I normally tend to start my reviews with either a brief summary of the plot, or some preamble that sets the stage for the following thoughts. However, there are occasionally films that just appear and make such an incredible impression, it’s better to cut right to the chase, and proclaim it as something quite extraordinary….

When it came to exploring the postwar experience of Italy, and commenting on the more bizarre sides of society, very few filmmakers were able to match Dino Risi. An exceptionally divisive filmmaker, particularly when looking at his comedies, he was capable of touching on issues that far superceded the general themes of his films. Occurring…

Andrei Gennadievitch (Vitaliy Khaev) just wanted to eat his dinner in peace. A police officer who is respected (perhaps even feared) by his peers, he leads what appears to be a highly-principled life, based on a strong set of morals instilled in him from an early age. However, this afternoon turns out to be something…

Juha (Pekka Strang) is a very successful heart surgeon who used to have the perfect life – a happy family, a few houses that they could escape to for the weekend and a generally pleasant position in the world – it is essentially what many dream to accomplish. This is until his wife accidentally drowns…

Professor John Huxley (Roger Allam) is a world-renowned philosopher and critical thinker who has taken the world by storm for his many attacks upon religion, with his attempts to evoke rational thought making him a global sensation, but also a very controversial figure that has as many enemies as he does devoted followers. Two such…

When thinking of films that look at the role the media plays in shaping our perception, many tend to gravitate towards Sidney Lumet’s Network, which is widely considered one of the finest satires ever committed to film. The passionate, furious monologues delivered by the incredible Peter Finch in the role of Howard Beale, and his…

Jane (Sally Hawkins) has not led the most pleasant life. When she was younger, she was victim to the malice of others, most notably being left at the altar after her husband-to-be abandoned her at the last minute, which comes almost concurrently to her time as a participant in local beauty pageants. She has now…

You can’t ever accuse Shohei Imamura of not delivering precisely what he promised throughout his career. When venturing into a film with the striking title of Pigs and Battleships (Japanese: 豚と軍艦), you’d easily be forgiven for thinking this is somewhat allegorical, functioning as a metaphorical reference to something embedded in the film. The surprise that…

In the small but fascinating canon of sequels that are better than the originals, Addams Family Values is one of the definitive examples. Barry Sonnenfeld, as I wrote in the previous review, did exceptionally well in bringing Charles Addams’ timeless creations to the screen in The Addams Family, and two years later seemed to not…

Revisiting films from your childhood is always an interesting experience – very often the sensation of uncompromising nostalgia fools us into believing that these are still perfect films that are free of any discernible flaws and where the tender, fond memories we had when first encountering them are once again evoked by what is often…