https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKJ4Thgk1Js Written & Directed by Alex Garland UK/2022/100mins ★★ Men. The title alone is rather gripping, no? Creator Alex Garland’s follow-up film to Annihilation and Ex-Machina, Men is a bloodied folklore centring on the pugnacity of male antagonism. A broad statement for the film to make – and the foundation of Garland’s narrative of one woman, Harper, seeking refuge after her … Continue reading Men – Review
https://youtu.be/_17BEuP2o0A Written & Directed by Jane Schoenburn US/2022/83mins ★★★ There’s a world where oddness is not only coveted but valued for its creative intentions – an aspect cinema has praised and lavished for decades finds a new home in the liberating world of social postings online, from the dark depths of 4Chan to the Creepy … Continue reading We’re All Going To The World’s Fair
https://youtu.be/DGhq0Kx8dzQ Written by J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves Directed by David Yates USA/2022/142mins ★★ You would think that following the messy and contrite issues of The Hobbit, Warner Bros would recognise the murky waters which lay ahead with their subsequent prequel series – Fantastic Beasts. It appears not. This third instalment of the Harry Potter … Continue reading Fantastic Beasts – The Secrets of Dumbledore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4zGRKbnVh8 Written & Directed by Joshua Zeman ★★★★ In parts of the abyss otherwise unexamined, a haunting, peculiar noise ripples through the bleakness of the unexplored. In 1989, whilst assigned to detect Russian submarines, US Navy marine surveillances detected the frequency of a whale’s singing at 52Hz, significantly higher than any other recorded song. The … Continue reading The Lonliest Whale: The Search for 52
https://youtu.be/Y-zCemn5GuE Written by Phil Drinkwater & Tim Woodall Directed by Jacob Gentry USA/2021/104mins ★★★★ Seeing something which was never there has led to a catalogue of theories, mysteries, and YouTube Rabbit holes (something which we’ll touch on later). Hours spent chasing lost media or disturbing episodes of kids' shows, the same is true for intrusive … Continue reading Broadcast Signal Intrusion
https://youtu.be/LcGboaLRVE8 Written & Directed by Adam Oldroyd UK/2022/94mins ★★ There’s something to be said for a cinematic experience in which national treasure Les Dennis defecates himself during an armed heist; it’s nothing good. British comedy Sideshow seems to consider itself a bit of a freak, separate from the mainstream, a ‘dark’ comedy that finds itself with a … Continue reading Sideshow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOInHcgmKus Directed by Joe Wright Written by Edmond Rostand Adapted by Erica Schmidt ★★★★ Unconditional love - a bounty of limitless possibilities: of pain and euphoria. There’s no wonder why it, and its hideous sibling unrequited love, are the rhyme & reason of many a poet and performer. Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac underpins the values of … Continue reading Cyrano – Universal Pictures
https://youtu.be/AaDxGcmIc64 Written & Directed by Franka Potente Germany/2020/100mins ★★★★ Revenge and reconciliation. Forgiveness takes more than accepting an apology – and to truly repent, it takes more than showing a brave face at the local Church. An eye for an eye may seem the viable option for some, but the agony and dredging of emotion … Continue reading Home – Review
https://youtu.be/togmdDHG3Pw Written by Charise Castro Smith & Jared Bush Directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard USA/ 2021/ 102 mins ★★★★★ The sixtieth animated feature to reveal itself from the Walt Disney Vault, Encanto continues the companies’ ongoing exploration of cultures outside of traditional Western fables or European folklore. Turning their eye towards the dense, emerald forests of Columbia, … Continue reading Encanto – Review
Adapted by Hannah Lavery from the short story by L. Frank Baum Directed by Marc Small ★★★★ At some point or another, every child hatches a plan to snare the fat man in the red suit. And in the still of the night, this fascination with Santa Claus, a man of legend who brings glee … Continue reading The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus – Pitlochry Theatre
