Concussion (2015) Movie Review – Will Smith Takes on the NFL
SPOILER WARNING: This review contains significant spoilers for Concussion (2015), including details about the characters, medical findings and important events in the film. If you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want the story spoiled, watch the film first and come back afterwards. There are some films you watch once, enjoy and probably never think about again, but Concussion isn’t one of those films for me. I’ve watched it around six times now, and despite knowing exactlyREAD FULL REVIEW…
Revenge (1990) Review – Passion, Betrayal and Brutal Revenge
Spoiler Warning: This Revenge (1990) review contains major spoilers, including details of the affair, violence and ending. The film also contains strong violence, a graphic facial injury and sexual scenes. Revenge is one of those films I rarely seem to see shown on television anymore, which is a shame because with Kevin Costner, Madeleine Stowe and Anthony Quinn, and the brilliant Tony Scott behind the camera, there’s a lot to like here. Released in 1990, it’s partREAD FULL REVIEW…
The Way, Way Back Review – One of My Favourite Coming-of-Age Movies
Spoiler Warning: This review contains major spoilers, including details about Trent’s behaviour and the ending. I’ve watched The Way, Way Back around ten times, and I’ve finally decided there’s no point pretending this is anything less than a 10/10 for me. I absolutely love this movie. I know what’s going to happen, I know the characters, I know how it ends, and somehow that final scene still makes me teary every single time. There are some greatREAD FULL REVIEW…
In the Best Interest of the Child Review – When Nobody Listens to the Child
Spoiler & Content Warning: This review contains major spoilers and discusses child sexual abuse allegations, disturbing behaviour in a young child and family court proceedings. Sometimes the title of a film becomes increasingly ironic the longer you watch it. That was certainly the case for me with In the Best Interest of the Child. This 1990 made-for-television drama stars Meg Tilly as Jennifer Colton, a divorced mother whose five-year-old daughter Mandy begins displaying increasingly disturbing behaviour followingREAD FULL REVIEW…
The Stoning of Soraya M. Review: Heartbreaking & Brutal
Spoiler & Content Warning: This review contains major spoilers and discusses the film’s extremely graphic depiction of execution by stoning, domestic abuse and violence against women. There are films that upset you while you’re watching them, and then there are films whose images remain in your head long afterwards. The Stoning of Soraya M. falls firmly into the second category for me. Based on Freidoune Sahebjam’s account of the 1986 death of Soraya Manutchehri in Iran, theREAD FULL REVIEW…
We Still Kill the Old Way Movie Review: Old-School Vengeance
Spoiler Warning: This review contains major spoilers, including discussion of the ending. We Still Kill the Old Way is a gritty 2014 British crime thriller with a wonderfully simple premise: when retired East End gangster Charlie Archer is murdered by a vicious street gang, his brother Ritchie returns to London and gathers some of his old associates to deal with the people responsible. And frankly, after seeing what this gang is capable of, I was quite happyREAD FULL REVIEW…
Vendetta Movie Review: Danny Dyer Delivers a Brutal British Revenge Thriller
Spoiler Warning: This Vendetta movie review contains significant spoilers, including discussion of the murders and ending. Vendetta is certainly not a film for the squeamish. This 2013 British revenge thriller, written and directed by Stephen Reynolds, stars Danny Dyer as Jimmy Vickers, a former Special Forces interrogation officer who returns home to discover that his parents have been brutally murdered. What follows is an extremely violent, sometimes gruesome and surprisingly compelling story of revenge. And I’m goingREAD FULL REVIEW…
Lollipop Review: A British Masterpiece That Left Me in Tears
Warning: This Lollipop review contains spoilers. There are films that entertain, films that make you think, and then there are films like Lollipop that completely break your heart. I can honestly say I spent most of this film in tears. It affected me more than almost any British drama I’ve watched in recent years, and long after the credits rolled, I was still thinking about Molly and everything she had endured. The film centres around Molly, playedREAD FULL REVIEW…
Case 39 Review – A Creepy Supernatural Thriller That Still Gets Under My Skin
Warning: This Case 39 review contains spoilers. My Case 39 review is quite simple: if you enjoy supernatural horror that slowly gets under your skin rather than relying solely on jump scares, this is well worth watching. Released in 2009, Case 39 stars Renée Zellweger as Emily Jenkins, a compassionate social worker who believes she has come across one of the worst cases of child abuse she’s ever encountered. The young girl at the centre of theREAD FULL REVIEW…
The Passion of the Christ Review – A Film I Could Only Watch Once
Warning: This Passion of the Christ review contains spoilers and discusses graphic violence. My review of The Passion of the Christ comes with a confession: I have only ever watched this film once, and I have no desire to watch it again. That is not because it is a bad film. Quite the opposite. It is because the film is one of the most emotionally devastating and brutally violent cinematic experiences I have ever endured. Directed byREAD FULL REVIEW…