Sleeping Beauty (Australia, 2011)

In the movie previous to this, Emily Browning played Babydoll in Sucker Punch (US-Can, 2011) and is maybe in danger of being typecast as a vacant, sexy being (I don’t know whether that was her character in the film but name suggests as much). Glancing at the current issue of Elle I noticed that the [...]

Shame (UK-Canada, 2011)

I first came across Michael Fassbender in Hunger, directed like Shame by Steve McQueen. His performance, as hunger-striker Bobby Sands, was extraordinary. His promise has been cemented in numerous films since ranging from X-Men First Class to Fish Tank (UK-Neth, 2009). His performance in Shame is also brilliant; he reminds me of Daniel Day-Lewis in [...]

The Tree of Life (US, 2011)

The Thin Red Line (US, 1998) is one of my favourite film so I was looking forward to director Terrence Malick’s latest. However I was pleased when it finished despite the film including some of the most beautifully imagery I’ve seen in cinema. It’s good to see a Hollywood film grappling with big questions (‘the [...]

Antichrist (Den-Ger-Fr-It-Swe-Pol, 2009)

I’m not sure what this says about me but I didn’t go and see this in the cinema as I was/am bored with being shaken out of my bourgeois complacency. A sense of duty led me to the DVD and it shook me out of my bourgeois complacency for a while – thanks Lars. The [...]

The Piano (Aus-NZ-France, 1993)

The Piano was one of the most feted arthouse films of the 1990s and stands up well at the end of the noughties. Beautifully shot, fabulously performed, fantastic direction, gorgeous music, a feminist message plus much to debate about; there’s not much more you can want from a film. It portrays the plight of middle [...]

The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band, Germany/Austria/France/Italy, 2009)

Probably the most critically lauded movies of the year The White Ribbon left me bored after 30 seconds and I was faced by another 288 such units of boredom. You should probably stop reading now… as my critical faculties are obviously atrophying with age: how can you make a decision about a film in 30 [...]

The Spirit of the Beehive (El Espíritu de la colmena, Spain, 1973)

“Now without bitterness nor contempt now without fear of changes; only thirst…a thirst of a little something that kills me. Rivers of life, where do you run? Air! it’s air I need. What do you see in the dark depths? What is it that makes you tremble and fall silent? I can’t see! I look [...]

Fallen Angels (Duo luo tian shi, Hong Kong)

This is probably my favourite Wong Kar-Wai film. I love its portrayal of urban alienation and Chris Doyle’s cinematography is sensational. WIth its companion piece, Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam, Hong Kong, 1994), Fallen Angels offers a vision of Hong Kong as a hyper-real landscape on the brink (of Chinese takeover). Hong Kong, as [...]

Wild Strawberries (Sweden, 1958)

This could be Bergman’s masterwork. An old miserable geezer gets a road trip down memory lane and finds how he’s wasted his life. Miserable? Not really; life affirming ‘yes’ so watch it. Some creepy dream sequences – nicely surreal. (DVD, 3)

Slow Motion (France-Switzerland, 1980)

Twenty years after Breathless this movie was heralded as Godard’s return to form. 26 years after that this still looks good but I remember been baffled and enchanted in equal measure. It’s probably me that’s changed so I don’t find this movie difficult now; still has some fabulous composition’s and its wit is mordant. If [...]