I managed to catch one of the showings of this year’s American Express Gala film at the London Film Festival. The latest from Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, tells the true story of the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, and elevates itself from the kind of…
I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Screen Talk at the London Film Festival. It was a really insightful talk that covered the span of Gyllenhaal’s career, with interviewer Edith Bowman picking out interesting moments to hone in on, and asking thoughtful questions. The stage set up– two chairs around a…
LFF TIP: Keep checking the website for screenings and events that say ‘sold out’, you might just get lucky if they release new tickets – even the morning of. I was lucky enough to snag a last minute ticket to the first screening of Stronger at the London Film Festival, which was followed by an…
There is a huge variety on offer this month, ranging from political thriller to comedy to sci-fi to indie-sic-fi-comedy. Miss Sloane In the world of political thrillers, one part of that world has often been skimmed over: lobbying. Here it takes centre stage as we follow one of the top lobbyists in Washington, the titular…
The announcement of Matthew Vaughn’s follow up to his surprise smash-hit Kingsman: The Secret Service, was met with pretty much no resistance; it is a rare case of a sequel being sought out and recognsised by audiences as being more than a money grab, but a continuation of something clearly set up in the first…
With the release of Blade Runner 2049 coming up, I thought I’d take a look at the man at the helm, whose impressive feature filmography should settle some of the nerves of the diehard fans. Denis Villeneuve has emerged as one of the most consistently excellent filmmakers working today, and in the past few years…
The third film in Taylor Sheridan’s unofficial ‘American Frontier’ trilogy (after writing Sicario and Hell or High Water, he now writes and directs this film), is a similarly enthralling tale of another facet of the American life, and in another part of the country. This is a chillier tale both in setting and atmosphere, but…
One of the most effective ways to bring storylines or emotions full circle is to use a callback line. It can be a brief reminder to the audience of where the characters started out, and thus how far they’ve come, and, if used well, can add strong emotional resonance to a scene. Most notably used…
Following the scary clown craze that erupted last year, thankfully 2017’s clowns have been relegated to the big screen. In this, the first big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s mammoth classic (or at least, the first half), the scares are balanced with comedy and teenage banter, leading to something more akin to a coming of…
After five years, Kathryn Bigelow is back with another real-life drama, but one set further in the past than her last two, however this is still sadly, and frighteningly, relevant. Set in the 1967 Detroit riots, the film centres around a situation that arises as a result of gunfire on a group of police and…
