Kidulthood (UK, 2006) and Beat Girl (UK, 1959)

Kids today eh!

Kids then eh!

Kidulthood is shocking, only if you believe it’s typical of kids in London. Well, I wouldn’t know, but the idea that youngsters are out of control is not exactly new. However, this is a terrific film that does the ‘day in the life’ of the youth of today with pace and [...]

The Happening (US-India, 2008)

The end of the world as we know it?

Like Cloverfield (two posts ago) The Happening is an obvious disquisition on the west’s ‘war on terror’ intermingled with the ongoing climatic disaster. The opening half is terrific, a mixture of stunning imagery (the builders falling off buildings) and portentous threat. However, it’s difficult to deliver on [...]

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile, Romania, 2007)

Otilia interrogates our gaze at the end of the film

This film succeeds on many levels: as a portrayal of Romania in 1987; as a shocking, and gripping, narrative; as an exercise in directorial style (the camera is often static and not necessarily positioned in the ‘best’ place). The focuses on how Otilia deals with her [...]

Cloverfield (US, 2008)

American liberty has lost its head.

It’s taken 10 years for Blair Witch (1999) to get a proper sequel. Whilst Cloverfield is not as effective as its predecessor, it is a fascinating take on a (western) world at war on terror. It’s not just the camcorder aesthetic that is so effective, much of what is happening [...]

Yella (Germany, 2007)

Yella being stalked by her husband as she leaves for the west.

I watched this based on a recommendation by Roy Stafford and knew nothing about it. I enjoy watching films without preconceptions (as far as that is possible) but that method of viewing can result in missing large parts of the subtext (er, if it [...]