Category Archives: Drama

Saving Mr Banks review

Directed by John Lee HancockWritten by Kelly Marcel and Sue SmithIn order to enjoy Saving Mr Banks, you'll need to check your skepticism at the cinema door. I'm not saying it's impossible, and I'm not saying it's recommended. It's your call.For me a little skepticism is baked in. It makes me recognize that there's something…Read More

Inside Llewyn Davis review

Written and directed by Joel and Ethan CoenI love the Coens. They've carved out for themselves a wonderful, peculiar corner of Americana. No matter the subject, their films exhibit an intellectual, anarchic wit that's all their own. Only a handful of their peers, US filmmakers and writers—maybe Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Nicole Holofcener, Charlie…Read More

Hold Fast review

Directed by Justin SimmsWritten by Rosemary House, based on the book by Kevin MajorHold Fast is a sweet little coming-of-age movie based on a beloved Newfoundland novel. Simms—who made a far grittier film from Joel Thomas Hynes' Down To The Dirt—updates the 1970s novel to the present day: 14-year-old Michael (Avery Ash) is a tough outport kid…Read More

The Book Thief review

Directed by Brian PercivalWritten by Michael Petroni, from the novel by Markus ZusakThe Book Thief is a movie I'd like to slam unreservedly, because it takes what could be a genuinely moving story of people surviving through the horrors of World War II and instead frequently delivers material of maudlin schmaltz. But I can't condemn…Read More

Philomena review

Directed by Stephen FrearsWritten by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on a book by Martin SixsmithWhen Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) was a teenager (Sophie Kennedy Clark) in Ireland, she got pregnant. For her sins, the nuns at the Roscrea convent made her work in the laundries, seven days a week for four years, and…Read More

Dallas Buyers Club review

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack Dallas Buyers Club is a moving gallery of gaunt, desperate faces. At its fore is Matthew McConaughey's, an actor who in the past two years, with sterling work in films such as The Lincoln Lawyer, Bernie, Killer Joe, Magic Mike, and Mud, has turned…Read More

12 Years A Slave review

Directed by Steve McQueenWritten by John Ridley, adapting a book by Solomon Northup12 Years A Slave is the most honest and unvarnished depiction of slavery I've ever seen. I'd wager it reaches a verisimilitude unmatched in the history of Hollywood movies on the subject—of which there haven't been that many, granted. It's hard to find historic…Read More

All Is Lost review

Written and directed by JC ChandorThis project is something of a risk for both the director and his star.For the former—Chandor's first feature was Margin Call in 2011, a talky ensemble piece set on Wall Street in the moments before the 2008 financial crash. This time he writes and directs something entirely different, the tale…Read More

Enough Said review

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener | On Demand Holofcener is the writer-director of a number of awkwardly funny American indie films. To call them comedies, or romantic comedies, is too reductive. They're independent films, and tend to avoid easy catagorization, but centre on urban relationships, about women and men and their friendships and love…Read More

Captain Phillips review

Directed by Paul GreengrassWritten by Billy Ray, based on the book A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephan TaltyGreengrass is the king of docu-dramatic liberal action cinema. I realize that's a bit of a mouthful, and that if I'm right about the association, the UK filmmaker…Read More