Ran
Kurosawa’s RAN forces us into a cool intellectual appraisal of bloody vengeance, betrayal, and moral collapse, writes Keith Braithwaite.
Mud
Strong performances and a confident tone mark out this highly enjoyable slice of Southern Gothic, writes Gavin Midgley.
I’m So Excited
Pedro Almodovar’s latest is like a glass of cheap Cava, writes Gavin Midgley: fizzy and fun while it lasts, but mostly forgettable and nothing to write home about.
Fuck For Forest
These eco-activists bagged £100,000 in one year, to save South American rainforests. But does Michał Marczak’s doc show them as a bunch of hypocritical trustafarians?
In The House
Treading a fine line between creepy and charming, IN THE HOUSE ingratiates itself with the audience before pulling off a nimble series of twists and reversals.
Il Grido
The streets are waterlogged. The workers are revolting. Antonioni’s GRIDO is a simple tale of lost love and bleak perambulation, of snatched moments and merciless mechanics.
Boccaccio ’70
At the Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast, the Belfast Film Festival overlaps with the Italian Film Festival this week. Rosy Hunt looks back at a classic Italian anthology film.
The Place Beyond The Pines
An overly ambitious, sprawling drama with commendable performances. At the heart of THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES there is an engaging film, but it is lost in an abundance of narrative.
Gatekeepers
The greatest triumph of GATEKEEPERS is the filmmaker’s ability to persuade the former heads of Israel’s Secret Service to speak so openly, writes Sarah McIntosh.
We Went To War
Michael Grigsby’s final film is an outstanding and immensely moving examination of the true cost of war, writes Gavin Midgley.
A Time To Love And A Time to Die
Today’s date in 1944 saw the Crimean offensive in full flow. Douglas Sirk sets a glossy romance against the grim backdrop of the Russian-German front.
Trance
Although TRANCE is engaging and evokes his finest work, lack of empathy and glib plot ‘twists’ determine its future as a footnote in Boyle’s career, writes Jim Ross.
Dredd
The chatter from fans was positive despite not nearly enough people watching it at the cinema, and, let’s face it, it had to be better than the Stallone version. Jen Williams reviews DREDD.
Spring Breakers
Harmony Korine’s SPRING BREAKERS is a vivid depiction of the annihilation of innocence and American idealism, writes Edward Frost.
Henry Fool
Henry Fool is a Luddite ronin with a skeleton in his closet and an albatross around his neck. Rosy Hunt looks back at a Shakespearian Hartley classic.