Chartering the life of folk artist Maude Lewis and the romance which blossomed in later life between her and taciturn fish peddler Everett, Aisling Walsh’s Maudie is moving without ever being schmaltzy and gripping without having to resort to a superfluous narrative arc. Staring Sally Hawkins as the Nova Scotia artist known for her infantile drawings of cats, flowers and colourful landscapes, the film is not only likely to move its audiences to tears, but also manages to tell a beautifully nuanced story without ever sugar-coating some of the more unsavoury element of relationship between the two protagonists.
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Just like its title, The Ghoul, despite all its intricate twists and clever ideas, is a completely dumbfounding piece of cinema for even the most seasoned cinema goers to get their head around without inducing the mother of all headaches.
This British psychological thriller dares to be different; it pushes the boundaries from what the typical narrative one would expect from the genre, mixing a murderous investigation with a devilish fantastical reality, which, on paper, has a real originality you want to root for. However, in reality, this mind-bending trip of confusion leaves you constantly in a fog of bewilderment.
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Directed by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer) and written by real life couple Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, Portlandia), the highly anticipated The Big Sick finally makes its way to a cinema near you this week. Staring Nanjiani himself, the film centres around real life events in the life the Pakistani born comedian during his courtship with his now wife Emily (played in the film by Zoe Kazan). After all the praise heaped on it at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, one would have been forgiven to approach the hype with a certain amount of trepidation. But fear not, because this gem of a romantic comedy is everything you might have heard and hoped it would be. It is edgy without being kookie and touching without ever resorting to schmaltz.
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Wish Upon is a funny and interesting reminder that we all hope for a touch of magic in our lives. The trailer surely smells like teen spirit. You will have fun if you are young, or if you are still connected with your inner child.
Teenager Clare (Joey King) is given an old music box that promises to grant the owner’s wishes, and, to her surprise, when she makes her first wish, it comes true. Before long, she finally has it all: money, popularity and her dream boy. Everything seems perfect — until the people closest to her begin dying in the most gruesome and twisted ways.
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In the early summer of 1940, 400,000 British and Allied troops are stuck on the beach at Dunkirk. While they await rescue from the British Navy, the town is being littered with leaflets, reminding the locals and the soldiers that they’re surrounded. The situation looks – and is – hopeless.
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Okja looks for all the world like a heartwarming family film about a little girl’s friendship with an adorable giant pig and that’s exactly what it is… for about twenty minutes. Director Bong Joon-ho (The Host, Snowpiercer) uses this time to lay the pipework of the plot. The multinational Mirando corporation has sent out 26 ‘superpigs’ to be raised by farmers around the world., After ten years, the healthiest and biggest pig will win a prize. We get to know 14-year-old Korean girl Mija (An Seo Hyun), who has grown up alongside her grandfather’s superpig, Okja, on his farm in rural South Korea.
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As intelligent horror movies go, It Comes At Night isn’t so much senseless blood and gore, but rather a film which will inject a sense of fear, paranoia and utter despair in its audience. Written and directed by Trey Edward Shults, the film manages to play on its audience’s deepest fears by using clever devices which will make even the most seasoned horror fans jumped out of their skin. Playing on the whole tried and tested “cabin in the woods” trope, Shults manages to bring something fresh and classy to the proceedings without ever resorting to cheap tricks or tired clichés. Borrowing from Romero, Carpenter and even from John Hillcoat’s The Road (2009), the film cleverly plays on the idea of trust in a bleak post-apocalyptic envirement, all the while treating its audience like adults and never spoon-feeding them.
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Our expectations of the latest incarnation of the web-slinger have been pumped and primed since his cameo in last year’s Captain America: Civil War. The teenage Spidey/Peter Parker nearly stole the entire film from under the more experienced noses of Robert Downey Junior and Chris Evans, with his youthful exuberance, cheekiness – and inability to cope with his new found super powers.
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Who would have thought a film about the early days of golf in Scotland could carry with it this much heart, and emotional turmoil. Held together with an incredibly well crafted narrative, this surprisingly moving tale offers way more than its tittle would suggest. Directed by Jason Connery (son of Sean Connery) from a screenplay by Pamela Marin, Tommy’s Honour is not only well acted and beautifully portrayed by a brilliantly self-effacing cast, but it is also a film which will have you rethink your preconceived ideas about the sport.
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