollywood started to blacklist people solely due to their political alignments. Starring the very talented Bryan Cranston as the titular character, the film is not only a successful character study and biopic, it is also an engaging and entertaining glimpse at a very dark time in Hollywood’s history.

Joy
JOY: A Joyless Experience

Even though he has recently made a switch from being a controversially quirky indie darling to a critically adored awards favourite, David O. Russell’s storytelling obsessions have always been the same. He has always been drawn to stories about dysfunctional families and the things that either drive them apart, or bind them closer together, varying from extreme to extreme.

Concussion
CONCUSSION: Will Smith Is Brilliant In An Otherwise Inane Sports Drama

Concussion does to the sports film what I was sincerely hoping it would avoid: it dramatizes its subject in such an unbelievable way that it becomes nothing more than mindless propaganda. Dealing with the true subject of brain injuries within retired NFL players, the film simply floats from one cliché to the next, which left me feeling almost dazed after it had finished.

The Big Short
THE BIG SHORT: A Thoroughly Entertaining Lesson

Let’s be honest, how well do you really know your own finances? Do you keep a budget, evaluate it regularly, and monitor your bank accounts, debt, and investments? Remember, I asked for honesty.

The Lady in the Van
THE LADY IN THE VAN: An Insightful & Witty Delight

It’s difficult to know where to start when describing Alan Bennett to people who haven’t grown up in the UK. Imagine, if you will, an everyday man, one with a down on his luck and pessimistic sort of look about him. He has a recognisable Northern accent, and a dreary one at that.