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Tag Archives: Drama
Review in Brief: Jackie (2016)
Natalie Portman is pretty near perfect as Jackie Kennedy. There’s nowhere to hide with her forever centre-frame and sometimes uncomfortably close up when she is at her most vulnerable. I would have preferred more scenes with the priest (sadly not … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Billy Crudup, Biopic, Drama, Jackie, John Hurt, Natalie Portman
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Review: The Levelling (2016/17)
THE LEVELLING is very much like farming soap opera THE ARCHERS, only bleaker, with better acting and real animals. If you’re American, or not middle-class enough know about The Archers, don’t worry about it. Taking a forced sabbatical from her … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged David Troughton, Drama, Ellie Kendrick, Hope Dickson Leach, Nina Forever, The Archers, The Levelling
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Review in Brief: Eye in the Sky (2016)
It might be about as subtle as an airstrike, but drone warfare thriller EYE IN THE SKY fields an interesting debate. Just how far can you push “For the greater good”? In the moment, if you could save more lives, … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Alan Rickman, Drama, Eye in the Sky, Gavin Hood, Helen Mirren, Tsotsi
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Review: Eagle vs Shark (2007)
You can always spot a Taika Waititi project, and EAGLE VS SHARK is unmistakably that. He’s got a unique comic voice and an appealing sideways view of the more painful and complex aspects of our world. Just look at how … Continue reading
Review: Manchester by the Sea (2016)
The Oscars are almost upon us and once again I’ve only managed to see about half of the movies in the running. LA LA LAND might be the bookies’ favourite, but MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is my pick to take … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Academy Awards, Casey Affleck, CJ Wilson, Drama, Kenneth Lonergan, Kyle Chandler, La La Land, Lucas Hedges, Manchester By the Sea, Oscars
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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
Posted in Film, Film Review, Television
Tagged Alex Jennings, Carry On, Claire Foy, Drama, Educating Rita, Jared Harris, John Lithgow, Matt Smith, Peter Morgan, The Crown, The Graduate, TV, Vanessa Kirby, Victoria Hamilton
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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
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Black Comedy, Danny Boyle, Drama, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, James Cosmo, John Hodge, Johnny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Scot Greenan, T2 Trainspotting, Trainspotting
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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
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Adam Driver, Akira Kurosawa, Andrew Garfield, Apocalypse Now, Drama, Film, Historical Drama, Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese, Movies, Silence, The Mission
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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
