Red Sparrow, which comes from Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence, initially looks like a La Femme Nikita knock-off with a troubled young woman recruited by the government to train as a secret operative. Refreshingly, this modern cold war drama leans more toward the slow-burn intrigue of Jean le Carre than it does an action exploitation piece. Jennifer Lawrence leads an
Read moreThree Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri from In Bruges writer/ director Martin McDonagh is a southern-fried story of grief, vengeance and redemption that takes a seemingly familiar tale and adds layers, textures and plot twists for a potent, moving and at times shocking drama. In a guaranteed Oscar-buzz performance, Frances McDormand plays a grieving mother Mildred Hayes who’s daughter was brutally
Read moreMaudie, which is based on the life of Canadian folk artist Maude Lewis has Oscar written all over it. A moving but often mawkish story of someone battling against the odds, it’s exactly the sort of film the academy rewards. In lead Sally Hawkins case, however, that honour would be deserved. Sallie Hawkins plays Maude a middle-aged woman crippled and
Read moreGifted is an unashamed tear-jerker but a surprisingly effective one. It falls into the vulnerable kid genius sub-genre along with films like Little Man Tate although, refreshingly, the wunderkind here is a little girl. Mary (McKenna Grace) is a seven-year-old orphan who has lived with her mechanic uncle Frank (Captain America’s Chris Evans) since her mathematician mother’s death. Home-schooled for
Read moreSofia Coppola’s films are rarely plot driven, instead they focus on relationships, manners, gestures and as in The Bling Ring and The Virgin Suicides, female sub-cultures. Coppola’s remake of the 1970 Clint Eastwood film The Beguiled exemplifies these themes. Set in the deep south during the American Civil War as the confederate campaign began to collapse, the film sees wounded
Read moreLike a slightly less grim Michael Haneke film, Romanian drama Graduation is a story of moral crisis told in a raw and understated manner. The film centres around 50-something surgeon Romeo (Adrian Titieni) who, despite his prestigious career, lives in a grim-looking housing estate in Transylvania with his wife Magda (Lia Bugnar) – from whom he sleeps separately – and
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