After the release of Molly’s Game earlier this week, I’ve decided to take a look at the career of its star, and one of my favourite actors, Jessica Chastain. Having truly burst onto the scene at the start of the decade, Chastain is one to be relied on for strong, layered performances, in generally very…
After decades as one of Hollywood’s most well-known and distinctive screenwriters, Aaron Sorkin has stepped behind the camera for the first time with this, his directorial debut, chronicling the real-life rise and fall of Molly Bloom – the young woman who rose to run the highest stakes poker games in the world. We first meet…
You wait years for an original movie musical and then two high profile ones come along in the same year. Following on from the success of La La Land (and boasting its lyricists in its song-writing team), The Greatest Showman seeks to capture that old-fashioned spectacle and joy that only a musical can give. Its…
Disclaimer: These are films released in UK cinemas in 2017 (some may technically be 2016 films). I haven’t seen every single film this year but I have seen the vast majority of wide releases, and sought out smaller indies (most don’t come to where I live so despite my best efforts I couldn’t justify a…
It can be hard to predict which films will live on far past their year of release. Even the awards ceremonies can’t always be relied upon to point them out; there are plenty that haven’t quite retained the power that they had when they first came out. Some films will become classics, some will gather…
I’ve written before about my love of Pitch Perfect, and my disappointment that it got taken into the sequel machine that pumps out lazy victory laps, when it could have stood on its own as a singular, cult, successful film. I didn’t hate the second film, I just felt that it lost its spark and…
After most of the trepidation surrounding the new Star Wars trilogy was eradicated with J.J. Abrams’ incredibly well-received Episode VII, there was more room for anticipation in the run up to Rian Johnson’s follow-up. However, where The Force Awakens’ biggest criticism was perhaps it sticking too closely to the familiar feel of the original films,…
With the films that were released this year and towards the tail end of last year, 2017 has been pretty good for extending your DVD collection. From the revival of the musical to Western-esque superheros to unique and underseen gems, the variety and quality on offer means that there’s more than likely one you can…
To clarify, I am only focusing on the film industry…for the world in general, progress would definitely be the wrong word. 2017 seems to be a game-changer for the film industry. Events and releases of this year seem to have started a necessary chain of reaction to change what we see on screen, who is…
*This is a modified repost of my LFF review* The second film this year to depict the Boston Marathon Bombings of only four years ago, this is so much more than most of the other overcoming adversity biopics we have become accustomed to, and delivers a really poignant, authentic-feeling account of Jeff Bauman’s experiences as…
