Midsommar Movie Review
Dani (Florence Pugh who is almost unrecognisable from her lead role in Fighting with My Family) plays a young lady who has recently suffered a horrible family tragedy. She accompanies her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor - Sing Street and Strange Angel) to Sweden for a vacation.
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The vacation turns out to be a visit to a mysterious cult celebration and things seriously unwind from that point on. There will be little description of those activities in this review as ...
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan Movie Review
The tension created rarely subsides and in the few moments of relative calm, there is an overriding sense of impending danger. Even the most benign actions seem to carry colossal consequences. Living in peace time, it’s hard to comprehend how the young troops (most of them in their early twenties) could cope with such intense pressure.
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The film is very effective at making the audience feel the close proximity to death as the bullets fly and the dread never ...
Late Night Movie Review
Set in the world of host driven late night television shows, it uses some of the inherent hypocrisy of the genre as its foundation. It builds something from this base that is equal parts comedy and social commentary. It makes statements but is far from preachy.
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Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is the much heralded and old school host who has lost touch with her audience and in some ways herself. She answers accusations of being anti female in her writing staff ...
Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw Movie Review
Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) who are sworn enemies must once again team up to save the world. The two alpha males try to out do each other at every step and seem to be receipting from a script written in all caps. The film’s big baddie Brixton, played by Idris Elba also gets in some juicy lines. Add the femme fatale Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) to the mix and you have a cast with some serious fire power.
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It’s great fun to watch them ...
The Keeper Movie Review
In the film, an English grocer who is supplying the camp with goods sees Trautmann playing football and recognises his skill as a goalie. He coaches a local team and works out a deal with the camp’s commander to have him leave the camp for the day and play for his team.
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Trautmann has to overcome the prejudice and hatred post war for the Germans and so begins his odyssey. One that ultimately ends with him marrying the grocer’s daughter, playing for Manchester ...
2019 Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival – One Last Deal Movie Review
Otto, at first drives him to distraction but when Olavi finds a buried treasure of a painting, the two bond over the detective work needed to find the establishment of the painting. The auction house is unaware of the painting’s true value and Olavi scapes the money together to buy it.
One Last Deal investigates the dynamics between an absent father and his only daughter. It doesn’t demonise the father but more presents the things that could have enriched his life had they been ...
2019 Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival – Happy Ending Movie Review
Helle (Birthe Neumann) is living a life of waiting. Waiting for her husband Peter (Kurt Ravn) to retire from his sixty-hour a week job so they can actually have a life together. When the time finally arrives, Peter surprises her by announcing that he is leaving and wants a divorce. What comes after is the basis for the film.
Both Helle and Peter are both in their seventies and their travels into single's lives lead to some seriously crazy and hilarious situations. Their age plays a part only ...
2019 Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival – Aniara Movie Review
Trapped on a ship hurtling through the cosmos with no immediate destination, the society on board breaks down. There are suicides, anarchy, incarcerations and the formation of cults. The banner of civility is ripped off and the veneer of society is gone.
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This cautionary tale is based on the poem Aniara by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson. It paints a harsh picture on a future where the corporation that runs the space craft now runs the society and their ...
The Lion King Movie Review
It doesn’t end there however as they have wisely added a few new ideas of social relevance and ramped up some of the humour. The main example of this funny business is Seth Rogan’s take on Pumbaa that gets the modern laughs flowing with a presentation that reads like the loveable warthog has been foraging jazz cabbage.
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The voice acting feels more vital than the original and the live action setting carries a higher level of visual impact. It might now be a bit ...
The White Crow Movie Review
Many of the dance scenes are fantastic and really sell the feeling that the dancers are floating in the air. This illusion is reinforced by having a professional dancer play the lead role of Nureyev. First time Ukrainian actor Oleg Ivenko inhabits the role with substantial effect and even looks the part.
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Nureyev was one of Ballet’s true greats and he is played here as the pampered and egotistical rock star he was. He bucked the system and was unafraid to taunt ...
