“The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” (The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow, 2008, US, 131 min) To beat an ex-partner at something is a wonderful feeling: a feeling that Kathryn Bigelow surely experienced when her war film The Hurt Locker trumped her ex-husband James Cameron’s multi-million [...]
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“Box… three…. spool… five” (Krapp’s Last Tape, Ian Rickson, UK, 2007, 45mins) The rasping, almost grating voice of the great Harold Pinter severs the silent opening after four minutes of the audience watching the disconcerting struggle of the character on their screens. No music plays as a backdrop to the close-ups of Pinter’s wearisome face. [...]
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27 Guesses … (27 Dresses, Anne Fletcher, USA, 2008, 111 mins) [WARNING: Major spoilers ahead, ending revealed.] … Is what I’d give you to guess the plot of this American rom-com, and twenty-six of them are unnecessary. I expected to watch a light-hearted, yet uplifting, romantic comedy that was easy to watch and enjoyable in [...]
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“I’M GONNA BE A STAR!” (Withnail & I, Bruce Robinson, UK, 1986, 107 mins) “Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day, and for once I’m inclined to believe Withnail is right. We are indeed drifting into the arena of the unwell.” Being a student, it is easy to sympathise with being [...]
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Deserted (Wild Wild West, Barry Sonnerfeld, USA, 1999, 106 mins) Will Smith sings “Any damsel that’s in distress, be outta that dress when she meet Jim West” in the song for the film of the same name. Not played until the end of the movie, the audience nevertheless are plainly aware of what characteristics our [...]
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Testing my palate (Io Sono l’amore, “I Am Love”, Luca Guadagnino, Italy, 2009, 120 mins) Guadagnino’s beautiful I Am Love, which could be described as an Italian melodrama, tenderly and patiently depicts the passion of cookery and escaping routine in a home of withering family fortunes. Tilda Swinton’s Emma Recchi is a devoted mother and [...]
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Controversy and Chaos (Martyrs, Pascal Laugier, France, 2008, 100 mins) In 2008, amidst the increasingly jaded stream of torture porn and mediocre Hollywood remakes of Asian ghost stories, cine-fanatics were looking for something new, something truly frightening. Then, out of nowhere, came Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs, which, from its marketing, appeared to be just another entry [...]
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(Philadelphia, Jonathan Demme, USA, 1993, 125 mins) Justified. Philadelphia is the first Hollywood film to acknowledge the danger and consequences of AIDS, but also the ignorance that many people become susceptible to because they don’t understand this pandemic. Tom Hanks won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and a Silver Bear for Best Actor, and [...]
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Entering The Room (The Room, Tommy Wiseau, US, 2003, 99mins) Before September 23rd 2009 I liked to imagine that I knew something about film. I was a minor expert in some areas, that’s what I told myself; I had a lifetime of viewing and close reading to my credit; but I knew nothing. As the [...]
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“Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was the ugly duckling…I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever really” Taking a retrospective look at Judy Garland’s performances in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939) and ‘A Star is [...]
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