Author: Rich Cline Page 59
Crawl
Packed with references to classic horror thrillers, this Australian film is a gimmicky freak-out that keeps our pulses racing even if it never really gets under the skin. The story may be rather simplistic and...
Movie Review posted on 22nd February 2013
Lore
An unusual, constantly surprising post-WWII odyssey, this film may feel a bit thin and episodic, but it tells an evocative story with darkly moving emotion. Like her ravishingly disturbing 2004 feature debut Somersault, Australian director...
Movie Review posted on 22nd February 2013
Mama
Expanded from a sharp 3-minute short, this horror mystery is packed with clever jolts and witty freak-out moments. Argentine filmmaker Muschietti creates such an oppressively intense atmosphere that we only barely notice how thin and...
Movie Review posted on 22nd February 2013
Cloud Atlas
Mad geniuses Tom Tykwer (Perfume) and the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix) boldly take on David Mitchell's layered epic novel, which connects six generations through the power of storytelling. The film takes so many huge risks...
Movie Review posted on 22nd February 2013
A Good Day to Die Hard
There really is no point in looking for logic in a fifth Die Hard movie; these films have become a parody of themselves, wallowing in their inane action set pieces and sassy one-liners without much...
Movie Review posted on 15th February 2013
For Ellen
One of those mopey independent dramas that drifts through a mere hint of a plot, this film is worth a look for its unusual setting and a superb central performance from Paul Dano (last seen...
Movie Review posted on 15th February 2013
Run For Your Wife
British farces work on stage, but usually feel agonisingly stupid on screen. And this is a worst-case scenario, as playwright Cooney adapts his classic 1983 farce without even the slightest adjustment for the cinema. Everything...
Movie Review posted on 15th February 2013
This Is 40
This overlong comedy is so episodic that watching it is exactly like sitting through five episodes of a sitcom back-to-back. It's funny and enjoyable, with characters we enjoy watching, but they continually spiral back to...
Movie Review posted on 15th February 2013
Beautiful Creatures
While this package has all of the key marketing elements to reach the Twilight audience, the film itself is rather a lot more fun, made with some wit and intelligence, plus a cast that's happy...
Movie Review posted on 15th February 2013
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
There's a reason this expertly shot and edited documentary is skimming under the radar: no one wants you to see it. The hugely skilled Gibney is taking on the world's biggest corporation, the Vatican, with...
Movie Review posted on 15th February 2013
I Give It a Year
Not so much a rom-com as an anti-romance comedy, this brightly amusing British film makes us laugh fairly consistently, although the story itself is pretty grim. It's also a problem that the plot and characters...
Movie Review posted on 8th February 2013
I Wish
Even without much of a plot, this meandering Japanese film holds our attention with a clear-eyed attention to character detail and situations that spark our imaginations. Beautifully shot and edited, filmmaker Kore-eda tells the story...
Movie Review posted on 8th February 2013
A Liar's Autobiography
Subtitled "The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman", this outrageously colourful animated movie certainly can't be pigeonholed as a documentary or a biopic, even though there are elements of each. The filmmakers use recordings...
Movie Review posted on 8th February 2013
No
For his third Pinochet-era movie, Chilean filmmaker Larrain has come up with his most breathtakingly original approach yet, telling a story anyone, anywhere can identify with while at the same time never pulling his political...
Movie Review posted on 8th February 2013
Hitchcock
What could have been an intriguing look at how Alfred Hitchcock created one of his most iconic masterpieces is instead turned into a gently entertaining romp. We may enjoy watching the twists and turns as...
Movie Review posted on 8th February 2013
Wreck-it Ralph
Visually ambitious and packed with inside jokes for arcade gamers, this colourful animated adventure is an enjoyable romp but is probably too energetic for its own good. It simply never settles down so that we...
Movie Review posted on 8th February 2013
Chained
Filmmaker Lynch (daughter of David) knows how to push our buttons, using misogynist violence to keep us uncomfortable right through this contained, stylish thriller. But she also cops out on taking a more challenging approach...
Movie Review posted on 1st February 2013
Do Elephants Pray?
Films about spiritual journeys should be celebrated, as they force us to explore deeper truths about our lives, but this one veers unevenly from comedy to drama to romance as it heads for a less-than-revelatory...
Movie Review posted on 1st February 2013
![Bullhead [Rundskop]](https://www.contactmusic.com/images/reviews2/bullhead-fr.jpg "Bullhead [Rundskop]")
Bullhead [Rundskop]
Dark and involving, this shocking Belgian drama not only earned an Oscar nomination but propelled its director and leading man into much bigger movies. And deservedly so. With a strikingly internalised approach to a shattering...
Movie Review posted on 1st February 2013
Antiviral
It may be style over substance, but Brandon Cronenberg cleverly blends his father David's love of medical yuckiness with an elusive Lynchian-style mystery to keep us unnerved all the way through this low-key thriller. And...
Movie Review posted on 1st February 2013
Hyde Park on Hudson
The breezy, entertaining tone of this historical comedy-drama kind of undermines the fact that it centres on one of the most pivotal moments in US-British history. Director Michell (Notting Hill) knows how to keep an...
Movie Review posted on 1st February 2013
Flight
With another deeply committed performance, Washington brings badly needed complexity to what is otherwise a contrived, overstated drama about addiction. It helps that the film is directed by Zemeckis as a kind of companion piece...
Movie Review posted on 1st February 2013
Ballroom Dancer
Danish filmmakers Bonke and Koefoed keep their cameras so intimate that this movie feels more like an intensely emotional drama than a documentary. They seem to be holding on for the ride, letting their subject...
Movie Review posted on 25th January 2013
The King of Pigs
Taking a realistically adult approach to bullying, this animated teen thriller from Korea is packed with provocative and sometimes moving observations even when it turns overly melodramatic at the end. It's a clever mixture of...
Movie Review posted on 25th January 2013
The Last Stand
Korean filmmaker Kim played with the Western genre before in his wacky 2008 pastiche The Good the Bad the Weird, and this film is just as chaotically uneven, mixing cartoon-style silliness with grisly violence. But...
Movie Review posted on 25th January 2013
Movie 43
A collection of random shorts that focus mainly on idiotic male behaviour, this portmanteau comedy is only occasionally amusing, never making anything of its astonishing cast. Frankly, we spend most of the time wondering how...
Movie Review posted on 25th January 2013
Lincoln
A historic epic from Steven Spielberg carries a lot of baggage, but he surprises us with a remarkably contained approach to an iconic figure. What's most unexpected is that this is a political drama, not...
Movie Review posted on 25th January 2013
Zero Dark Thirty
Blistering writing, directing and acting hold us firmly in our seats as this procedural drama snakes its way to a riveting action finale. Although it's sometimes not easy to know whether director Bigelow and writer...
Movie Review posted on 25th January 2013
Everyday
An impressive cinematic experiment, this film is worth seeing for its big concept and documentary touches, even if the narrative is frustratingly underdeveloped. We can actually see the passage of time, as the cast and...
Movie Review posted on 18th January 2013
V/H/S
A mixed bag of found-footage horror shorts, this anthology gives rising star filmmakers a chance to do something original with the genre. Of course, some of the clips are much more effective than others, and...
Movie Review posted on 18th January 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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