LFF: White Bird in a Blizzard review
White Bird in a Blizzard may quite obviously be a Gregg Araki film, with teens exploring their sexuality, heightened drama, David Lynch influences and impeccable but rather extravagant costuming and soundtrack choices, but it actually feels like a particularly restrained and nuanced example of his work. Araki does have a tendency to throw everything at the … Read more
LFF: Men, Women & Children review
Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children would attempt to explore the status quo of social connections in the internet age. Unfortunately, despite having what appears to be a very strong point of view, Reitman does seem to lose interest in his ostensible subject, and instead diverts his energies into creating something of soapy drama. Reitman’s screenplay, which he adapted … Read more
LFF: ’71 review
The conflict in Northern Ireland may not seem at first to be the ideal or most appropriate setting for a survival thriller, but with ’71, director Yann Demange and screenwriter Gregory Burke have created one that proves its worth with class and elegant simplicity. The film begins with the introduction of Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell), a fresh recruit into … Read more
LFF: The Imitation Game review
For their biopic of Alan Turning, the mathematician, code-breaker and all-round unsung hero of World War II, screenwriter Graham Moore and director Morten Tyldum have chosen to focus on three discreet periods. We first have his school years, for which Turing is played by Alex Lawther; then comes period from when he was first hired to work at Bletchley Park to … Read more