The highly anticipated new film from arguably the most artistically uncompromising, as well as celebrated, film maker currently working in North American cinema, To The Wonder continues Terrence Malick’s mediation on the very nature of love and life.
Operatic in its entirety, at its core The Conductor has a heart, but it is surrounded by substantial implausibility that makes it hard to find. It might have grand theatrics, but ultimately falls flat.
The Snow Queen’s world is void of colour, juxtaposed against the colourful landscape of scenes reminiscent of life under the Tsar and the post-Cold War era. There are capitalist and Soviet themes throughout The Snow Queen, creating a journey through the history of an incredibly volatile country.
At only 75 minutes, this film doesn’t overstay its welcome although it feels more like two hours given the snail-paced progress. The opening scenes do test the patience, given their lack of direction. However, the message emphasising the value of family and altruism is an endearing one that lasts beyond the final credits.
Written by Chris Smith Originally published 1 July 2013 Based on a remake of a Russian classic, Gentlemen Of Fortune is a mistaken identity…
From the country that may have created the social-realism genre with Sergei Eisenstein’s silent masterpiece Strike, A Long And Happy Life could be seen as something of a modern day re-assessment of working men’s status, that’s well made and tells the plight of its protagonist with a gripping sense of realism.
Upon its local release earlier this year, Metro was billed as Russia’s first Hollywood-style disaster movie. For better or worse, this is a fittingly accurate summary as to what audiences can expect from director Anton Megerdichev’s attempt to transplant mayhem and destruction of the American variety to the subways of Moscow.
Given the superlative title of Chris Wedge’s Epic, it would be apt for one to call it the ultimate kids film. That isn’t to say that Epic is necessarily better than any of the other winter holiday options going around; rather, it often feels like a greatest hits package of recent children’s films.
Errors of the Human Body is a well-executed, frightening insight into the potential for genetic experimentation to go awry. Importantly though, the film suggests that whilst the human body contains in-built errors in the form of mutations, it is other human errors that can worsen these situations beyond what was thought possible.
world war zBefore you say ‘ergh, not more zombies’, it may surprise you to hear that Marc Forster’s World War Z (it’s pronounced ‘zee’ not ‘zed’) is not as bad as you think. Even if you don’t much rate Brad Pitt as an actor, he does have a good eye for roles.