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 [...]

Battle in Heaven (Mexico, 2005)

A scandal at Cannes; was it because of the hardcore sex (getting passe in arthouse cinema?) or the fact that 2/3rds of the participants are grossly overweight and old. Well whatever it was didn’t work for me and the knowledge that the cast were amateurs cast a moral question over the film. Exploited? Maybe. (DVD) [...]

9 Songs (UK, 2005)

The sex, and there’s a lot of it, is real in this film and that seems to be all some can say about it. Ignore the debate about whether it’s porn or art (it could be both) and you’ll find (should you be comfortable watching explicit representations of sex) an extremely good film about a [...]