The Artist Review

With the release of OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies in 2006 Michel Hazanavicius and the seemingly effortlessly charismatic Jean Dujardin looked set for global domination and a real crossover into the mainstream cinema-goer’s consciousness. Outside of France OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, and the equally smart and entertaining sequel OSS 117 – Lost … Read more

Wild Bill Review

The release of a inmate from prison and their subsequent reintegration into ‘regular’ society is an area that is filled with potential for interesting drama. Ulu Grosbard’s under-seen and underrated 1978 film Straight Time (based on the equally excellent book No Beast So Fierce by Edward Bunker) uses this premise to explore the way in which the released inmate’s, played by Dustin Hoffman, life is defined by the … Read more

Curling King Review

It’s a widely held belief by many that comedy doesn’t travel well. Comedies from Hollywood often face more uncertain futures when it comes to international takings than other genres, particularly action films, and non-English speaking comedies seem to struggle to find an audience outside of their native countries. There are of course exceptions and I … Read more

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai Review

Anyone who has already seen Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film Harakiri, of which this film is very much a remake, will very quickly realise when watching Miike’s 2011 update that little in the story has been changed but whilst the mechanics of the story are unchanged Miike makes significant changes in the way this story is … Read more