Author: Rich Cline Page 54
The Canyons
Movies that allow us to wallow in a trashy story for a couple of hours can often become a guilty pleasure, and this lurid concoction blends the skills of Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho) and...
Movie Review posted on 8th August 2013
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang
Gifted filmmaker Cantet (The Class) packs this fascinating story with vivid characters, but fails to shape the narrative into something that holds our attention. This is precision filmmaking, expertly recreating a period to adapt Joyce...
Movie Review posted on 8th August 2013
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
There can't have been a very big demand for a sequel to 2010's The Lightning Thief, but at least this is another adequate adventure for the teen demigods. Much more child-friendly than the first movie,...
Movie Review posted on 8th August 2013
The Lone Ranger
Everything about this film screams excess, from the ludicrous two-and-a-half hour running time to the whopping scale of the action sequences to Johnny Depp's bizarro costume. But this reunion between Depp and his original Pirates...
Movie Review posted on 8th August 2013
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
In bringing his iconic 1990s radio and TV character to the big screen, Coogan refreshingly refuses to play to American audiences: this film is purely British in its story, setting and characters. And as it...
Movie Review posted on 8th August 2013
A Week In Movies: Red carpets for 2 Guns and Lovelace, new glimpses of Walter Mitty, the Millers and Bad Grandpa
The stars turned out this week for the world premiere of 2 Guns, the new action movie that teams up Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Both actors were on the red carpet in New York...
News posted in Movies / TV / Theatre on 2nd August 2013
![Paradise: Hope [Paradies: Hoffnung]](https://www.contactmusic.com/images/reviews2/paradies-hoffnung-fr.jpg "Paradise: Hope [Paradies: Hoffnung]")
Paradise: Hope [Paradies: Hoffnung]
After Love and Faith, Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl takes a gentler approach to explore hope, although the film is equally unsettling. This is an inventive look at the conflicting desires and aspirations of teens and...
Movie Review posted on 1st August 2013
My Father and the Man in Black
It's fascinating to look at the life of Johnny Cash from a new angle, even if this documentary feels somewhat self-indulgent and a bit amateurish. But it has a strong father-son kick to it, as...
Movie Review posted on 1st August 2013
Europa Report
A bracingly original approach to both science-fiction and the found-footage genres makes this eerily realistic thriller well worth a look. Director Cordero may indulge in a variety of gimmicky and manipulative tricks, but he keeps...
Movie Review posted on 1st August 2013
RED 2
That A-list cast of "retired, extremely dangerous" spies is back, coasting through another amiable but uninspired action-comedy. It may be occasionally funny, but the script is so lazy that it never does anything with the...
Movie Review posted on 1st August 2013
Only God Forgives
Audiences expecting Drive 2 from this reteaming of Gosling and Winding Refn will be disappointed: this is a stylishly original movie that refuses to play by the rules. It's a very dark revenge thriller that...
Movie Review posted on 1st August 2013
The Heat
Miss Congeniality shows up The Other Guys in this riotously funny buddy-cop comedy, which overcomes its silly script with the ingenious pairing of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. The plot is essentially a flimsy framework...
Movie Review posted on 1st August 2013
A Week In Movies: Stars shine at Comic-Con, Coogan launches Alpha Papa, more Gravity thrills
Comic-Con in San Diego last weekend featured a staggering array of star power presenting their upcoming superhero movies. Chris Evans and Scarlett wound up the fans while talking about Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Benicio...
News posted in Movies / TV / Theatre on 26th July 2013
Some Girl(s)
Neil LaBute adapts his bracingly astute play into a series of scenes that make us question how men and women ever come together to make a relationship work. The central idea is that we hurt...
Movie Review posted on 25th July 2013
Blackfish
A chilling exploration of the life of an orca in captivity, this documentary forces us to look at zoos and especially aquarium shows in a completely new light. Rather than a more comprehensive exploration of...
Movie Review posted on 25th July 2013
From Up on Poppy Hill
From the studio that brought us classics like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, this animated drama feels unusually low-key and realistic. But while the lack of fantastical elements leaves it somewhat dry, as if...
Movie Review posted on 25th July 2013
The Conjuring
Old-style filmmaking makes this movie scarier than other recent horror films, simply because director Wan (Saw/Insidious) takes the time to actually develop suspense. By not using cheap trickery, he continually sends chills up our spine....
Movie Review posted on 25th July 2013
Frances Ha
This film may look like one of those annoyingly mannered independent films, with its wacky young cast and arty-farty black and white photography, but it's actually a fresh, smart and very funny comedy. It also...
Movie Review posted on 25th July 2013
The Wolverine
It's only been four years since 2009's X-men Origins: Wolverine, and it's hard to see how this film does anything to correct that film's messy plot, harsh editing and uninteresting action. This one has a...
Movie Review posted on 25th July 2013
A Week In Movies: Big premieres in New York and London, plus Oscar-bait movie trailers
The stars were out to premiere their movies over this past week. First to face the paparazzi in New York were the voice cast of the animated comedy Turbo, including Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michelle...
Wadjda
Movies written and directed by women are unthinkable in Saudi Arabia, and indeed this film is banned in filmmaker Mansour's home country. But it's essential viewing for more than that reason: this is a charming...
Movie Review posted on 18th July 2013
![Easy Money [Snabba Cash]](https://www.contactmusic.com/images/reviews2/easy-money-fr.jpg "Easy Money [Snabba Cash]")
Easy Money [Snabba Cash]
It has taken a few years for this Swedish crime thriller to break out internationally. In fact, two sequels have already been made. Despite the rather standard plot and characters, this is stylish, punchy filmmaking....
Movie Review posted on 18th July 2013
Suspension of Disbelief
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) continues to explore experimental styles of cinema (see Timecode or Hotel) with this playful in-joke about the act of artistic creation. It's an ambitious idea that never quite...
Movie Review posted on 18th July 2013
The Frozen Ground
Even though this crime thriller is based on a true story, it never feels remotely believable. The problem is that writer-director Walker tries far too hard to force the real events into a standard movie...
Movie Review posted on 18th July 2013
Eden
Director-cowriter Megan Griffiths refuses to sensationalise the tabloid aspects of this harrowing true story about human trafficking within the USA. As she follows the central character into a nightmare of forced prostitution, the film could...
Movie Review posted on 18th July 2013
The World's End
After Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Pegg and Wright conclude their so-called Cornetto Trilogy with yet another riotously inspired exploration of British culture: the pub crawl. And this time it's apocalyptic! But what...
Movie Review posted on 18th July 2013
A Week In Movies: The World's End premieres, Mendes returns to Bond, Oldboy teases
This week's big world premiere was in London for The World's End, where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost walked a blue carpet alongside costars Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine and Rosamund Pike. The apocalyptic pub crawl...
Blancanieves
This exquisite Spanish take on the Snow White fairy tale is in a different league from Hollywood's two recent attempts to retell the story: it's clever, artistic and emotionally thrilling. Aside from comparisons to Mirror...
Movie Review posted on 11th July 2013
Les Invisibles
A simple approach carries a strong emotional wallop in this sensitive documentary by French filmmaker Sebastian Lifshitz. It's not much more than a series of observational interviews with a group of retirement-age men and women,...
Movie Review posted on 11th July 2013
Trap for Cinderella
Stylish and moody, this twisty dramatic thriller gets under our skin with its mysterious tone and darkly insinuating performances. But the script is badly underwritten, never quite connecting the dots between what happens on screen....
Movie Review posted on 11th July 2013
Suggested
Leisure Festival - Dreamland in Margate
On the same day that Glastonbury welcomed back Margate's adopted sons, The Libertines, Margate itself put on it's very own Leisure Festival as it...
Pretty Fierce talk to us about collaborating with Doja Cat, emetophobia, arena tours and staying "true to yourself" [EXCLUSIVE]
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Will Varley & Jack Valero - The Astor Theatre Deal Live Review
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
WYSE talks to us about her "form of synaesthesia", collaborating with Radiohead's Thom York and the prospect of touring with a band [EXCLUSIVE]
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
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Bay Bryan talks to us about being a "wee queer ginger", singing with Laura Marling and being inspired by Matilda [EXCLUSIVE]
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Keelan X talks to us about staying true to "your creative vision", collaborating with Giorgio Moroder and being "a yoga nut" [EXCLUSIVE]
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
![Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]](https://images.contactmusic.com/images/home/homepage/luke-de-sciscio-abof-a.jpg "Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]")
Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
Annie Elise talks to us about the challenges a female producer has to face and "going through a year of grief and sickness" [EXCLUSIVE]
Electronic music pioneer and producer Annie Elise says that the release of her first EP - 'Breathe In, Breathe Out' feels "both vulnerable and...
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