2025 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival – I Am Martin Parr Movie Review
That is a box that British photographer Martin Parr has stepped outside of all throughout his career. His early black & white work, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary in normal British life, is fantastic and more than a bit humorous. When he made the switch to colour photography in the early eighties, his work continued to show British life as even more colourful.
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The story is told by the man himself, with fellow photographers and historians helping to ...
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Movie Review
He felt he had something dark and deeply personal to share with his audience, and this set of songs eventually became the album Nebraska. It was unconventionally recorded (at home in his bedroom and onto a cassette recorder) and presented to his record label with instructions to release no singles and with no touring to support it. In a nod to his and manager Jon Landau’s power, the label went against their strong sense of self-interest and complied.
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This story ...
Black Phone 2 Movie Review
In a somewhat surprising move, the focus this time has been shifted from the now-teenage brother Finney (Mason Thames) to the sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). They take full advantage of McGraw’s pluck and give her some great comeback lines. They are ribald and very funny.
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This shift brings the world of The Black Phone back to life with a fresh feel amid the new horrors. Having Hawke return as The Grabber is also intact, but the story focuses more on Gwen and her ...
After The Hunt Movie Review
Set in the overwhelmingly pretentious world of the professorial elite of Yale, Guadagnino lays down the challenge of finding anything parallel between you and the lives of these self-ordained aristocrats. If you live in the normal world and use speech that doesn’t require a dictionary to translate, the challenge to relate becomes even more elusive.
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Along the way, there are directorial and cinematic decisions that provide an even bumpier road. Quick cuts before ...
The Smashing Machine Movie Review
Now that the time has come to reopen, the first film off the rank was The Smashing Machine. This work, based on the real life exploits of first-generation UFC fighter Mark Kerr, stars Dwayne Johnson as Kerr and Emily Blunt as Kerr’s first wife, Dawn Staples. Both actors are stepping out of their comfort zone, with Johnson’s role being the biggest departure. The addition of a facial prosthesis helps with the transformation for Johnson.
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Kerr was one of the first ...
HIM Movie Review
No sport is affected more by these advancements than Gridiron Football (the American kind). With that in the background, Director Justin Tipping and his team of writers Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie and Justin Tipping have created an examination of the absolute extremes and win-at-all-cost ethos that some will go to in the pursuit of athletic excellence.
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Even though the story is told in a manner that is the polar opposite of a documentary, HIM makes its thoughts crystal ...
2025 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival – Diamonds Movie Review
They are surrounded by a staff of colourful and idiosyncratic women. Each of these ladies have private lives that vary from good to the truly awful. As the film fills in the blanks and you get to know them, you also get invested in their plight and come to understand their actions.
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When a large movie costume job arrives, it pushes the staff to their limit and the effects their private lives have on their ability to work. We find the sisters harbouring a tragic ...
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues Movie Review
While the first film riffed on the dysfunction that exists in almost every rock band ever, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues zeroes in on the added particulars of the band members now being four decades older. The three core band members have all settled down into farcical jobs. Guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) sells cheese, second guitarist David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) is in a mariachi band, and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) runs a glue museum.
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One Battle After Another Movie Review
The story that underlies One Battle After Another is the extreme actions that governments (and the clandestine groups behind them) will resort to to ensure that their vision for the world is the dominant one. The overview is of the firebrands that fuelled opposition to the status quo and were unafraid to use any means necessary to restore their version of a fair and equal society.
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There are a few things to consider with the amazing performances by lead actors Sean ...
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Movie Review
David (Colin Farrell) presents himself as a solitary being, suffering in quiet solitude while going it alone. Through the strangest of circumstances, he finds himself driving solo to a wedding in a rented Saturn automobile (an American brand that only lasted twenty-five years before becoming defunct). At the wedding, he meets Sarah (Margot Robbie), an outwardly bold person with hidden damage of her own.
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Through another outlandish circumstance, the two end up ...
