Steve McQueen really does have a thing for the embattled and imprisoned protagonist. His three feature films to date have focused on an Irish republican leading a hunger strike in Hunger, a sex-addict slipping deeper into the despair of his compulsion in Shame, and now the agonising capture and slavery of freeman Solomon Northrop in 12 Years a Slave.
Written by James Madden Originally published 20 January 2014 Greed, power games, drugs and New York financial corruption in the 80s. No this is…
Written by Dan Santos Originally published 19 January 2014 The Wind Rises, written and directed by renowned Japanese animated film director Hazao Miyazaki, will…
Indeed, some patience would have been nice. The initial set-up in Adam Cozad and David Koepp’s screenplay is so rushed in getting to the point that the characters miss an opportunity to be fleshed out. However, in fairness, it’s a slick, rollicking popcorn movie with a far-fetched plot and a nice sense of humour, so probably best not to take it too seriously.
Written by Mark Hewitt Originally published 16 January 2014 Set in Edo era Japan, 47 Ronin follows a band of disgraced samurai who have…
Set in the not-so-distant future, Her takes place in a world where technology has come so far that operating systems have been programmed intuitively and provide services resembling human interactions and relationships.
This is truly virtuoso, expertly crafted film making, the only problem is that it’s just a little soulless, and just a little soullessness is a fairly big problem if it stops you caring about the characters. The Brothers, as usual, are more interested in the world they’re creating – and it’s impeccably done – but they forget to make us care about the people that populate it. Offering little resolution does little for them either.
Fans of the BBC television series Walking With Dinosaurs will enjoy seeing their favourite prehistoric creatures come to life on the big screen. It’s unlikely, however, that the cinematic manifestation of the documentary will meet their expectations.
August: Osage County features great opportunities for actors, and thankfully a cavalcade of brilliant actors breathes life into these intricate and multi-layered characters. There really isn’t a weak link in the cast, but Streep, Roberts and Cooper deserve to be singled out. Not far behind them are Martindale, Nicholson and Cumberbatch.
The trauma of war often lingers long after the final shots have been fired and the final battle has been won. The Railway Man, directed Jonathan Teplitzky and with a screenplay written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson.