Truth: fictional drama has some value in showing how censorship works and...
James Vanderbilt, “Truth” (2015) An ambitious film for James Vanderbilt’s directorial debut, though he is well known in Hollywood as a script-writer, “Truth” is a fictional retelling of the drama...
View ArticlePieta (dir. Kim Kiduk): a cruel and absurd grotesquery mocking the poor and...
Kim Kiduk, “Pieta” (2012) This tale of dark revenge centres around a class of people at the bottom-feeding end of the capitalist social hierarchy pyramid, those people fated to work at essential jobs...
View ArticleSuffragette: catering to narrow interests of identity politics over the real...
Sarah Gavron, “Suffragette” (2015) Of the recent plethora of British historical drama movies, Gavron’s film “Suffragette” is one flick that tries to be two things to two sets of people but fails at...
View ArticleThe Gold Rush: a fun and clever film of comedy, drama, romance, horror and...
Charles Chaplin, “The Gold Rush” (1925, revised 1942) In reality, the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush must have been a harsh, grim and ultimately disappointing experience for many prospectors who flocked to...
View ArticleReview of Films I’ve seen in 2015
Review of Films I’ve seen in 2015 Dear Under Southern Eyes Readers, Another year, another summary of the films seen over the past 12 calendar months! I must say that of the films released in 2015 that...
View ArticleThe Big Short: a crash course into the causes and toxic culture of the 2008...
Adam McKay, “The Big Short” (2015) How do you tell the story behind the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the massive housing bubble that led to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, with the attendant...
View ArticleCharlie’s Country: a portrait of a man and his community in search of...
Rolf de Heer, “Charlie’s Country” (2013) A sad and compassionate film of a man’s search for identity and belonging, “Charlie’s Country” originated as a vehicle around lead actor David Gulpilil’s...
View ArticleSpotlight: a rare quality Hollywood film that celebrates good investigative...
Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight” (2015) On rare occasions Hollywood can still demonstrate an ability to make good films about muck-raking journalism and Tom McCarthy’s “Spotlight”, based on actual events, is...
View ArticleSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Hollywood Goth drama undone...
Tim Burton, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007) US film director Tim Burton has long been fascinated with non-conformists and outsiders, especially those outsiders who become so...
View ArticleRendition: straining to present an honest and critical view of US foreign policy
Gavin Hood, “Rendition” (2007) Rarely does Hollywood release a film that attempts to address and deal with issues critical of US government foreign and domestic policy in an honest way: “Rendition” is...
View ArticleAnomalisa: an incompletely developed film on alienation and the struggle to...
Charlie Kaufmann and Duke Johnson, “Anomalisa” (2015) Not often does a film come along that encapsulates in its appearance and format its themes of human alienation, rootlessness, loss of identity and...
View ArticleSally Hemings: An American Scandal – earnest attempt to flesh out Thomas...
Charles Haid, “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal” (2000) More notable for the performances of its lead actors Carmen Ejogo as Sally Hemings and Sam Neill as Thomas Jefferson, the third President of...
View ArticleDavid Bowie Under Review 1976 – 1979: The Berlin Trilogy – a good if dry...
Christian Davies, “David Bowie Under Review 1976 – 1979: The Berlin Trilogy” (2006) David Bowie’s death in early January 2016 left behind a considerable artistic legacy encompassing visual art, cinema...
View ArticleTrumbo: a moving dramatisation of a society’s delusions, paranoia and...
Jay Roach, “Trumbo” (2015) This biopic of Hollywood screen-writer Dalton Trumbo’s career from the late 1940s to 1970 is a vehicle for a survey of the anti-Communist witch-hunts conducted by US senator...
View ArticleThe Phantom of Liberty: a snapshot of modern life where social conventions...
Luis Buñuel, “The Phantom of Liberty / Le Fantôme de la Liberté” (1974) This film might be seen as a snapshot in the life of modern France as it appeared to Luis Buñuel, with all its bourgeois...
View ArticleSon of Saul: a modern morality play in the midst of extreme evil
László Nemes, “Son of Saul / Saul Fia” (2015) Of all the stories László Nemes could have chosen to film to launch his career as a director, few are so terrifying as a day or two in the life of a Jewish...
View ArticleThe Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: mocking the middle classes for their...
Luis Buñuel, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie / Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie” (1972) This comedy-of-manners film about six people who constantly make arrangements to have dinner together...
View ArticleThe Image: a tiny study of mental crisis, homoeroticism and creepy atmosphere...
Michael Armstrong, “The Image” (1967) Notable mainly for being singer and sometime actor David Bowie’ first film role, this 14-minute horror short is an eerie surrealist piece. With not much story to...
View ArticleMoon: using familiar ideas and concepts to generate thinking about the nature...
Duncan Jones, “Moon” (2009) Like father, like son, no? … decades ago David Bowie sang songs of doomed astronaut Major Tom and in 2009 son Duncan Jones announces his arrival as a film director by making...
View ArticleWhistle: a bland and modest sci-fi thriller that saves its killer punch for...
Duncan Jones, “Whistle” (2002) “Moon” director Duncan Jones’ first feature is a 29-minute short that initially looks bland and banal, and moves slowly in its first half, but which packs a punch in its...
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