Reviews
Review Library
With contributors in London, the Midlands and Scotland, Future Movies is the largest independent movie review site in the UK according to Google, attracting over a million page views per month. Affording exposure to cult, low and no budget filmmaking alongside blockbuster fare, the site also features competitions, news and interviews with actors, directors and industry insiders.
Reviews
2 June 2010 Review: Paul Gallagher
The best music videos often succeed by straying from the tones and scenarios suggested by the songs they accompany, but with ‘City Lights’ Mat Sunderland bucks the trend. His video takes the song’s electro bleeps and cut-up beats as a cue for swirling neons and tight visual rhythms and the result is a perfect meeting of image and sound.
Sunderland makes the band’s live performance infinitely more interesting by chopping it up, splitting the screen into different sections and containing each band member within their own box. Having created these restrictions he proceeds to push against them, with heads, arms and guitars breaking through, causing the images to overlap. They are then projected onto a backdrop to produce a digital sheen, almost as if the band members are computer creations themselves. It’s an intense and unique showcase for both Bodymachine! and Sunderland: a job well done. View |
2 June 2010 Reviewer: Paul Gallagher
This simple but effective piece is a satire about nuclear power, featuring the poet Danny Chivers addressing the camera in the grounds of Dungeness power station. The title is an explicit reference to Jonathan Swift’s classic 1729 treatise, and while his anti-nuclear poem isn’t in the same league of originality or wit, it is sharp and funny, making a clear and worthwhile point. This film is also a good introduction to the work of poet and rabble-rouser Chivers, and while he initially comes across as a little too similar to Russell Howard in his upbeat sarcastic delivery, the political focus of his work marks him out as sufficiently different to be worth investigating. View |
2 June 2010 Reviewer: Paul Gallagher
This atmospheric drama is excellent evidence for just how much can be achieved with a tiny budget and a lot of creativity. Gareth Crook, who wrote, directed, edited and stars in the film, makes great use of a single location - a deserted country road in the middle of nowhere – and a subtle soundtrack, to build a growing sense of unease and foreboding. The insertion of a flashback helps to add depth to the stranded driver’s predicament, and Crook’s overall attention to detail ensures the believability of the set-up. With this kind of story, we know things will take a turn for the surreal at some point, and sure enough The Pass concludes in the realm of the truly weird. Keep watching after the credits for a neat postscript. View |
2 June 2010 Reviewer: Paul Gallagher
Subtitled ‘King of the Urban Jungle’, Ed Hartwell’s unhinged animated take on King Kong – with London’s famous Routemaster bus replacing the giant ape – offers a funny couple of minutes along with some gently subversive undertones. His simple animation style recreates the city’s landmarks as monochrome backdrops, with the bright red bus zipping between them hither and thither. The plot sticks to the hallmarks of Kong’s final showdown, with the Gherkin standing in for the Empire State Building, and ex-Mayor Ken Livingstone unleashing a squadron of biplanes to dislodge the pesky bus. Yes, it’s as silly as it sounds, and heaps of fun. View |
2 June 2010 Reviewer: Paul Gallagher
A charming little almost-love story, this beautifully constructed Irish short is reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s films (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore), presenting two unique and distinctly opposite characters, unaware of each other’s existence but destined to be together. Writer/director Richard Davis has Anderson’s ability to create striking images out of precisely ordered mundane scenarios, and uses music to great effect, creating a light and whimsical tone. On the strength of this film, Davis is a director worth keeping an eye on. View |
5 May 2010 Reviewer: Michelle Thomas
Clever conceptual dance film where all the action takes place in two dimensions. Chalk paintings on a pavement are the furniture, as a dancer gets up, cleans her teeth, showers, drinks her tea, takes her dog for a walk, goes for a swim, catches a bus. Its the very ordinariness of these activities, set against the oddity of ‘walking like an Egyptian’, that makes the film so original. Despite the occasional jerkiness of the stop-frame animation, this is lots of fun. View |
3 May 2010 Reviewer: Michelle Thomas
A short film from Burundi, Nothing’s The Same is the story of Anemone, a pretty girl engaged to successful, car-owning Nicholas; this makes her the target of unpleasant bitchiness from her neighbours. Fetching water one day, she is raped; the police are called but she is devastated... and terrified that Nicholas will call off the wedding.
It’s very exciting to see films coming out of Africa, starring Africans and dealing with universal problems. Some of the acting is slightly over the top and the score is a little intrusive at times, but otherwise this is a fine piece of work. View |
3 May 2010 Reviewer: Michelle Thomas
A clever idea to imagine what might have been going through the mind of Neil Armstrong just before he set foot on the moon. Well, I hope that at least he would have shaved. But the idea of him suffering from stage fright is neat, and setting your short in the control room of a space ship means high production values on a simple set. View |
3 May 2010 Reviewer: Michelle Thomas
In a second-hand TV shop, a boy and a girl meet and fall in love to the sound of the Carpenters. But the path of true love never doesn’t run smoothly as they are trapped in televisions on opposite sides of the room; how will they ever get together? I liked this take on Romeo and Juliet: physical separation delineated by plastic boxes. View |
6 April 2010 Reviewer: Jay Richardson
This comedy-horror directed by stand-up comic and occasional filmmaker Dan Evans, specifically echoes a famous Monty Python sketch, but couches the punchline in a prevailingly dark, off-kilter mood that sustains your interest throughout and rewards further viewing. Integral to the film is an engagingly slack-jawed performance from Morgan Jones as a prospective house buyer, viewing property after property with his own freeloading agenda. Snappy editing accentuates the laughs and the more unsettling scenes. In the words of the film itself, it also contains “disappointing nudity”. View |
6 April 2010 Reviewer: Jay Richardson
Given the speed at which computer technology is refining animation, this 2004 film by Andrew Purtell stands up exceptionally well to scrutiny post-Avatar. On a snow-swept planet in the distant future, two humanoid species of cyborg wage a pre-programmed war for eternal life. For all the impressively rendered artificial anatomy and hard-core armoury on display, Purtell isn’t above indulging in a little robo-skeleton butchery in order to showcase his ability to recreate liquids. Plot is distinctly secondary to the intricately detailed visuals and faultless soundtrack, so just sit back and admire the animation skills on display. View |
6 April 2010 Reviewer: Jay Richardson
A social worker, wracked with guilt following the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl under his supervision, undergoes hypnosis in an effort to control his aggression. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, Matthew (Barry Etherson) is convinced he can recall the identity of Claire Peterson’s abductor, hazily glimpsed in his memory. Driven to desperation by his lack of progress, he steals the treatment case file, with tragic consequences. Some of the supporting cast in Turlough McAleenan’s film are discordantly stiff and the exposition occasionally crowbarred. but this is easily forgivable given the central character’s unreliable mental state and the narrative’s compelling pace. View |
6 April 2010 Reviewer: Jay Richardson
The prize for four-piece outfit, Bodymachine!’s City Lights track winning the Tech Music Schools 2009 Demo Review was this striking low-budget video shoot. Opening with the blurred image of a UFO falling through the night sky, director Mat Sunderland’s film splits into a pulsating, neon-wash variation on the standard performance promo with close-ups of band members lit by projected images and foregrounded against footage of darting metropolitan traffic and rockets. The track’s prominent synths are visually echoed by the video’s computer game colours, its editing rhythm dictated by the verses’ nervy breakbeats. View |
6 April 2010 Review: Jay Richardson
Winner of the student film competition in this year’s SEE Brighton Documentary Film Festival, Hamida Chowdhury’s 2008 Blood On Your Hands follows the Coalition To Abolish The Fur Trade in their protests outside Harrods, the only UK department store to still sell fur garments. Mohamed Al-Fayed’s private ownership of the store, and lack of accountability to shareholders, makes challenging the fur policy all the more difficult for both the dedicated protesters and filmmakers, whose access to official company comment is repeatedly thwarted and restricted to shoving a camera in the proprietor’s face at his high-profile sales.
Given such constraints, the film is necessarily a little one-sided, as CAFT’s members are afforded ample opportunity to voice their grievances. Chowdhury does speak to a former Harrods employee, however, while a security guard maintains the demonstrations actually boost the store’s exclusivity and sales; a claim strongly disputed by the protesters. Some contextual analysis of fur trade economics to stand alongside the mischievous footage from Harrods’ pet department would have been appreciated, but given the resources at the crew’s disposal, this is an excellent example of positioning viewers at the heart of a compelling issue. View |
1 March 2010 Review: Chris Evans
Although simple in style and execution, this horror ghost story has a wonderful charm to it and is shot in a way that makes you feel genuinely spooked. It follows a young man who has cheated on his wife driving along country road late at night, as a young girl narrates the story of a 15th century abbot who sold his soul to the devil and was left for dead on the road by his fellow monks. What follows is a spooky encounter between the two men that will remind you of the ghost stories you used to hear as a youngster. View |
1 March 2010 Review: Chris Evans
Although four years old, this multi award-winning short from Taiwanese artist Kun-I Chang still compares favourably with other modern graphic design works. Shot using real actors and images projected on to a green screen, the film conveys the life of the chief protagonist through moving graffiti on a poster in a train station. The sense of desperation to break free from the confines of his environment is conveyed through lead actor Jimil Shanmasdin’s actions as he confronts the camera with expressions of anger or desperation while passing from one colourful scene to the next. A masterful and visually stunning work. View |
1 March 2010 Review: Chris Evans
‘You could never have resisted becoming a member of the Hitler Youth without some dire consequences,’ says the elderly Fred Curtis rather starkly, in reference to his early life in Germany as a young boy called Friedrich Karl Nischwitz. He is one of the founding fathers of the computer hard drive and talks openly about the ritual beatings he received as part of the Hitler Youth before escaping to live in the US and eventually fight against the Germans in the Second World War.
This is an amazing and troubling story, and at its most poignant when Curtis talks about the lack of love and recognition from his emotionally distant father. View |
1 March 2010 Review: Chris Evans
An offbeat and imaginative comedy that tells a dark and sinister tale of revenge involving two infamous players of an unusual card game called Perrington Stud. Set in the 19th century using real life images of JM Barrie and William Young Darling, the story stems from one particularly gripping game between the upstanding Battenberg kid and the sinister Drop Down Davey. The Kid loses, but believes Davy cheated, and so follows him across the globe before demanding a re-match. The clever manipulation of images, amusing dialogue and spot on narration from cockney John Benfield make this a must see. View |
| 5000 | Drama, Animation |
1 March 2010 Review: Chris Evans
The title refers to the number of people kidnapped by Columbian terrorist organization, FARC, and as director Luis C Alvarez points out, it is ‘a symbol tattooed on the lives of every Columbian.’ Of those thousands that have been detained, Alvarez chose to focus on Diego Granados, an outspoken journalist who had written several articles on the activities of FARC. His three month captivity in the mountains of Columbia is captured in claustrophobic close-up with George Isaacs playing the role of the journalist.
The film is unrelenting in its depiction of the journalist being subjected to physical and psychological torture by his captors, reminiscent of scenes from films such as The Road To Guantanamo and Deer Hunter, in which death appears imminent at every turn, yet never arrives.
Alvarez does a good job of building tension throughout, most notably in a scene where Granados is forced to listen as a woman in the room next door is abused while the body of her husband is dragged away.
Whatever your view of FARC’s principles, the extent of human torturing and suffering they inflict can’t help but make you question their actions, and that is Alvarez’s ultimate goal with this powerful and very well-made film. Highly recommended. View |
1 February 2010 Review: Mike Barnard
Overtaken is a bizarre take on the western genre Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt would be proud of. An otherworldly being obsessed with a human girl narrates as he tries to woo her with a sensual mask, however the pleasurable effects of the headwear force are reversed when he is rejected by his human object of affection. As much unsettling as it is just plain odd, Overtaken will almost certainly give you a few weird dreams, though the sting in the tail guarantees you’ll be freaked out by any attention from sea-dwellers on your next trip to the beach. View |
1 February 2010 Review: Mike Barnard
Nazi-occupied Jersey is the setting for the revelation of a dark secret as two sisters walk to the beach for a picnic. The boundaries between friend and foe are blurred in this emotional tale which sees younger sister, Rose, and her baby pushed away by the elder Irene who wants to stand up against the German occupiers. Family loyalty is questioned in a cutting moment of truth, unveiled with the awkward tension it deserves. The final moments will bring a tear to the eye as a departing gesture is found wanting, bringing drama in the most subtle of ways. View |
1 February 2010 Review: Mike Barnard
Adaptations of Homer's epic poem ‘The Odyssey’ don't come much more off-the-wall than relocating them to Jersey, as directors Rozanski and Pearce capture a young man exploring the island's fields and talking to cows. Supposedly a comedy, Occupied is more an aloof series of skirmishes which may raise a more eyebrows than smiles. At its heart is a man seeking comfort and trust, and despite the short runtime he is pushed to fight, is alienated and then struggles to fit in again for what is an uncouth allegory of the perils of finding a comfortable social environment. View |
1 February 2010 Review: Mike Barnard
The riddle of identity is unwoven in this fantasy about personal liberation. Kate has come to Jersey, unsure of why a series of postcards have led her to the island, and her meeting with a mysterious Gabrielle sets her on the path of self-realisation. Dashes of Yellow is a quaint and touching short which unfolds into a moment of revelation. The two leads make for an enjoyably playful pairing as a life-affirming message is found amid clues in the Jersey landscape. It’s fluffy and warm-hearted – ideal for sweeping gloominess away. View |
1 February 2010 Review: Mike Barnard
This is the winning film in the Branchage Vauxhall 48hr Film Challenge, held in October last year on the British island of Jersey. Five hand-picked filmmakers were given the task of making a short road movie in just two days, with the genre and title picked out of a hat - and all films had to include the famous Jersey cow. It's a challenge met with relish by director, Gaelle Denis, who used the genre of crime and the title ‘Morning Mist’ to produce a tense, bleak five minutes suffused with Se7en-like morbidity.
The gruff Richard is driving his tractor when he is confronted with a lost-looking Rachel dragging a suitcase behind her. Their meeting is an awkward one, made more uncomfortable by Denis splicing in Richard’s police interview over an incident he seems haunted by. Playing on the ‘what’s in the suitcase?’ question throughout, Denis expertly notches up the suspense to a nasty sting at its end.
The cold, unnerving performances from the two leads fits perfectly with the tense atmosphere generated by washed out colours and sparse landscape in which Rachel and Richard meet. When they move inside, Denis gets up close and personal with the camera to add an element of claustrophobia to the suffocating air of ill-feeling. The dramatic finish can be seen coming, but the immersive experience keeps you guessing. View |
8 January 2010 Review: Paul Gallagher
Taking its cue from some of the best sci-fi movies of the past 20 years, this Colombian film is an ambitious and impressively-realised slice of traditional genre fiction. The set-up is reminiscent of Tarkovsky’s Stalker: in a futuristic wasteland, a lone soldier searches for the fabled ‘oasis’ - but the emphasis is on action all the way, with handheld camera and intense editing placing the viewer firmly in the centre of events. The production design is perfect; this is a very convincingly created post-apocalyptic world and the director convey a clear sense that a world exists beyond the borders of the frame – always a mark of good sci-fi. View |
8 January 2010 Review: Paul Gallagher
This music video for the band Undercut demonstrates that one good idea executed with maximum invention is all you need to make a great impression. The concept here is that the band and their name and lyrics appear everywhere across London, from walls to galleries to tube-trains, but what makes it more than just a gimmick is the excellent and subtle use of visual effects. A stencilled image of the lead singer on the side of the Tate Modern comes to life and actually sings the song words, while a briefly glimpsed Underground sign is changed to Undercut and the effect is seamless enough to make you wonder how the filmmakers did it. The song’s pretty good, too. View |
8 January 2010 Review: Paul Gallagher
Bill Shannon is a hip-hop dancer and skate-boarder with a difference; he is disabled and can’t get around without crutches, so his disability is an integral part of his dancing style. Nicolas Jenkins’ 8-minute documentary is a great introduction to the hows and whys of Shannon’s life and dancing career, with invigorating footage of his performances skilfully edited together with a central Shannon interview and some well-chosen clips from film classics. Shannon’s perspective is clearly and concisely conveyed, making it clear that he wants to use his art to challenge public attitudes towards disability because, as he says, “all dance is just falling down and getting up”. View |
8 January 2010 Review: Paul Gallagher
This funny film’s main strength is the performance of James Hurn, whose gift for impressions is the film’s raison d’etre. Hurn plays a character waiting at a bus stop who starts talking to the man next to him, speaking in a different famous person’s voice with each line. From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Woody Allen, the impressions are spot-on, and become increasingly appropriate and funny the more annoyed his unwilling conversant becomes. It’s a one-joke premise, but writer/director Robert Reina judges the tone and pacing well, ensuring the film doesn’t outstay its welcome. He also ends it with a twist that successfully turns the viewer’s laughter to something more thoughtful. View |
8 January 2010 Review: Paul Gallagher
An unlikely mash-up of mockumentary, musical and horror, it’s safe to say that Just One More Bite is one of a kind. Beginning with seemingly disparate shots of various dark and foreboding locations, the film unfolds as an ‘interview with a vampire’, with the viewer placed in the position of interviewer. The vampire in question is the insanely camp creation of actor Nigel Osner, who leads camera and viewer through his castle, talking of his daily life and occasionally bursting into song. The now-reformed vegetarian vampire becomes increasingly less self-controlled as the film goes on, until the inevitable but no less entertaining conclusion. While the film’s semi-improvised style sometimes feels too loose, the strength of the filmmaker’s ideas and the hilariously incongruous dialogue (choice line: “Vampires are the aristocrats of the night. The other creatures are rubbish!”) make this film a diverting and original creation. View |
1 December 2009 Review: Michelle Thomas
We open on a small boy, wandering alone through an empty flat. He flits through the rooms like a will o’ the wisp, until his mother comes home, when the two perform a strange and achingly painful duet full of love and longing. Its hard for me to write about dance, but this is a lovely piece of cinema; beautifully lit and cleverly using the natural movements and body language of the young boy to create the choreography. The relationship between mother and child is powerfully expressed, evocative and lovely. View |
1 December 2009 Review: Michelle Thomas
As a black woman I was most excited about Hair We Are. The story is that of Shirley, who represents the many black girls who gaze longingly at the straight hair of white and mixed race children, hating their own untameable locks. Although there is an interesting story in here (it recalls Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye) the stilted performances and confusing rap-style rhyming, lets it down. The message of female empowerment ensures the film has its heart in the right place, but it sometimes feels a little awkward and mawkish. View |
1 December 2009 Review: Michelle Thomas
At Death’s Door is a very short, but extremely sweet animation that I loved. When the Grim Reaper calls, not everyone is ready, and the curmudgeonly heroine first grudgingly answers the door to him (she’s busy reading!), assumes he’s some sort of salesman, and sends him on his way. Beautifully designed and full of lovely detail, the simple stop-motion animation works really well, and is particularly effective in the little things like the old lady’s cat and her funny telephone. A perfect example of a simple idea well executed. View |
1 December 2009 Review: Michelle Thomas
This ambitious Sci-Fi satire is set in a futuristic Britain and tells the story of Dr James Swallow, a surgeon-android who fears that his employers, Wall-Mart Hospital, are trying to reassign and eventually scrap him. People in the future are still obsessed with cookery programmes and there are some fairly broad swipes at today’s celebrity chefs, including Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith. High production values and polished direction aside, the story doesn’t always hang together, but it’s certainly entertaining and very well made. View |
1 December 2009 Review: Michelle Thomas
An Afghan medic, Dr Homayon (Kulvinder Ghir), flanked by his small staff team, waits excitedly outside the Hope Hospital for a team of American doctors to arrive. Clearly anticipating a Medecins Sans Frontiere style task force to transform their primitive hospital with drugs and innovative procedures. Unfortunately they get three ‘Clown Doctors’, who believe in the healing power of laughter. Sadly, the hospital staff and local population fail to see the joke.
Send In The Clowns is an amusing satirical look at medical practices and cultural misunderstandings, and proving that truth is indeed stranger than fiction, it is based on a true story. Though a bit of a one-joke film, it has enough hilarious sight-gags (largely at the expense of the misguided American doctors) that it easily gets away with making a serious point. The US doctors’ failure to acquaint themselves with the culture and history of Afghanistan proves fatal to their mission, highlighting a post-colonial complacency all too common in Western attitudes. As Dr Homayon gently points out, ‘penicillin is useful, too’.
Impressively shot by Dewald Aukema, the film powerfully contrasts the arid Afghan landscapes with the sterility of US hospitals. View |
2 November 2009 Review: Jay Richardson
Predictable, yet still chilling, LOL plays like a cyberspace reinterpretation of Rear Window. Dave Reed plays John, trying to further his webcam relationship with Nicole (Shyla Partleton), house-sitting alone in an undisclosed location with unsettling canine howls in the background. She bridles at his efforts to get better acquainted and then pointedly ignores him when he claims she’s in danger. Has he noticed something on her side of the camera, or is he just crying wolf? Reinforcing an impression of sinister intimacy, writer-director Bruce Partleton shoots his actors close, with John’s reactions lit by the eerie glow of his monitor. View |
2 November 2009 Review: Jay Richardson
This award-winning, debut promo from rock band Little Spitfire prompted their signing to an independent label and stands as a starkly memorable calling card for director Neil Horner. Conceived as a riposte to traditional broadcast media’s impenetrability, the band is discovered flying a plane at an enemy control tower, assaulting it with their sound. Shot on digital with bold use of colour and black & white supplemented with sparing use of blue and green, the desaturated 3D footage distinctively pairs elaborate make-up with green screen technology, producing dramatic action shots that ape Japanese anime in the harsh, almost spectral intensity of the band’s expressions. View |
2 November 2009 Review: Jay Richardson
Shot in park locations in and around Glasgow, The Fall of Shug McCracken is a wry comedy about an alcoholic ex-con threatened with dismissal from his council tennis courts job for petty theft. An endearingly passive, pathetic figure Shug (James Ramsay) finds himself at the mercy of mice, management and the union. Featuring established actors such as Gary Lewis and Frank Gallagher, Robbie McCallum’s script and David Ward’s direction recall the gentle, quirky humour of Bill Forsyth. It’s worth noting that the film was made five years before BBC Scotland commissioned the sitcom Dear Green Place along similar lines. View |
2 November 2009 Review: Jay Richardson
Spellbound is an erotic reverie in which a woman, ‘naked as a shadow at sunset’, is lyrically transported by the sounds and visions of a storm. Shot in dreamy soft focus, the camera traces Sami Jane Galton as she caresses her body, a voiceover illuminating her thoughts as shots of a clouds, waves and windswept leaves are subtly edited with sporadic flash-cuts of lightning. The elemental backing track is evocative, despite the poetic sensibility being slightly compromised by the clichéd imagery of the voiceover. View |
2 November 2009 Review: Jay Richardson
A strikingly original dance film in which discernible human movement gradually emerges from a scrolling, ostensibly systematic input of 0s and /s as Binary Form captures the organic in the mechanical, the sweeping physical expressions of a dancer the ghost in its monochrome-printing machine. Like a Magic Eye puzzle, the hypnotic sequence of improvised gestures, translated into binary digits and then animated frame by frame, takes time to mentally configure and demands repeat viewings. Although indivisible at the point of reception, there are nevertheless three distinct technological eras evoked and in synthesis: the timeless movement of the dancer, the mechanical whirr and keyboard clatter of early computer programming and the contemporary animation software that renders the film possible.
Created by Shiftwork, a collaborative partnership between dancer Chirstinn Whyte and digital artist Jake Messenger, this film recalls the pair’s capering human figure of letters and symbols in their earlier Textfield, available in the MiShorts library alongside Splice and Flicker. In isolation and as a body of work, these brief, elliptical films suggest a refusal to acknowledge conventional boundaries of form and a wide spectrum of potential development for Shiftwork’s future productions. View |
18 September 2009 Review: Liza Palmer
A powerful visualization of a car accident involving two women, who choreograph and interpret the motions of two bodies experiencing catastrophic injuries as they are thrown around inside the vehicle. Like crash test dummies, but with more agency and purpose, they enact a crash in a car parked on the side of a dirt road, near a tree in a rural landscape, using synchronized movements displayed at varying frame rates with different camera set-ups. The muted colors of the images, as well as the experimental sounds on the audio track, work to heighten the disturbing nature of the repeated bodily contortions of the women. The film culminates in death, of course, with their lifeless bodies draped dispassionately over the hood of the car. An innovative dance film that is highly recommended viewing. View |
18 September 2009 Review: Liza Palmer
I am a big fan of animated shorts so a high point for me when selecting films to review was finding this clever and amusing animated documentary. Utilizing a wide variety of animation techniques including rotoscoping, found footage and line drawings, she describes her experience of having twins. The drama of birth followed by years of hard work and all the paraphernalia of feeding bottles, tricycles and high chairs swirl about the screen while audio excerpts of the mother finding out she’s pregnant are played over the top. The whole package, supported by some excellent music and plenty of wry humor, is both insightful and a delight to watch. Highly recommended. View |
18 September 2009 Review: Liza Palmer
The apartment is modern and streamlined: white walls, open-plan kitchen, efficient and attractive use of space, etc. Very 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). But, as we soon discover, every action - however minor or routine - is preceded by commercial sponsorship, requiring the woman to suffer various ads on one of the many flat-screen panels located in every room of the apartment, including the bathroom. She wants to make a cup of tea, but must wait for a commercial on tea bags before it is powered; she goes to the bathroom, only to find the lid of the toilet is locked until a plug for sanitary towels finishes playing, and so on.
A brief respite from this cacophony of commercials comes at night, but first thing the next morning, the ads begin again. Does the woman move out of the apartment? No she doesn’t. Instead, like most of us perhaps, she eventually starts ordering the products to get some peace, because the ‘ads only stop playing when she starts buying. By the time we leave this clever and slightly distressing black comedy, her apartment looks like the inside of a Tesco warehouse with barely enough room to live. Now, ‘aint that the truth? View |
18 September 2009 Review: Liza Palmer
This excellent film functions as a day-in-the-life glimpse of a young woman, as told through a series of - very Cindy Shermanesque - 35mm color stills accompanied by a techno soundtrack from the band 'Specimen A'. It begins with a shot of her asleep in bed next to an unidentified man and we follow her as she gets up and goes to work at a local shop, returns home to fix a meal, then prepares for a night at the pub where she meets the man she slept with. Despite its short length, we quickly grow interested in this woman’s actions, noticing how she rolls out of bed for work, but takes great pains to ready herself for the evening, how she casually uses alcohol to prime herself for each move - and how she wears the same polka-dotted black dress all day. Typical of a lot of British cinema, which tends to feature unconventional characters living in dreary circumstance, the woman’s socio-economic context is slightly seedy and fairly insipid. Yet there are flashes of color – the red bows on her high-heeled shoes, her red lipstick, her salmon-colored panties – that help her rise above her surroundings and suggest that she defines her situation, and not the other way around. View |
18 September 2009 Review: Liza Palmer
A well-made thriller concerning a drug dealer locked away in a dark, hot apartment processing a shipment of cocaine. His bored young son sits in front of TV wartching kung fu movies and distracting the dealer with quioestions. Distracted by his son, and by a large fly buzzing around his head, the dealer loses lashes out at the boy with a fly swatter and yells at him to keep quiet.
Meanwhile, a well-armed SWAT team is mobilizing outside and as it stealthily moves in, the dealer, still preoccupied by the fly, sees that it has landed on his pile of cocaine. He swats the fly, sending a cloud of cocaine into the air just as the SWAT team bursts in and shoots him dead. Back to the son who notices the fly has now settled on his father’s forehead. Watched closely by the armed men, he wonders whether to grab the swatter or the gun. This tense, violent crime thriller has a satisfyingly witty ending and is definitely one for crime fans. View |
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