Tag Archives: drama
“Is it worth paying for a ticket?”: Blue Jasmine (2013)
Blue Jasmine (2013), Woody Allen’s most recent film, tells the story of Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett) – a troubled woman whose privileged lifestyle has recently changed drastically. Finding herself destitute and moving in with her sister, Jasmine wants to get back to her old status as soon as possible, with some mishaps along the way.
Fishing Without Nets (2012): “If I fish with violence, will my net be full of blood?”
Cutter Hodierne’s short fictional film Fishing Without Nets (2012) confronts the issue of piracy in Somalia. Shot using non-actors on location in East Africa, the film is a brief yet blunt portrayal of life as a Somali pirate, and gives an insight into what might lure an individual into a life of piracy from a […]
Like Someone In Love (2012): Quick-shot review!
Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love (2012) is a divisive but charming film that follows Akiko (Rin Takanashi), a university student who also works as a prostitute. Akiko meets her client for the night: a man old enough to be her grandfather. The situation grows increasingly complicated as her fiance, who is unaware of her […]
Frances Ha (2013): “This apartment is so aware of itself.”
Noah Baumbach’s ode to mumblecore Frances Ha (2013) is a surprising film that will defy your expectations. Frances Halliday (Greta Gerwig) is your typical ‘young modern person’ trying to find her way in life. After an awkward break-up, Frances’ living situation becomes increasingly complicated, as does the search for her own life’s purpose. We follow […]
Dogtooth (2009): Quick-shot review!
Dogtooth, or Kynodontas (2009), is a Greek language drama film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. It focuses on a very strange family where the father and mother choose to keep their children ignorant of the outside world, even as they grow into adulthood. The father goes to great lengths to ensure that his children never learn […]
This Is England (2006): Quick-shot review!
Having since inspired two television sequels, This Is England (2006) focuses on the lives of a group of young skinheads in England in 1983. The divisive Margaret Thatcher is in power, and the Falklands War is fresh on everyone’s minds; especially that of Shaun (Thomas Turgoose). Shaun is 12, and gets picked on at school. […]
Spring Breakers (2012): “Act like you’re in a movie or something.”
Spriiiing Breeeaaakkkk fo’ everrrrrr. Spring Breakers (2012) is one of those films that pans out pretty differently to how you anticipate it, whilst simultaneously being a pretty standard ‘alternative crime’ thriller. Four college girls (Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine) really want to go to spring break in Florida, but being students, […]
“Is it worth paying for a ticket?”: American Hustle (2013)
Warning: I’m about to write something that might be really unpopular. David O. Russell’s American Hustle (2013) is an examination of the ups and downs of life as a hustler. We follow two con artists as they seek to work out their relationship with one another, as the biggest heist of their conning career escalates beyond their […]
Anna Karenina (2012): “Romantic love will be the last delusion of the old order.”
Based on one of my favourite books of all time, by the magnificent Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (2012) is a tragic story about love and lust, society, marriage, loyalty, and the conflict between traditional and modern Russian values. It centres on the titular character Anna (Keira Knightley), who is in a stable but monotonous relationship […]
A Single Man (2009): “Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty.”
Written, directed, and produced by prominent fashion designer Tom Ford, A Single Man (2009) is based on the book of the same name by British author Christopher Isherwood. Set in 1962, it tells the story of George Falconer, a university professor who has recently lost his partner in a horrible car accident. We follow George (Colin Firth) […]
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