Dream Life Of Angels

Hors Satan (dir. Bruno Dumont, 2011) 4/5 Exploring the dual...

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:30:12 +0100

Hors Satan (dir. Bruno Dumont, 2011) 4/5

Exploring the dual nature of good and evil, Bruno Dumont’s beautiful parable, Hors Satan, follows a mysterious drifter, living rough near a small hamlet on the Cote d’Opale, who possesses miraculous healing powers and a knack for extreme retribution.

Django Unchained (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2012) 3.5/5 A film...

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:10:23 +0100

Django Unchained (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2012) 3.5/5

A film that is as disappointing as it is fascinating and intelligent, Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist western, Django Unchained, explores America’s history of slavery with its story of a freed slave’s journey to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner.

O Lucky Man! (dir. Lindsay Anderson, 1973) 4.5/5 Lindsay...

Wed, 08 May 2013 19:45:23 +0100

O Lucky Man! (dir. Lindsay Anderson, 1973) 4.5/5

Lindsay Anderson’s brilliant anti-capitalist satire, O Lucky Man!, tells the still relevant and highly irreverent story of a young and ambitious coffee salesman’s increasingly cruel and surreal journey into the world of business.

Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (dir. Sam Peckinpah, 1973)...

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:50:11 +0100

Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (dir. Sam Peckinpah, 1973) 4/5

Starring Kris Kristofferson as Billy and James Coburn as Pat Garret, Sam Peckinpah’s beautifully photographed revisionist western explores greed and corruption in its retelling of the legendary death of Billy the Kid.

Hannah Takes The Stairs (dir. Joe Swanberg, 2007) 3.5/5 With its...

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:10:06 +0100

Hannah Takes The Stairs (dir. Joe Swanberg, 2007) 3.5/5

With its story following a twenty-something production assistant has she bounces from one unsatisfactory relationship to the next, Joe Swanberg’s charming mumblecore film, Hannah Takes The Stairs, has an existential nihilistic undertone with its themes of discontentment and aimlessness.

The Spirit Of The Beehive (dir. Victor Erice, 1973) 4.5/5 With...

Fri, 03 May 2013 20:20:00 +0100

The Spirit Of The Beehive (dir. Victor Erice, 1973) 4.5/5

With its atmospheric story surrounding a travelling cinema’s screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein and a seven-year-old girl’s subsequent fascination with a local spirit, Victor Erice’s heavily symbolic and allegorical critique of General Franco’s dictatorship, The Spirit Of The Beehive, is a unique, beautiful, and poignant debut.

Looks and Smiles (dir. Ken Loach, 1981) 4/5 Set against a...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:00:43 +0100

Looks and Smiles (dir. Ken Loach, 1981) 4/5

Set against a backdrop of Thatcherism and based on Barry Hines’ novel, Ken Loach’s beautifully observed feature, Looks and Smiles, follows a young man’s struggle to find employment in reccession-hit Sheffield.

People On Sunday (dir. Robert Siodmak & Edgar G. Ulmer,...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:50:06 +0100

People On Sunday (dir. Robert Siodmak & Edgar G. Ulmer, 1929) 5/5

Made by a group of young filmmakers including Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann, and Billy Wilder, People On Sunday is a delightful avant-garde experiment that follows a group of young Berliners on an excursion to the countryside during a typical German Sunday.

The Living End (dir. Gregg Araki, 1992) 4/5 A seminal film of...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:45:19 +0100

The Living End (dir. Gregg Araki, 1992) 4/5

A seminal film of the New Queer Cinema movement, Gregg Araki’s ‘irresponsible’ road movie, The Living End, confronts America’s fear of AIDS with its stylish story of a gay couple on the run.

Captured (dir. John Krish, 1959) 3/5 Envisioned by the director...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:50:17 +0100

Captured (dir. John Krish, 1959) 3/5

Envisioned by the director as a showpiece for feature film producers, John Krish’s ‘restricted’ military training film, Captured, offered a fascinating and propogandic insight to the brainwashing and torture techniques used during the Korean war but remained unseen by the public until 2004.

What Richard Did (dir. Lenny Abrahamson, 2012) 3.5/5 Lenny...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:50:00 +0100

What Richard Did (dir. Lenny Abrahamson, 2012) 3.5/5

Lenny Abrahamson’s interesting story of morality, responsibility, and guilt, What Richard Did, sees a privileged 18-year-old’s final hedonistic summer take an abrupt turn to tragedy after a jealousy fuelled act of violence…

Jeanne Dielman (dir. Chantal Akerman, 1975) 5/5 Following the...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:51:00 +0100

Jeanne Dielman (dir. Chantal Akerman, 1975) 5/5

Following the daily routines of a repressed single mother over a period of three days, Chantal Akerman’s minimalist masterpiece, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, is a seminal work of feminist filmmaking.

The Long Goodbye (dir. Robert Altman, 1973) 4/5 Adapted from...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:35:14 +0100

The Long Goodbye (dir. Robert Altman, 1973) 4/5

Adapted from Raymond Chandler’s novel, Robert Altman’s audacious revisionist noir, The Long Goodbye, parodies the detective genre with its entertaining story that follows Philip Marlowe’s attempts to get to the bottom of his friend’s apparent suicide.

Le Petit Soldat (dir. Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) 4/5 Not released...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:00:36 +0100

Le Petit Soldat (dir. Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) 4/5

Not released until 1963 due to it being banned by the French censors, Jean-Luc Godard’s contentious second feature, Le Petit Soldat, explores political ideals against the backdrop of the Algerian War with it story surrounding the relationship between a right-wing assassin and a left-wing actavist.

Les Cousins (dir. Claude Chabrol, 1959) 4/5 Deemed by Jean-Luc...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:55:06 +0100

Les Cousins (dir. Claude Chabrol, 1959) 4/5

Deemed by Jean-Luc Godard to be “a deeply hollow and therefore profound film,” Claude Chabrol’s second feature, Les Cousins, mirrors the setup of his debut with its story of a student from the country who goes to Paris to stay with his decadent cousin.

Le Beau Serge (dir. Claude Chabrol, 1958) 4/5 The first film of...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:50:12 +0100

Le Beau Serge (dir. Claude Chabrol, 1958) 4/5

The first film of the nouvelle vague, or at the very least the first feature directed by a Cahiers critic, Claude Chabrol’s beautifully observed film, Le Beau Serge, examines class divisions with its story of a Parisian student’s return to the village he grew up in.

Spring Breakers (dir. Harmony Korine, 2012) 4/5 An hallucinatory...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:13:06 +0100

Spring Breakers (dir. Harmony Korine, 2012) 4/5

An hallucinatory and nightmarish critique of youth culture, Harmony Korine’s hynotic satire, Spring Breakers, follows a group of college girls who get a little more than they bargained for after escaping their drab existence to partake in the spring-break ‘dream’.

Sisters (dir. Brian De Palma, 1973) 3/5 Clearly in homage of and...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:40:03 +0100

Sisters (dir. Brian De Palma, 1973) 3/5

Clearly in homage of and indebted to Hitchcock, Brian De Palma’s equally fascinating and frustrating feature, Sisters, tackles those themes common to the Master of Suspense, voyeurism, identity, and obsession, with its story concerning a reporter’s investigation into the grisly murder she witnessed.

Anatomy Of Hell (dir. Catherine Breillat, 2004) 4.5/5 Described...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:30:14 +0100

Anatomy Of Hell (dir. Catherine Breillat, 2004) 4.5/5

Described by J. Hoberman as a “poetic treatise on gynephobia,” Catherine Breillat’s provocative adaptation of her own novel (Pornocratie) explores gender relations with a fascinating story surrounding the confrontations between a woman and the man paid to watch her when she’s at her most “unwatchable.”

Un Chant d’Amour (dir. Jean Genet, 1950) 4.5/5 With Edmund...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:45:14 +0000

Un Chant d’Amour (dir. Jean Genet, 1950) 4.5/5

With Edmund White describing the film as “the sole realisation of Genet’s persistent love of the movies,” Jean Genet’s highly controversial short film, Un Chant d’Amour, is a wonderfully poetic exploration of homosexuality that has greatly influenced a generation of ‘queer’ filmmakers.