Short Reviews

The Fridge

Utterly ridiculous and hokey, but not without plenty of charm and enthusiastic splatter, this Filipino horror sees an orphaned actress tormented by the titular demonic appliance. People and pets are… Read More
The Congress

The opening film at this year’s PiFan Festival is this incredible blend of live action and animation rom Ari Folman, based on the novel by Solaris author Stanislav Lem. This… Read More
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I caught this on a flight and really that’s the perfect place to see this utterly inconsequential yet mildly diverting comedy. Steve Carell is on autopilot most of the time… Read More
The Howling

While certainly entertaining, I’m baffled that some people hold Joe Dante’s film in the same high regard as John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London, or contend that the make… Read More
Pluto

Intriguing Korean thriller about the pressures of studying at an elite boarding school and the lengths the top students will go to in order to maintain their grades and get… Read More
Pacific Rim

Guillermo del Toro pits huge metal mech suits against giant creatures from a parallel dimension in his epic science-fiction beat ’em up. But is sheer spectacle enough, when the characters… Read More
Foxy Brown

I’m not hugely familiar with blaxploitation films, but I was a little underwhlemed by Jack Hill’s Foxy Brown when I finally cauht up with it. There’s no denying that Pam… Read More
Toy Story 3

I’m not sure you ever need an excuse to revisit what is arguably the crowning achievement from Pixar’s impressive “first run”. Pitch perfect entertainment for children and adults alike, on… Read More
A Field In England

Ben Wheatley’s latest is an incredibly bold, baffling, beautiful and quite brilliant period horror flick that follows a group of deserting civil war soldiers as they get embroiled in a… Read More
Red Beard

For this month’s Full Disclosure over at Twitch, my July entry on the list of shame was Kurosawa Akira’s 1965 drama, Red Beard – his last collaboration with actor Mifune… Read More
Sharknado

The rumours are true. Sharknado is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. The story is completely ridiculous, the effects are passable but a long way from… Read More
I’m So Excited

I’ve always appreciated Pedro Almodovar’s films without necessarily calling myself a fan, until he made The Skin I Live In, which quickly became my favourite of his films. Hopes that… Read More
The Beyond

Typically ridiculous zombie movie from Lucio Fulci that is also the second part of his unofficial “Gates of Hell” trilogy. There isn’t much in the way of a plot –… Read More
Secret Sunshine

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve largely allowed the films of Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong to pass me by until now. I did catch Poetry (although I much preferred Bong… Read More
Shallow Grave

It has been a very long time since I have seen this, but was definitely a highlight when it first arrived back in 1995. An incredible debut from Danny Boyle,… Read More
Monsters University

Not that anybody wanted it, but Mike and Sully are back, in this good natured prequel to Monsters, Inc. There are jokes aplenty but a lack of real heart in… Read More
Paradise: Love

The first part of a loose trilogy from Ulrich Seidl that follows an Austrian housewife as she heads to the beaches of Kenya on a package holiday in the hopes… Read More
Tales From The Dark 1

First of two 3-part horror anthologies adapting the stories of acclaimed Hong Kong author Lilian Lee. Read More