From Luis Bunuel’s dark classic Exterminating Angel to the raucous Steve Carrell comedy Dinner For Schmucks, the hellish dinner party scenario is familiar to cinema audiences. Through some inventive twists and a plot device that plugs straight into contemporary culture, the smart, acerbic Italian Film Perfect Strangers (which screened at the 2016 Lavazza Italian Film Festival and was a box
Read moreWhile few outside the chess playing community will know this true story’s details, The Queen of Katwe is a very familiar type of film. Mixing a Slumdog Millionaire-type story in which a downtrodden person uses their unique talent to lift themselves out of poverty with a To Sir with Love-style depiction of a committed teacher inspiring underprivileged children, this film
Read moreThe Danish Girl sensitively depicts the life of Danish landscape painter Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and his transition from male to female through gender reassignment. Einar was married to painter Gerda (Alicia Vikander) but came to the realisation that he felt more comfortable as a woman. In the mid-1920’s he underwent the first gender reassignment surgery and became Lili. While
Read moreGambling addiction drama Mississippi Grind indulges nearly all the clichés of the ‘nihilistic loser seeking redemption’ movie right down to the relationship with a hooker with a heart of gold but impressive turns from leads Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn animate a slightly creaky story. Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn play two pathological gambling addicts, Curtis and Gerry, who try
Read moreThe gentle understated Love Is Strange begins as an examination of the difficulties faced by same sex couples but ends up as a more conventional indie family drama. George (Alfred Molina) and Ben (John Lithgow) play a recently married couple enjoying life in an upmarket New York apartment. When, in a reaction to the wedding, the catholic school where George
Read moreLiam Neeson’s latest film Non-stop will no doubt have had action junkies salivating. The no-nonsense title and a poster that features Neeson blasting away with a pistol in the middle of an aeroplane cabin, suggests a Taken-style parade of relentless and mindless action. Those who delight in cinematic carnage may, however, be slightly peeved to discover that, aside from a
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