Write Here ★★★★ BFI Flare 2023 (Short Film)

Write Here is an excellent short – sensitive story; you are placed into the mind and heart of a character whose dream is to never forget. Jake Muñoz Consing is an almighty talent to keep an eye on. Eddie, An ageing gay man living alone with Alzheimer’s, struggles to hold

Continue Reading

When Spring Came to Bucha ★★★★★ – Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2023

An important and heart-piercing documentary, When Spring Came to Bucha provides a glimpse of the war destruction Russia is leaving in Ukraine, a film that fills you with not only sorrow, but hope – a vital film. In early 2022, the Russian army occupied the small Ukrainian town of Bucha

Continue Reading

Safe Place ★★★★ 1/2 – Glasgow Film Festival 2023

Juraj Lerotić’s impressive debut Safe Place is a gut-wrenching film. A purposely challenging viewing experience as we watch a mother and son pick up the shattered pieces of their family. Set over the course of one day, Bruno, alongside his mother, sets out to help his brother, Damir, who has

Continue Reading

Koromousso: Big Sister ★★★★★ – Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2023

In their exceptional and personal documentary Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan gives a voice to those women who have been victims of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Koromousso: Big Sister—an immensely powerful film. Canada-based co-directors Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan capture personal stories and profound moments of support in a

Continue Reading

I Like Movies ★★★ 1/2 – Glasgow Film Festival 2023

A charming dramedy, I Like Movies knows knows precisely how to get that goofy smile out of a cinephile who grew up in the same era, while doing more than enough for those who weren’t. A great indie film that won’t disappoint. and is full of heart. Socially inept 17-year-old

Continue Reading

Pawnshop – ★★★ 1/2 – Kinoteka 2023

A bittersweet documentary, Pawnshop shows that even in the most difficult of moments, kindness always prevails for a community – an unexpected treat of a film. Wiesek runs Poland’s largest Pawnshop with his wife Jola. It used to be a profitable business, but times have changed, and they are struggling –

Continue Reading

Delikado ★★★★★ – Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2023

The feeling of anger doesn’t leave you long after watching Delikado. Karl Malakunas’ documentary refuses to hold back as it pointedly shows us the violence both to humans and nature on the island of Palawan. A documentary that shows the bravery of those willing to protect nature and how low

Continue Reading

Typist Artist Pirate King ★★★★ – Glasgow Film Festival 2023

Monica Dolan’s honest portrayal of artist Audrey Amiss locks you into Typist Artist Pirate King. This fictional road trip is full of sympathy for its lead, with writer-director Carol Morley unafraid to give us a rye smile along the way. The growing friendship between a schizophrenic artist and her carer

Continue Reading

Ramona ★★★ 1/2 – Glasgow Film Festival 2023

Ramona is an engaging debut feature from writer/director Andrea Bagney. This (mostly) black-and-white love letter to French New Wave hits all the right notes with a particularly strong performance from Lourdes Hernández. Aspiring actor Ramona (Lourdes Hernández) passes a lazy afternoon in a bar, striking up a lively conversation with

Continue Reading

Predictions for the 2023 Academy Award Nominations

Nothing like getting it in under the wire right? Without further ado, my predictions for what the academy voters will chose as the nominations for the 2023 Academy Awards. (My list would look hella different, but it is what it is I guess). I will come back later today with

Continue Reading

Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part One)

Welcome back to our horror list! We have moved onto the first part of the letter P, we have some great ones in here and maybe a surprise or two as well. Enjoy. Poltergeist (1982) The film where everyone has an open suspicion that Spielberg wanted to direct a horror

Continue Reading

Award-Winning, Nerve-Rattling Crime Drama Emily The Criminal Comes To UK In The New Year

23rd November 2022, London UK – Mediumrare Entertainment announces the crime drama EMILY THE CRIMINAL is being released on DVD and Blu-ray on 16 January 2023.  An extraordinarily assured debut from writer/director John Patton Ford, EMILY THE CRIMINAL sees Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) as a young woman driven to credit card fraud in Los Angeles. Plaza is

Continue Reading

Most Horrible Things – ★★ 1/2

What should be a standard mystery thriller, Most Horrible Things becomes a muddled endeavour. A film that never really gets going the way you want it to, and by the time it tries, it is far too late. When six young strangers are invited to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – an exclusive dinner

Continue Reading

Roving Woman – ★★★ 1/2 (Raindance 2022)

What could spiral into a chaotic film, Roving Woman actually ends up becoming an insightful meditative piece. A breakup road trip movie that, at times, wanders rather aimlessly but, like its lead character, finds its way in the end. A breakup leaves Sara reeling and directionless, standing alone on her ex’s doorstep

Continue Reading

Relative – ★★★★★ (Raindance 2022)

As important a documentary as you will see this year, Tracey Arcabasso Smith’s Relative knocks you clear off your feet. Harrowing and brave, she gives sexual abuse survivors the voice they may have lost long ago in this unforgettable film that leaves you stunned. Unravelling a complex tapestry of vulnerability,

Continue Reading

Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game – ★★★★ (Raindance 2022)

Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game is as fresh and confident a film as you will see. With bags of charm throughout, there is so much to love in Austin and Meredith Braggs directorial feature debut that you have a massive smile planted on your face. An unsettled writer with a fantastic

Continue Reading

Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls – ★★★★ (Raindance 2022)

Writer/director Julianna Notten has nailed it with her feature debut, Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls, a positively refreshing, funny and authentic tale. An integral coming-of-age story for young LGBTQ+ people, but most importantly, just a really good film. As middle school comes to an end, Erin (Elliot Stocking), the only out

Continue Reading

Dear Zoe – ★★★

A frustrating film, that is elevated by performances from Sadie Sink & Theo Rossi, Dear Zoe has just too much going on in the wrong places at times. Gren Wells gives her film a lot of heart making it still worth a viewing. When Tess and her family suffer an

Continue Reading

Something in the Dirt – ★★★★

Another gem of a picture from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Something in the Dirt, is possibly their biggest triumph. A film that fans of the duo will wholeheartedly adore. With it also becoming a wonderful jumping-in point for new audiences. Benson and Moorhead have firmly cemented themselves as the filmmakers to watch with

Continue Reading

A brand new collector’s range of iconic classics in 4k housed in stunning new packaging and containing premium collectibles

AVAILABLE FROM WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY AND UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT ON 4K ULTRA HD AND BLU-RAY DECEMBER 12th  THE FILM VAULT is launched this December, a brand new collector’s range featuring titles across the Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal Pictures catalogues, with four highly-collectable and beautifully packaged titles on 4K

Continue Reading

The Sleep Experiment – ★★ 1/2

The Sleep Experiment is a frustrating watch. Some moments work very well, yet the faults are sadly too front and centre to ignore. A film that hinders itself when it has everything going for it. Two detectives begin investigating the ethics involved in the top-secret research facility, Porton Down. One

Continue Reading

Ghostwatch – (Blu-Ray) ★★★★ 1/2

The BBC gives over a whole evening to an ‘investigation into the supernatural’. Four respected presenters and a camera crew attempt to discover the truth behind ‘The most haunted house in Britain’, expecting a light-hearted scare or two and probably the uncovering of a hoax. They think they are in

Continue Reading

Censor – ★★★★ (Blu-Ray)

Of all the horror films that came out last year, Censor was perhaps the most striking. Prano Bailey-Bond’s film has been given an unbelievable Blu-ray release from Second Sight, making an already must-buy film an absolute essential purchase. Enid (Niamh Algar) spends her days meticulously watching and assessing gruesomely violent and disturbing movies, taking

Continue Reading

Haulout (Short Film) ★★★★ London Film Festival 2022

Haulout is a powerful documentary that shows the sheer overwhelming scale of the consequences of climate change on beautiful animals in the Arctic. Tragic and sobering, Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev’s film is essential viewing. A lonely man waits to witness an ancient gathering on a remote coast of the

Continue Reading

Birds (Short Film) ★★★★★ London Film Festival 2022

A film of discovery, Katherine Propper’s Birds is a lovely look at a time when summer could feel like a never-ending dream. A wonderful exploration into connection with friends, love, nature and everything in between. You can’t but adore this film. Moments in the lives of Austin teenagers during the

Continue Reading

My Year of Dicks (Short Film) ★★★★ London Film Festival 2022

As relatable a story about your sexual awakening as you will see, My Year of Dicks is a wonderful short film that tells a sincere, funny and honest tale. A female-driven animation than harmonises exceptionally well with the story – a must-watch. It’s 1991, and Pam is trying very hard

Continue Reading

Dry Ground Burning ★★★ 1/2 TIFF

Dry Ground Burning is an absorbing film with a lot to say and punches each of those points home without hesitation. Bold throughout, this hybrid documentary is a film like a few others. Sisters Chitara and Léa are the leaders of an all-female gang who steal oil from pipelines to

Continue Reading

Blonde ★ 1/2

Instead of mourning the tragedy of Marilyn Monroe’s death in Blonde, Andrew Dominik revels in her misery. Never does he appear interested in the woman and more just the despair she faces. While Blonde looks fantastic and has a passionate performance from Ana de Armas yet thise can’t save this tasteless, exhausting endeavour that never lets you in.

Continue Reading

The Banshees of Inisherin ★★★★ TIFF

The trio of Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson strike gold again with the utterly fantastic The Banshees of Inisherin. A sublime film, it knows precisely what it is doing. Quite possibly the filmmaker’s best film yet. On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Pádraic (Colin Farrell)

Continue Reading

Autobiography ★★★ 1/2 TIFF 2022

Director Makbul Mubarak challenges how far loyalty will go in his debut film, Autobiography. A confident film that never loses its way, strengthened by two strong performances from its leads. A young man working as a housekeeper in an empty mansion. When its owner returns to start his mayoral election

Continue Reading

The Colour of Ink ★★★ 1/2 TIFF 2022

As much a history lesson about ink processes as it is a humanist journey via art, The Colour of Ink is an unexpected treat of curiosity for a craft we are perhaps willfully ignorant to. What an absolute must-watch. Ink is our primal medium. It has always been with us,

Continue Reading

Canary (Short Film) ★★★★ TIFF 2022

A lovely story about escaping one’s situation for something brighter, Canary switches up its light-hearted tone for something all the more serious and never misses a step in doing so. A gorgeous and affecting short film. In 1922, a young boy named Sonny worked in an underground coal mine with

Continue Reading

It’s What Each Person Needs ★★★★ (Short) TIFF 2022

There is an evocative command to Sophy Romvari’s It’s What Each Person Needs that engrosses you with the greatest of ease. She has perfectly encapsulated the power and importance of connecting with another person – just a fantastic short. A portrait of a young woman providing companionship for juxtaposing demographics. Conversations come in

Continue Reading

Ever Deadly ★★★★ TIFF 2022

An immersive experience that is much more than a biographical music documentary Ever Deadly is as much an education as it is a look into Tanya Tagaq’s life. You will undoubtedly come away with something meaningful here. Tanya Tagaq is an avant-garde Inuit throat singer who continually explores sound transformation

Continue Reading

Skin Deep ★★★★ Venice Film Festival

A compelling, intimate gender identity drama, Alex Schaad’s feature directorial debut Skin Deep offers a fascinating look at relationships. With complex pitch-perfect performances, Skin Deep is a profound viewing. At first glance, Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) seem like a happy young couple. But when they travel to

Continue Reading

The Flying Sailor (Short) TIFF 2022

Like our titular character, Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis have thrown a mixture of animation stylings up into the air and meshed them together in their excellent meditative short The Flying Sailor. Two ships collide in a harbour, an explosion shatters a city, and a sailor is blasted skyward. Then,

Continue Reading

Dogborn ★★★★ 1/2 Venice Film Festival

Dogborn shows us that no matter how low a position you feel you are in life, there is always another level, and even just to escape your own situation, there is usually the cruellest of prices. The question is whether your humanity is worth risking to get there. Isabella Carbonell

Continue Reading

The Eyes Below ★★★★ 1/2 FrightFest 2022

Just when you thought that silly childhood fear of something alone in your bedroom had left, Alexis Bruchon comes along with his film The Eyes Below to shatter it all. A simple concept is carried out so effectively that you are left as astonished as you are spooked—a truly sensational

Continue Reading

Burial ★★★ FrightFest 2022

Burial is a period thriller that hits enough of the right notes to leave you satisfied while never striking just the right chord. It remains a compelling film with great performances from Charlotte Vega and Tom Felton. London, 1991. The home of an old woman (Harriet Walter), who watches the

Continue Reading

End Zone 2 – FrightFest 2022

The remaining two acts of End Zone 2 are presented to audiences after the terrific The Once and Future Smash, a brutally authentic 70s trash horror that will leave you wondering just how good that missing 3rd act really was. Fifteen years after the events of End Zone, Smash-Mouth is

Continue Reading

The Once and Future Smash ★★★★ FrightFest 2022

The Once and Future Smash is an absolute treat for genre fans. With so many wonderful moments carefully laden within the spoof film that you could easily find yourself clapping away at it. Just a joy of a film. The End Zone 2 was a football-themed slasher from 1970 that

Continue Reading

Her Way ★★★ 1/2

Laure Calamy owns every second of Her Way, pulling herself every which way emotionally as the exhausted single-parent sex worker. Cécile Ducrocq’s debut is a strong and memorable one full of humanity. Marie (Laure Calamy) is a confident, optimistic sex worker in Strasbourg who is determined to provide a better

Continue Reading

Aurinko in Adagio ★★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

A rather beautiful look at honing a craft and being lifted by the support of your family, Aurinko in Adagio is a joy. Elisee Junior St Preux has a wonderful touch as a filmmaker, with his film hitting you close to the heart with its effectiveness. Director: Elisee Junior St

Continue Reading

MINK! ★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival

MINK! is an open and informative documentary that is well worth 20 minutes of your day. We need more documentaries about people like Patsy Takemoto Mink for it shows the good that there is and that progress never stops. You can watch it below in the link provided at the

Continue Reading

Dog Soldiers – Standard and Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray (Second Sight Films)

Neil Marshalls Dog Soldiers has gotten a glorious special release from Second Sight Films. The top-notch werewolf horror still packs a punch with how effective it is and has barely aged a day. During a routine training mission in the Scottish Highlands, a small squad of happy-go-lucky British soldiers, including

Continue Reading

Moshari ★★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival

A never ending sense of dread envelopes Moshari, & never lets go. Wonderful filmmaking from Nuhash Humayun that has you immediately standing up & taking notice. A must watch from a filmmaker on a fast ascent. Director: Nuhash Humayun Cast: Sunerah Binte Kamal, Nairah Onora Saif IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17499740 It’s the end of

Continue Reading

Skin & Bone ★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

Weird and wonderful, Eli Powers atmospheric Skin & Bone is an unsettling short that isn’t afraid to hold its card close to its chest. Amanda Seyfried & Thomas Sadoski excel in a film that commands your attention. Director: Eli Powers Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Thomas Sadoski, Nick Verdi, McCaleb Burnett IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20783516 After taking

Continue Reading

Return to Sender ★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

Return to Sender is a strong thriller that grabs onto our fears of being watched. With the increasing dependency on the digital world, Russell Goldman shows how we are losing the control we crave for our own lives. Director: Russell Goldman Cast: Allison Tolman, Emma Pasarow,  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15225028 When recovering alcoholic Julia

Continue Reading

Paper Thin ★★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

An excellent short film, Paper Thin, focuses on the feelings that run through you when you are losing a loved one. Running at a mere six minutes, Neil Dua and Thomas Archer have made a pitch-perfect and faultless film. Director: Neil Dua Cast: Thomas Archer, Jimi Hernandez IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21415680/ An intimate exchange between two unlikely strangers

Continue Reading

When I Consume You ★★★

When Perry Blackshear focuses his latest film on the trauma and bleakness of his character’s situation, When I Consume You excels as a psychological thriller. The sense of dread is rife throughout the film, it loses itself when it tries to do too much. Nevertheless, this film affects you with

Continue Reading

Work ★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

Breakups can be messy endeavours, and for Marisela Zumbado’s Gabi, she needs to shake things up in April Maxey’s relatable film Work. This melancholy piece explores that longing for a connection with another person. Director: April Maxey Cast: Marisela Zumbado, Darlisa Ali, Star Amerasu, Elaine Whae, Jay Dathorne, Sarah Gordon

Continue Reading

Elsa ★★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival

Cameron S. Mitchell’s documentary Elsa perfectly captures a woman who will not be defined and forces you to take her seriously. Elsa engrosses and becomes a shot in the arm to make representation in the world fairer.  Director: Cameron S. Mitchell Elsa Sjunneson is a DeafBlind professor, media critic, skilled

Continue Reading

Anaïs in Love ★★★ 1/2

Entertaining throughout, Anaïs Demoustier charms the life out of you in Anaïs in Love – a directorial debut from Charline Bourgeous-Tacquet, this is a wonderful portrait of a woman at the crossroads in her life. Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier) careers from one lover to the next while trying to find some

Continue Reading

Sandstorm (Mulaqat) ★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

Seemab Gul looks at how social indoctrination still impacts Pakistani teens in her latest film, Sandstorm (Mulaqat). Gul ensures that our young protagonist is not someone who will play the role of the victim for long. A poignant and contemplative film. Director: Seemab Gul Cast: Ayesha Shoaib Ahmed, Qasim Ali,

Continue Reading

Elevate ★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival

A sombre and considerate piece that showcases the importance of compassion and the human touch, Elevate is a striking short that works on you emotionally, accumulating in a powerful ending. Director: Dylan Boom Cast: Tracie Thoms, Jason Butler Harner, Rickey Eugene Brown, Gwyn LaRee  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15699084 Tiffany (Tracie Thoms) works the

Continue Reading

Act of God ★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival

Act of God ‘s authentic charm is what drives this excellent observational short. Unexpectedly funny and poignant, Park Smith and Spencer Cook have made a refreshing and welcome film that shows disability in all of its complex forms. A disabled man’s commute is interrupted by a $100 bill lying on

Continue Reading

Bump ★★★★ – HollyShorts Film Festival

Rory Keenan’s debut film, Bump, is a rounding success, ably bringing some biting comedy while finding the perfect chance to wipe that smile clean off our faces. A strong start to a promising career as a director. Director: Rory Keenan, Cast: Gemma Arterton, Macy Nyman, Nylah Sweeney IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12435324 Heavily pregnant

Continue Reading

Cult Hero ★★★ Fantasia International Film Festival

Dale Domazar (Ry Barrett) is a washed-up private investigator and “cult-buster” whose last cult bust resulted in a mass suicide. Kallie Jones (Liv Collins) is a realtor who needs to control everything. With her husband Brad (Justin Bott) sleepwalking through life, Kallie is certain a stay at Master Jagori’s (Tony

Continue Reading

The Fight Machine ★★★★ Fantasia International Film Festival

The Fight Machine is a film that connects throughout; combining two stories is a bold choice from Andrew Thomas Hunt, but it works marvellously here. Fantastically cast from top to bottom, this is a fight drama you do not want to miss. Paul (Greg Hovanessian) and Rob (Dempsey Bryk) come from

Continue Reading

The Oil Machine – ★★★ 1/2 Sheff Doc Fest 2022

We know that we must reduce the drilling and use of oil, yet here in The Oil Machine, we are presented with a difficult watch of seeing just how deeply rooted our society is in fossil fuels. Emma Davie’s documentary takes us on an urgent journey that only speeds up

Continue Reading

British Boys and Happiness is £4 Million – Shorts Sheff Doc Fest 2022

British Boys Director Marcus Curvelo, Country: Brazil, 15 Mins Two men in Bahia, Brazil, try to prove their UK ancestry to qualify for a small plot of land in the city’s finest location: the British Cemetery. As entertaining as it is, British Boys shows how, even two hundred years later,

Continue Reading

An Exploration Short Film Strand – Part Two

Hair Tie, Egg, Homework Books 头绳,鸡蛋,作业本 Director Runxiao Luo – 15 minutes As a model student in her elementary school, 11-year-old Yuqi is assigned to give a speech about her family at the Parent’s Meeting. But after Yuqi finds out that she shares the same secret with a mischievous classmate,

Continue Reading

We’re All Going To The World’s Fair – ★★★★

You will be hard-pressed to find a film that portrays isolation effectively and unsettlingly as We’re All Going To The World’s Fair does. Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological horror hits harder than you ever expect it to, thanks to a terrific turn from Anna Cobb. A fantastic debut feature. Alone in her

Continue Reading

The Batman – ★★★★

Matt Reeves ticks all the right boxes with this latest iteration of the caped crusader in The Batman. For fans of Frank Millers work, this is the Batman they have been clambering for. Shrugging off a tired third act, Reeves ends up giving us an excellent film. With all new

Continue Reading

Streamline – ★★★

Streamline has all of the ingredients of being a compelling drama, with Levi Miller excelling as the conflicted protagonist. However, it becomes a film that needed more runtime to allow a packed narrative moments to breathe and find itself. Regardless though, this is a solid debut for writer-director Tyson Wade

Continue Reading

The Novice – ★★★★★ (BFI Flare)

An extraordinary debut feature from writer-editor-director Lauren Hadaway, The Novice is as compelling and physically tense inducing film as you will see this year – a stunning film.  Alex (Isabelle Fuhrman), a college freshman, joins her university’s rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it

Continue Reading

Boulevard! A Hollywood Story – ★★★ 1/2 (BFI Flare 2022)

There are so many twists and turns in Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary Boulevard! A Hollywood Story that you would easily be forgiven for thinking simply could not have happened. A must-watch for anyone who is a fan of old Hollywood. When Gloria Swanson, the iconic star of Sunset Boulevard, saw an

Continue Reading

Private Desert – ★★★ 1/2 (BFI Flare)

Aly Muritiba’s character drama Private Desert challenges masculine expectations in the most delicate of ways. We have a film that takes its time but rewards us with how moving it ends up being. 40-year-old Daniel (Antonio Saboia) has been suspended from active police work and is under internal investigation for

Continue Reading

His Eyes (Blaue Augen) (Short Film BFI Flare)

For 23 minutes, Miriam Fussenegger & Isabella Jeschke’s performances leave you in a tough moral dilemma in His Eyes (Blaue Augen). Director Alexander Weber has delivered an absorbing, impactful must watch film. Cleo’s (Miriam Fussenegger) quest for perfection threatens to derail plans to start a family with her girlfriend Anna

Continue Reading

Walk With Me – ★★★ (BFI Flare 2022)

When Isabel del Rosal’s feature debut Walk With Me works, it really works. Sadly though, when the film needs to be more direct, it, like its protagonist, hesitates. Nevertheless, there is a solid to great film here, if only it had been bolder. As she braves life after divorce, young

Continue Reading