CarolineStafford
The Old Oak Review
Set in a small north-eastern English town still living in the shadows of the UK miners’ strike, a new form of solidarity and brotherhood emerges as Ken Loach weaves a heart-warming story of a group of Syrian refugees trying to make a new life for themselves – but who is in more strife – the refugees or the forgotten townspeople? This unassuming film begins with a poignant metaphor as ...
Circus of the Scars Review
Hasn’t everyone dreamt of running away to the circus at one point in their lives? Well, if you’re headed to Circus of the Scars it might turn into a nightmare, but at least it’ll be fun. Circus of The Scars is a documentary following the unique phenomenon of 1990s grunge rock circus sideshow acts from the Pacific Northwest, chiefly the Jim Rose Circus. Primarily comprised of rough-cut archival fo...
Polite Society Review
Part coming of age teen drama and part action thriller, Polite Society, the debut film from writer-director Nida Manzoor, is a must-see this year. Rich in allusions to cult classics like Kill Bill, Get Out, The Matrix and Scott Pilgrim vs the World, it’s packed full of relatable family drama, witty one-liners, dynamic cinematography and well-oiled fight scenes. With such a packed dance card of gen...
Infinity Pool Review
Infinity Pool, the most recent film from Brandon Cronenberg, is a twisted extended metaphor for the trappings of luxury and inner darkness we all harbour, with some graphic and artfully kaleidoscopic sex scenes thrown in for good measure. It is set on a fictional island that seems to be a pastiche of various locations around the globe that have been exploited by the super rich as they construct hy...
Air Review
All too often star-studded casts in keenly anticipated films have disappointed us and many worried that Air would fall into this disappointing trend but it seems director Ben Affleck can do no wrong! This historic drama recounts the story of Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) as he puts his career on the line to create a line of shoes based on a young, up-and-coming basketball player Michael Jordan (Dami...
Champions Review
Champions is yet another ‘inspirational’ film where a washed up, onerous, able bodied white man (played by Woody Harrelson) is taught to to appreciate his lot in life because he is forced by circumstance (and in this case a judge) to tutor/coach/motivate a group of people with disabilities to success in their relative arena, and thus win the girl/dream job. Heard it before? Well we all have. The o...
Spoiler Alert Review
Spoiler Alert: stories of good men dying young will always make you cry, but sometimes they can leave audiences looking for more. It feels oddly harsh to critique Michael Showalter’s Spoiler Alert as it is based on a true story of the same name, written by Michael Ausiello. It tells the story of how he lost his husband to cancer, and follows their relationship from its inception, through their gro...
TÁR Review
Cate Blanchett is note perfect as the lead in Todd Field’s much anticipated drama Tár, but is it a film that is too wrapped up in itself to appeal to the average Joe? Tár tells us the haunting story of titular Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a conductor on the verge of her biggest achievement, and potentially her own undoing. The “Maestro” (Tár) is the severe and demanding conductor of the Berlin orc...
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Review
I’m not too sure about you, but it has been a very long time since I thoroughly enjoyed a modern rom-com, but What’s Love Got to Do with It? certainly broke that streak. What’s Love’s director Shekar Kapur takes a clichéd rom-com formula and many over-done tropes, that have historically centred on white characters, and attempts to reframe them for a modern multicultural audience. While at times au...
A Man Called Otto Review
You don’t need to have read the book (A Man Called Ove) or seen the original film adaptation in Swedish to be, frankly, underwhelmed by A Man Called Otto. This new adaptation had the same emotive storyline that tugs on the heartstrings, but the americanisation makes it a tad more… bland. It is based on the heartwarming story of an elderly widowed curmudgeon Ove (renamed ‘Otto’ and played by Tom Ha...
The Banshees of Inisherin Review
Welcome to a beautifully bizarre exploration of a souring male friendship brought to a comedic and melancholy end point – you’ve arrived at The Banshees of Insherin. Banshees is the latest offering from writer-director Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, 2018), who brings back the stars of his 2008 debut In Bruges, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, to create this deli...
Emily Review
My love for this movie “resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary”, to quote Emily Brontë’s most famous work Wuthering Heights. Emily, directed by Andrew Dominik, spins us a creative interpretation of the titular author’s short life and the deeply personal motivations behind her most famous work. Emily, portrayed by Emma Mackey (Maeve in Sex Education) ...