First Look Review: Jungleland (2019)

Here’s something exciting for this blog, an exclusive review of Waheed Iqbal’s debut film Jungleland, a cinematic portrayal of the modern Birmingham underworld. In the vein of Drive or Taxi Driver, this film scratches at the bloody surface of a world that does not wish to be known. The lights of the city are sharp…

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s second picture roars it’s way into the box office this weekend, and amid the well-deserved hype, an interesting and eerie portrayal of human existence creeps in amongst the scares. As the heat beats down on America the Wilson family return to a family lake house for the summer, and to the beach where…

Beast (2017)

  An odd, twisty yet still vaguely unwieldy thriller, Michael Pearce’s Beast is unlike any other serial killer film you’ve seen before. There is a world-within-a-world on the island of Jersey. One that hides in suburbs behind thick hedges and demur smiles and a very real sense of claustrophobia. Mol (Jessie Buckley), a young woman feeling stifled…

Now on Netflix: Bad Moms (2016)

The film Bad Moms film brings laughs and some touching emotional moments as three women fight back against the pressure to be perfect at all time, and start a PTA wide rebellion. Amy Mitchell (Mila Kunis) over-worked and has had enough. When she’s not running round after her kids and doing their homework for them, she’s working…

Now on Netflix: Triple Frontier (2019)

  J. C. Chandor’s latest exploration of the psychological depths of America turns it’s attention to the after effects of lives spent in combat, fighting with the belief that the flag on your shoulder is absolves, and with memories that are hard to shake. The script, written by Chandor and frequent Katheryn Bigelow contributor Mark…

Captain Marvel (2019)

  In 2019, it feels extremely perfunctory to put much celebration into the fact that we finally have Marvel’s first female led film. Eleven years after Iron Man was first released, we finally have more of a gender balance in the actors in the juggernaut that is the MCU – and much of that is due to…

Why John Cassavetes’ Shadows is Still Relevant Today – Article

Today my first ever commissioned article has been published on The World of Apu, a bi-monthly multilingual film magazine which has writing from critics and film commentators from all over the world. My article is about John Cassavetes’ 1958 film Shadows and why is still chimes with audiences today. You can find it here, Please have a…

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Barry Jenkins’ acclaimed follow up to the entrancing Moonlight is a lyrical and heartbreaking adaptation of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk, a richly layered and visural depiction of the black experience in America. In 70s Harlem Tish Rivers (Kiki Layne) reflects on her relationship with Fonny Hunt (Stephan James) that spans her entire life, from childhood friends,…