In Review
Welcome to In Review! Check out the latest reviews across film, TV, theatre and so much more…
Film Review - Presence
Stephen Soderbergh […], makes a return to experimental filmmaking with Presence: a modernised ghost story serving as a deliberate subversion of the genre itself.
Film Review - Here
Here unfortunately stands as an excessively shmaltzy affair incapable of capitalising on the potential of its intriguing premise.
Film Review - Saturday Night
Encapsulating the unpredictable freneticism which helped form the genesis of its namesake, Saturday Night offers a compelling, if imperfect, peek behind the veil which concealed the chaos.
Film Review - Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Super/Man is a remarkably grounded and thoughtful profile of a man whom we all believed could fly – and maybe we still do.
TV Review - The Penguin Episode 1
Drawing out the melancholic chaos of its cinematic counterpart, The Penguin’s premiere episode enables a seamless transition in format – offering a richly textured character study which hooks you from minute aught.
MIFF 2024 Film Review - DEVO
Like its idiosyncratic subject matter, DEVO is a poignantly hyperkinetic ninety-minute examination of rock music’s most misunderstood band.
Film Review - Strange Darling
Emerging from the festival circuit in all its adrenalised glory, Strange Darling is a nightmarishly visceral masterclass in subversion which keeps you on your toes from the get-go.
MIFF 2024 Film Review - Blackout
Whilst applaudable in its attempt to meld lycanthropy with modern-day political concerns, Blackout is a poignant character study hampered by heavy-handed exposition which renders its bark worse than its bite.
Film Review - Twisters
Much like its predecessor, Twisters is an exhilarating Spielbergian spectacle which showcases the sheer vehemence of nature’s fury.
Film Review - The Exorcism
To put it bluntly, The Exorcism is an atmospherically stagnant cinematic offering akin to a long walk down a windy beach to a café that isn’t open.
Film Review - Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Long-time fans of the franchise will be happy to know that Kingdom serves as a serviceable yet clunky inaugural instalment for a new trilogy – teasing a slew of new concepts which will undoubtedly enrich the mythos of this long standing series in the future.
Film Review - The Iron Claw
Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw superbly avoids the pratfalls of biopic cliché and transforms the story of the Von Erich clan into a harrowing denunciation of toxic patriarchal masculinity masquerading as familial dynasty.
Film Review - Ferrari
High octane thrills, chills and an (un)healthy dosage of familial anguish – Michael Mann’s Ferrari is an exhilarating portrait of a man whose complexity is shaped by a past scarred by immense grief.
Film Review - Dream Scenario
Insightful, fiendishly hysterical, and (albeit slightly overwhelmingly) emblematic, Dream Scenario is a surrealist delirium that moulds one of 2023’s most inventive premises into a deeply moving, melancholic parable on the perks and perils of sudden celebrity.
Film Review - One Life
Ultimately, whilst its premise is much stronger than its humdrum execution, One Life succeeds in reminding us of the inherent goodness of ordinary people.
Film Review - It Lives Inside
Overall, It Lives Inside illustrates itself to be a unique conceptual endeavour which struggles under the weight of its own potential. Although somewhat competent in facets of its execution, it ultimately sabotages its potency and settles upon a derivatively restrained final product which unfortunately struggles to leave a lasting impression.
Film Review - Scrapper
Offbeat, endearing, and at times, soul-crushing, Charlotte Regan’s feature debut Scrapper poignantly weaves tangerine-tinged whimsy into a tale of reconciliation, effortlessly bearing the weight of immeasurable loss with a touching irreverence.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Time Bomb Y2K
Time Bomb Y2K delivers an earnest archival examination, unraveling the intricacies of the Y2K phenomenon – delving deep into the global anticipation for a potential digital doomsday.