Jimmy Kimmel and his scriptwriters hardly covered themselves with glory at the Oscars. Robert Downey Jnr was unimpressed by the gags that came his way, but worse was to come when that old chestnut about…
Film Reviews
Film Review – Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
2024 is a special year for the Glasgow Film Festival, marking 20 years in existence. For the opening gala, they aimed for something extraordinary, and boy (or should I say girl), they delivered with Rose…
2024 BFI Flare Review – Backspot (2023)
It’s not a sideshow any more. Cheerleading’s a sport in its own right, demanding dedication, teamwork and fitness. But success comes at a price – usually more than one – and D W Waterson’s teen…
2024 BFI Flare Review – Close To You (2023)
While it neither opens nor closes this year’s BFI Flare, Close To You is easily the festival’s hottest ticket. And for one reason. It marks the return to the big screen of Elliot Page who,…
2024 BFI Flare Film Review – Chasing Chasing Amy (2023)
Released back in 1997, Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy had a patchy critical reception. The legendary Roger Ebert loved it, others weren’t so sure, but there was certainly more to it than the bland “romantic comedy/drama”…
Film Review – Irish Wish (2024)
On paper, Irish Wish could be the perfect romantic comedy movie: after all, it has all the elements for success, at least when it comes to this genre. The film has everything you would expect…
2024 BFI Flare Film Review – Silver Haze (2023)
Five years ago, director Sacha Polak introduced us to the raw, then-untrained acting talent of Vicky Knight in Dirty God. Silver Haze sees them back together: Knight has more experience under her belt and her…
Film Review – The New Boy (2023)
After six years away from cinema screens, Australian director Warwick Thornton returns with a story which draws on his childhood experiences and pairs a unique young acting talent with a multi-award winner. The result is…
Film Review – Dogman (2024)
Anytime I sit before a Luc Besson film there’s expectations prevalent throughout my mind, Dogman is no exception, particularly as unique lead Caleb Landry Jones has a long list of breaching weirdness amongst a plethora…
Apple TV+ Review – Manhunt (2024)
Manhunt is a gripping account of John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent effort to bring him to justice. But it’s about so much more than that, taking in post-Civil War politics…
2024 Glasgow Film Festival Review – Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023)
In a capitalist society, our routines are drilled into us practically from birth. Wake up, go to work, come home, eat, go to bed, rinse and repeat. It’s a routine that Fran (Daisy Ridley) has…
2024 Glasgow Film Festival Review – Janey (2024)
Whether you recognize her name or not, for many Scottish people, Janey Godley’s comedy is a familiar presence. From watching her at the fringe to viewing her COVID videos featuring Nicola Sturgeon, she is vociferous,…
Pigeon Shrine Frightfest Glasgow – Film Review – Last Straw (2023)
A young woman with an unwanted pregnancy is terrorised by a masked gang while managing the graveyard shift in her father’s roadside diner. Disaffected 20-year-old Nancy feels trapped by her tedious job and small-town surroundings.…
Film Review – Poor Things (2023)
I was lucky enough to first watch Poor Things at the London Film Festival at the end of 2023. Like everyone in the same early morning press screening I was in, I loved the movie.…