Category: Film
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Review: Testament of Youth
This beautiful film based on the memoirs of Vera Brittain examines love, grief and how to keep going when it seems that all hope is gone, through the eyes of one young woman’s story. Alicia Vikander stars as Vera, a young woman who is headstrong and wants to become a writer. But what follows is […]
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Review Round Up… Captain America: Civil War
Superhero films are all the range at the moment – but is this one a successful release that is guaranteed to thrill and entertain audiences? The Guardian: **** Peter Bradshaw described it as: “a huge aspartame rush of a film: a giant irresistible snack, not nutritious, but very tasty.” The Independent:**** Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “Imperfections, […]
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Review Round Up…Eye in the Sky
Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman star in Gavin Hood’s thriller. But what are critics thinking of it? The Guardian: **** “While it’s often tough for Hood to add much style to the stagey set of one-room locations, he does achieve some seat-edge suspense in a number of bravura sequences.” Evening Standard: **** “It is thoughtful, […]
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Review Round Up… Florence Foster Jenkins
Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant star in this biopic about Florence Foster Jenkins, an heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera star. The Guardian:***Peter Bradshaw called it: “Stephen Frears’s enjoyable, sentimental movie.” Variety: “bright, bubbly and suitably ear-bursting biopic of surely the least gifted chanteuse ever to sell out Carnegie Hall.” Hollywood Reporter: “a warm-hearted celebration […]
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Review Round Up…The Jungle Book
This latest reboot of the classic animated Disney film based on Rudyard Kipling’s book is filled with CGI – but can it still impress the critics? The Guardian: **** “a terrifically enjoyable piece of old-fashioned storytelling and a beautiful-looking film: spectacular, exciting, funny and fun.” IGN: ” Favreau’s take on the story amplifies the 1967 animated […]
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First Impressions of…The BFG Trailer
Another Roald Dahl is being adapted for the big screen, starring Mark Rylance as the friendly giant himself. But what can we tell about the film from its first major trailer? There is just something about Roald Dahl’s books that seem to capture the imagination – no matter what age you are and it seems […]
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REVIEW: The Dressmaker
Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth star in Jocelyn Moorhouse’s film adapted from Rosalie Ham’s novel – but is it worth a watch? Returning to the small town that she left in disgrace years ago, Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage sets out for revenge on those who did her wrong – armed with a sewing machine. An adaptation of […]
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Review Roundup… The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Chris Hemsworth returns as the Huntsman, in this sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman – but does it hit the spot with critics? The Guardian: * Peter Bradshaw was unimpressed writing: “It really is a nuclear war of dullness.” Variety.com: Guy Lodge described the film as: “rhythmically flat, seemingly committee-helmed franchise outing that never […]
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Review Roundup… Eddie the Eagle
Can this story of underdog Michael ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards win over the critics? The Guardian: **Peter Bradshaw thought that: “The film’s heart is in the right place, but Jackman and Walken are all wrong.” Evening Standard:*** David Sexton wrote: “Eddie the Eagle failed better — and here is the ultimate feelgood film to show […]