Tag Archives: Historical Drama

True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) Review

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/true-history-kelly-gang-justinkurzel-georgemackay-movie-review/ SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, The Film Magazine | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Well this was absolutely sensational. It was also the final film I saw in the cinema before Coronavirus closed them (cheery thought). PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE is sensual, appropriately painterly and with a huge heart. Love stories are … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review in Brief: The Nightingale (2018/19)

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

THE NIGHTINGALE is a gruelling and relentlessly bleak watch, but it’s compelling stuff nonetheless. Jennifer Kent followed up her fascinatingly unique genre debut THE BABADOOK with a dark, raw and grounded historical epic. There’s a captivating core relationship dynamic: an … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chernobyl: Audience Adulation vs Critical Consenus

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

According to the IMDb, HBO/Sky’s miniseries CHERNOBYL is now the most critically acclaimed TV show of all time. It’s in all the trailers now: “9.6/10”. This does not matter. I’m not one of those “who cares what the critics think?” … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: The Favourite (2018)

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Queen Anne is a British monarch often overlooked, dismissed, forgotten. I’m into my history and I would have struggled to tell you much about her reign before watching THE FAVOURITE. The film isn’t a history lesson, that’s not what writer-director … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Review in Brief: Outlaw King (2018)

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Don’t compare OUTLAW KING to BRAVEHEART, compare it to IRONCLAD. This is brutal, dirty history, and there’s not a kilt in sight. Chris Pine is a softly spoken and dignified Robert the Bruce, Florence Pugh is a fiery counterpoint to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Review: Peterloo (2018)

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

I’m fully behind everything PETERLOO as a film stands for, and with individual liberties under threat ever more stories like this have become vital. Unfortunately I found the the manner in which Mike Leigh tells this story deeply frustrating. Lancashire, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Review in Brief: Churchill (2017)

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Trading showiness for human connection, CHURCHILL is far superior to DARKEST HOUR. The dialogue might range from poetic bluster (“My job is not to fight, not to die…I must exist”) to rather cumbersome exposition (“We’ve only a three day window … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review in Brief: Their Finest (2016/17)

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Yes, it’s probably destined to be a perennial Sunday afternoon favourite along with all the other cosy feelgood historical fare, but THEIR FINEST has a fair bit of bite to it as well. It has what SUFFRAGETTE (dignified as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Darkest Hour (2017)

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

DARKEST HOUR left me cold. Yes, Gary Oldman will probably win the Oscar for portraying Winston Churchill. Yes, he probably should. And yet, something about the presentation of the film around him left me feeling pretty empty and disconnected. May … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments