Monthly Archives November 2015

November 17, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: David Evans

Writer: Philippe Sands

Cast: Philippe Sands, Niklas Frank, Horst von Wachter

Cert: PG

Running time: 90mins

Year: 2015

What’s the story: Jewish international human rights lawyer Philippe Sands tours different countries with the sons of two Nazi war criminals. The men have very different opinions of their fathers’ wartime actions, which affects Sands personally when they travel to the Ukraine and the place where most of his family perished.

What’s the verdict: Director David Evans, a veteran of such heavyweight shows as Whitechapel and Downton Abbey, keeps My Nazi Legacy visually simple, the camera held at a respectful distance from its subjects and rare family photos and archive footage providing a grim look into the recent past.

The complexity comes in t...

November 8, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: Danny Boyle

Writer: Aaron Sorkin (screenplay) Walter Isaacson (book)

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, Makenzie Moss

Cert: 15

Running time: 122mins

Year: 2015

What’s the story: Wonder and warts and all account of the legendary Apple CEO, unafraid to show the at times shockingly cold heart of a man who revolutionised the communication age. Fassbender, replacing Leonardo Di Caprio and Christian Bale, delivers a layered, balanced performance as the mercurial Jobs, with Kate Winslet similarly impressive as his Marketing partner and all-round conscience Joanna Hoffman...

November 7, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Writer: Emma Donoghue (screenplay and novel)

Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers

Cert: 15

Running time: 118mins

Year: 2015

What’s the story: Told through the eyes of 5-year-old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) this is the story of his life and his mother (Brie Larson). Since birth a brutal captor has held them in a 10m by 10m room. Ma tries to create a typical childhood for her son, teaching him about life through television and limited supplies. Once she realises young Jack is physically ready to escape their prison a daring plan is hatched and the real world is in touch. However will Jack and his mother be able to adjust to freedom?

What’s the verdict:

Inspired by the harrowing case of Joseph Fritzl, Emma Donoghue has adapted her multiple award winn...

November 6, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Jacques Audiard

Writer: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Noé Debré

Cast: Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan, Claudine Vinasithamby

Cert: 15

Running time: 109mins

Year: 2015

What’s the story: In the final moments of the Sri Lankan civil war a Tamil tiger (Jesuthasan) flees to France along with a fake wife (Srinivasan) and daughter (Vinasithamby) to begin a new life with a new name – Dheepan. Working as a custodian, he tries to forget the horrors of war. What he encounters in his new surroundings is a new, but just as destructive battle. A Prophet and Rust & Bone director Jacques Audiard returns with hard hitting subject matter in this 2015 Cannes Palme D’Or Winner.

What’s the verdict: With three nominations under his belt Jacques Audiard finally, dese...

November 1, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: King Hu

Writer: King Hu

Cast: Shih Chun, Shangguan Lingfeng

Cert: 12

Running time: 111mins

Year: 1967

Language: Mandarin (English subtitles)

What’s the story: 15th century China, the Jingtai era. Minister of Defense Yu Chien is executed after being framed by the evil eunuch Zhao, controller of the Eastern Agency and Palace Guards. Zhao orders Yu’s children also be killed, but warriors sympathetic to the minister spirit them away. Assisted by the mysterious traveller Xiao, they must face Zhao’s forces at the remote desert tavern, Dragon Inn.

What’s the verdict: Relatively obscure in the West, in the East Dragon Inn has cast a long shadow over wuxia (martial arts hero) movies...