Author Archives: Sam S-P
Review in Brief: The Girl with all the Gifts (2016)
It’s THE LAST OF US meets 28 DAYS LATER, and features the politest, most adorable zombie ever committed to film. Considering the scale of the production, its unavoidable Britishness, the joins occasionally show, but mostly THE GIRL WITH ALL THE … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Jane Got a Gun (2016)
JANE GOT A GUN is a boring movie. That’s not a comment on shootouts being few and far between – UNFORGIVEN and THE HOMESMAN took their time, but it got deep into what made their characters. Here we have Natalie … Continue reading
Netflix Original Triple Bill
You have to say this for Netflix: their original films are an eclectic mix of stories. Here’s my take on just three examples to be found on the ever more interesting and diverse streaming service. TALLULAH (2016) Is TALLULAH anything … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
MISS PEREGRINE is jam-packed with ideas, particularly on an aesthetic level (typical Tim Burton). It’s nice to see Burton acknowledge that other colours exist, and the world he has created with author Ransom Riggs is vivid and pleasingly warped. He … Continue reading
Review: 13th (2016)
Anyone under the misapprehension that film can’t impact the real world, that it’s escapism and nothing more, should take note of the moment in Ava DuVernay’s documentary highlighting how DW Griffith’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION not only revitalised the … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Purge: Election Year (2016)
This would be a whole lot funnier if he hadn’t won. THE PURGE as a franchise didn’t exactly hit the ground running – the first movie was dull and clunky and not the least bit scary – but the franchise … Continue reading
Review in Brief: War on Everyone (2016)
What a fall from grace WAR ON EVERYONE represents for John Michael McDonagh. Michael Peña and Alexander Skarsgård are both fine, but the characters they play manage to be unappealing and uninteresting at the same time. They’re up against a … Continue reading
Review: The Crown – Season 1 (2016)
THE CROWN was by far and away my television highlight of 2016. Following the first decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s long reign, it boasts stately performances, sumptuous production design and an intimate examination of real people in a unique situation. … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Our Kind of Traitor (2016)
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR has a series of stunningly pretty images to open with: sparkling snowscapes, dappled sunlight, a slow-motion ballet performance. Even the death that follows this montage is beautifully composed, as horrible as the act remains. The visual … Continue reading
Review: T2 Trainspotting (2017)
T2 TRAINSPOTTING was never going to match its predecessor. Lightning, we are told, doesn’t strike twice. TRAINSPOTTING captured the zeitgeist and summed up so succinctly and stylishly the people and culture of Britain in the 1990s. We fell instantly in … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 