Tag Archives: Drama
Biopics: 3 of The Weirdest and Most Wonderful
Biopics have understandably remained popular throughout cinema’s history. Take a famous figure who lead an interesting life, cast a (usually) big star to play them, and half the battle is already over for any half-decent filmmaker. There are a lot … Continue reading
Review: Not Another Happy Ending (2013)
On the surface, NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING has the makings of the kind of film I tend to love. A British (specifically, it’s shot and set in Glasgow) dramedy with quirky characters in crisis with an indie soundtrack. But from … Continue reading
Review: Out of the Furnace (2013)
OUT OF THE FURNACE is one of those movies I’ve been highly anticipating since the first trailer was released. It looked like a gritty, powerful social drama with an impressive cast and a decent director (Scott Cooper of CRAZY HEART), … Continue reading
Review: Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB is a rewarding film about mortality, against-the-odds achievement, and a brutal critique of big business pharmaceuticals, but it becomes a really great film when it gets into analysing prejudice (for all the good it does). In the … Continue reading
Review: Calvary (2014)
Being the ignorant atheist I am, I had no idea what the word Calvary meant. In fact, when John Michael McDonagh’s follow-up to THE GUARD was first announced, I thought it was called Cavalry. Calvary is actually the name given … Continue reading
Review: Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
SAVING MR. BANKS isn’t like many other biopics, and it’s like next to no films about filmmaking. Movies that retell notoriously troubled productions have a tendency to exaggerate and oversimplify for the sake of smooth storytelling, yet often turn out to … Continue reading
Review: Her (2013)
There is no filmmaker working today quite like Spike Jonze. He’s the master of thoughtful, playfully reality-bending cinema with punchy messages. HER tells the story of Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a writer who’s life is persistently haunted by a disastrous breakup … Continue reading
Review: American Hustle (2013)
AMERICAN HUSTLE has glimmers of brilliance, but as a whole it’s an underwhelming experience, and director David O Russell’s least complete feeling film to date. The story takes place in the late 1970s, and is loosely based on the real … Continue reading
Review: Gravity (2013)
GRAVITY is equal parts wonderment, sheer terror and life affirmation. The ever-reliable Alfonso Cuarón has crafted a aesthetically flawless, hypnotic space horror that manages to be intimate and epic at the same time. Scientist Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 