Category Archives: Film Review
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
Review: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
I wasn’t expecting to get as much out of WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT as I did. I do like most of Tina Fey’s work, but war comedies can be a difficult balancing act, especially when handling such recent, raw events. Thankfully, … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Don’t Breathe (2016)
What a treat of a horror-thriller DON’T BREATHE is. Stephen Lang’s Blind Man fighting off teenage burglars isn’t just played as an unstoppable monster (though he becomes that towards the end) but also a scared and unhinged human being. Between … Continue reading
Review: La La Land (2016)
Every so often a film comes along that captures the public imagination and wows critics alike. Usually in the lead-up to the Oscars, critics and cinephiles have plenty to talk about but the public can be left cold. Between the … Continue reading
Review: Silence (2016)
The release of a new Martin Scorsese film is still something to mark on your calendar, but perhaps the undoubtedly ambitious guilt trek SILENCE was too personal for his own good. Two Portuguese Jesuits travel to Japan to investigate reports … Continue reading
Review: A Monster Calls (2016)
I read A MONSTER CALLS over Christmas in preparation for this. What took me so long? Conor (Lewis MacDougall) doesn’t have the luxury of a happy childhood. Between his mother (Felicity Jones) losing her battle against cancer, his icy grandmother … Continue reading
Film Confessional: Gods of Egypt
I have a confession to make…I actually quite like GODS OF EGYPT. I enjoyed watching the film that made Alex Proyas aggressively lambast film critics for not giving him a chance, pretty much from when the first trailer dropped. I … Continue reading
Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Was the emotionally bereft GODZILLA remake just a blip for Gareth Edwards? Thankfully yes it was. There is more genuine humanity, imagination and enjoyment to ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY than there was not only in the ill-advised giant … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 