Good, great or just alright? Lisa Choldenko’s recent, acclaimed film is a little bit of each for Declan Tan The Kids Are All Right is a film that, like its two main characters, gets stuck in its meandering second half. And although it seems a sincere and even genuine slice of family life at first, […]
Spork (J.B. Ghuman Jr)
Colourful comfort blanket for social misfits or tacky cult-by-numbers debut? Declan Tan reviews J.B. Ghuman’s debut Getting her nickname from that ingenious eating utensil that blends the undeniable benefits of both a fork and a spoon (for she, you see, is an intersex teenager), the titular character of this high school comedy/musical turns out herself […]
Home For Christmas (Bent Hamer)
Yuletide films are a risky proposition (and reviewing them in summer equally so). Can a Norwegian director of note make his mark? Declan Tan finds out Only a shade darker than your standard Disney snow-and-Santa fare comes Bent Hamer’s latest, a surprisingly uninspired bit of yuletide flakiness from the writer/director who seemed to have adaptations […]
Essential Killing (Jerzy Skolimowski)
Vincent Gallo won acclaim for his silent portrayal and director Skolimowski has the pedigree. Declan Tan assesses whether Essential Killing lives up to its reputation Jerzy Skolimowski (writer of Knife in the Water, writer-director of Deep End, actor in Before Night Falls) is clearly not a bad sort. His credits speak for themselves. And on […]
Isn’t It Good? Norwegian Wood
Although not the first screen adaptation of his work, Norwegian Wood opens a potential floodgate of cinematic versions. Does Murakami survive or get lost in translation? Declan Tan finds out Anh Hung Tran’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s 1987 novel Norwegian Wood is one of those films that leaves you seeking out the source material. Perhaps […]
The Way We War: In Our Name
In Our Name is a contemporary British war drama starring a host of TV actors. Declan Tan assesses whether this works for or against the film Brian Welsh’s second feature, starring those recognisable but unnamable faces from a spectrum of Britain’s most loved/hated evening programmes, manages all the feel and finish of some of those […]
Chib Club: Peter Mullan: Neds
Declan Tan takes a second look at Peter Mullan’s tale of Glasgow gangs on the eve of its DVD release Neds (short for Non-Educated Delinquents) charts the viscous trickle of one gifted boy’s eventual adhesion to the 1970s Glaswegian gang culture, a fate that Peter Mullan (writer-director) now into his third feature, so narrowly avoided […]
Peter Watkins, The Universal Clock and the Monoform
Writer and director Peter Watkins has dedicated his career to exploring the limits of docudrama filmmaking. After the BBC suppressed transmission of The War Game in 1965, most of Watkins work has been produced in Scandinavia and British interest in subsequent films has been curiously absent. Declan Tan investigates why Peter Watkins’ directorial work, since […]
The French Connection: Grosso Point Blank
Real-life drug-busting narc Sonny Grosso was the inspiration for The French Connection, advised Coppola on The Godfather and cruised gay bars with Pacino. Story by Tina Bexson A dozen or so shiny, black suits and their flashy women were enjoying the exotic floor show of Manhattan’s Copacabana nightclub, whilst the slick-haired man at the head […]
For Your Eyes Only: The Illustrated Bond
Titan books have released their second omnibus of the Daily Express comic strips based on Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. Francis J. Okolo gives the debrief A cursory flick through the illustrations in this wonderful collection sends you hurtling back to a pre-swinging-’60’s London of oak-panelled offices, old school ties and gentlemen’s clubs. John McLusky’s drawings prove a prescient […]
Matthew Barney 95
SUSPENSION [Cremaster] SECRETION [pearl] SECRET [biology] by Thyrza Nichols Goodeve “…what others call form I experience as force” – Roland Barthes LAYER 1: SUSPENSION Begin with iridescence and force. A force without form or home or convention, almost more like “a diagram without a will” (1) – suspended and hung. Send it at a line, […]
Gender: Sexual Minorities In India: A Political Issue
A report on the changing nature of sexuality in India by Maria Tonini The status of sexual minorities in today’s India is in a state of transition after homosexual sex was decriminalised in 2009. While the legal judgment can be framed as a move towards a more inclusive and secular society where religious beliefs against […]
Black Swan: Is This Natalie Portman’s Announcement She Can Act?
Reviewed by Chris Wood Darren Aronofsky’s new film has been celebrated as a powerful psychological thriller revolving around lust and ambition. It was chosen to open the 67th Venice Film Festival and has been nominated for a staggering 166 awards, including 5 Oscars. The story is centred around a ballet company in New York, and […]
Hong Kong: Film Business Asia
If you have an appetite for Asian cinema, Film Business Asia might become your first port of call “Film Business Asia is a new company, created and run by some familiar names in Asian film: Patrick Frater and Stephen Cremin. Based in Hong Kong and with a reach across the Asia-Pacific region, the company is […]
Made In Europe Film Festival
This year’s Made In Europe Film Festival offered a fascinating snapshot of the continent’s newest cinematic visions. Below are some of the festival highlights to keep an eye out for What: 6th Made In Europe Film Festival. “The cultural diversity of the festival movies reflect this international cooperation. With special attention for small, personal films […]
The Depth Beneath the Jokes: Richard Ayoade Talks Submarine
The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade steps to the other side of the lens. Chris Wood dives in Submarine could be considered a film about communication, the rise and fall of the libido, teenage indulgence or just the desire to be noticed. Its sharpest early scene is when the teenage Oliver Tate imagines the impact of […]
Cutting Edge: The Making of Blade Runner
Reviled at the time of its release, and now considered a cinema classic, Blade Runner still attracts attention. Tina Bexson has an audience with the androids “I’ve seen things that you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those… […]
Pinewood Studios in the Dominican Republic
Spike’s brief travel guide to legendary films studios around the world So far, 2011 has been a bumper year for the film production Pinewood Studios Group. The company has just announced a 31% rise in pre-tax profits and now plans to invest in British low-budget filmmaking through direct funding. Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said, “Although […]
Rhythm Methods: The Physical TV Company and Dance in Second Life
The Physical TV Company is taking dance beyond the body and into virtual worlds. Its founders tell us about movement on screen and the rhythm of editing As much as we love contemporary dance – Siobhan Davies, Wayne McGregor, Liz Aggiss, and others, it isn’t covered by Spike’s remit. We do, however, write about film […]
Anne Michaels & Jeremy Padewsa – Fugitive Pieces
Andrei Tarkovsky – The Sacrifice
“…The great cinematic martyr, he put life before film to the extent that it is believed he died from cancer having shot an entire film in an area contaminated by radiation (the film had needed a post-fallout look, you see). Tarkovsky didn’t give a damn about himself or money; it wasn’t important to him whether his film was a commercial success, only that he made what he intended…. “
Charles Bukowski : Bukowski: Born Into This
Pedro Blas Gonzalez Bukowski: Born Into This – Charles Bukowski See all books by Charles Bukowski at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com Charles Bukowski was a solitary man and a courageous writer. Without daddy’s money to deliver him into high places or the protective cloak of a godfather, Hank forged his way through the world with the […]
Bettie Page : The Notorious Bettie Page
James McConalogue Bettie Page Confidential See all books about Bettie Page at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com Directed by Mary Hannon and starring Gretchen Mol [Bettie Page], this film celebrates the equally despised and distinguished iconic heroine, in part responsible for the advent of modern pornography. It is a significant problem when a director attempts to chart […]
Elementarteilchen – the film of Michel Houellebecq’s Atomised :
James McConalogue Atomised – Michel Houellebecq See all books by Michel Houellebecq at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com Elementarteilchen DVD This film is terrifyingly humbling, sexually polite and bravely mundane in its philosophical exploration of the fragility pervading human love. It is packed with the warmth of the everyday trials of love and passion. This film, directed […]
Fritz Lang : Spione
Ismo Santala on the subversive pulp fiction of Lang’s 1928 silent thriller The quick-paced opening sequence of Fritz Lang’s silent thriller Spione (1928) counterpoints a carefully orchestrated crime spree with the gross incompetence of the law. After a series of assassinations and thefts, an agent rushes into the office of a trim government official. Gasping […]