Amber Wilkinson Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Amber Wilkinson

Amber Wilkinson

Agrees with the Tomatometer 79% of the time.

Publications:: Eye for Film , iofilm.co.uk
Critics' Group:: Online Film Critics Society

Total Reviews:: 683
Total QuickRatings:: 1

Location:: Edinburgh

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
3.5/5	——	Bonne Annee ()	" The idea of a single-take shot may suggest something static, but Berberich's camera glides through scenes, helping the viewer to not only concentrate on what is being said, but also allowing us time to consider these thoughts at a normal pace. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 7, 2013
4/5	94%	Blancanieves (2013)	" Although much of the action is played for dark comedy, Berger undercuts his pastiche with unexpected poignancy at key moments." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 7, 2013
3.5/5	46%	Beyond The Black Rainbow (2012)	" The rich and strange debut of Panos Cosmatos throbs with style and portent, which proves a winning combination even if it is somewhat light in the narrative department. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 6, 2013
1/5	——	Between (2008)	" Horrendously executed in every regard." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 6, 2013
3.5/5	——	Tres Días (Before the Fall) (2008)	" There is plenty of imminent danger to provide a gripping narrative." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 6, 2013
4.5/5	——	Bastardy (2008)	" Courtin-Wilson's approach is graceful, impressionistic and with the heart of a poet." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 6, 2013
3.5/5	86%	Ballroom Dancer ()	" Bonke and Keofoed have crafted a compelling portrait that asks questions about the nature and inherent dangers of competition, ambition, sacrifice and commitment both on and off the dance floor." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 6, 2013
4/5	——	Domani torno a casa (Back Home Tomorrow) (2008)	" An observational and utterly uncompromising document of the lives of two children touched by war." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 5, 2013
4.5/5	——	Badgered ()	" The more I thought about the cuddly critter after I'd watched this funny and heart warming short, the more I liked him." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 5, 2013
3/5	29%	Atletu (The Athlete) ()	" This is an ambitious and brave project which, if it doesn't quite reach the heights it might, is still a worthwhile watch and bodes well for both filmmakers in future." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
5/5	95%	The Arbor (2011)	" This is a fiercely intellectual piece of cinema that still manages to grab your heart and punch you in the gut." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
3.5/5	63%	Anna Karenina (2012)	" Like its central character, this is beautiful and brave even if it fails to fully realise its potential." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
4/5	——	The Angelmakers (2005)	" Those who remember the tragic events 76 years ago are fantastic characters, open and honest in their opinions and allowed to be themselves without the guiding voice of an interviewer. This intimacy makes for a fascinating and compelling film." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
4/5	——	Elle veut le chaos ()	" If you're prepared to go with the vibe of quiet menace mixed with bone dry humour and a sense of melancholy that pervades, you will find as much pleasure in the texture of this film as the overall look. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
2/5	——	Alice In Wonderland (2003)	" A melancholy and, in places, excruciatingly slow take on the tale with virtually all the comedic moments pared away." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
4/5	——	Dreams (Ahlaam) (2008)	" As gruelling as it is compelling." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
3/5	——	Admiral (2008)	" If you like epic romances such as Dr Zhivago, this provides a decent story of will they/won't they love, although its all rather U certificate." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
3.5/5	——	1234 ()	" The young cast has a natural air that complements the unforced scripting, which brims with an enviable amount of casual humour." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 4, 2013
3/5	88%	Upstream Color (2013)	" The subject of understanding and mystery prove a sticking point, with the film remaining so wilfully opaque that it is more frustrating than rewarding by the end credits." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 2, 2013
4/5	81%	The Impossible (2012)	" Director Juan Antonio Bayona spins the focus in on a single family caught up in the disaster, personalising the horror and bringing it home in unashamedly melodramatic fashion on its very own tidal wave of emotion." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 2, 2013
2/5	27%	Life Just Is ()	" Offering a British twist on the mumblecore genre, writer/director Alex Barrett's debut feature doesn't lack bravery." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 22, 2013
3/5	52%	Trouble with the Curve (2012)	" Like the baseball diamond that features so prominently in his film, we all know which base will be dutifully tapped next and that a home-run for the characters is inevitable." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 22, 2013
2/5	——	Two Mothers ()	" Fontaine is a capable director...But the moment that the dialogue begins, any nuance is lost, with key emotional moments generating laughter rather than empathy. " — Eye for Film Posted Jan 21, 2013
4/5	69%	The Look of Love (2013)	" A serious and entertaining character study - stripping down the lives of Soho and Raymond - that has the looks and acting talent to win over a crowd." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 21, 2013
4/5	95%	La Promesse (The Promise) (1996)	" The Dardennes' film is unfussy and the revelations small but that is why it is so affecting. " — Eye for Film Posted Jan 13, 2013
3/5	——	La maison sous les arbres (The Deadly Trap) ()	" There are themes here evident in Clément's other work, such as parallels being drawn between children and adults, decently fleshed-out female characters and an off-kilter dreamy quality - but this trap is too obvious to be really deadly." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 13, 2013
3.5/5	——	And Hope to Die (1972)	" The slippery morality of Tony and the older melancholic and reflective Charley are intriguing, making the film interesting on a psychological level even when the plot threatens to crumble under the weight of all its themes. " — Eye for Film Posted Jan 13, 2013
2/5	32%	Gangster Squad (2013)	" Outbreaks of emotion get swung about like loose punches in a bar brawl - gung-ho yet completely missing the target." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 10, 2013
4/5	69%	Les Misérables (2012)	" There is a sense of danger in performances that are called upon to hit high musical and emotional notes simultaneously." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 9, 2013
3/5	65%	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)	" The decision to hit the 12A rating squarely on the head also means that several scenes, particularly those involving Radegast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) feel added more for their cuteness than content." — Eye for Film Posted Dec 12, 2012
3/5	71%	Le magasin des suicides (The Suicide Shop) ()	" This is a film of two halves, with the half involving sweetness and light muddled and limp in comparison to its tougher, more sinister flipside, while the ending is almost unforgivably trite." — Eye for Film Posted Nov 22, 2012
5/5	86%	Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)	" There's poetry, tough love and, above all, a fierce stoicism on the bayou in Benh Zeitlin's strikingly beautiful and haunting debut. " — Eye for Film Posted Oct 21, 2012
4/5	96%	Argo (2012)	" Affleck knows how to keep a tight grip on a story, gets better at ratcheting tension with every film, and displays a fearlessness when it comes to mixing genre." — Eye for Film Posted Oct 14, 2012
4.5/5	87%	Frankenweenie (2012)	" While drawing on influences from Universal horror movies such as Wolfman and Frankenstein, is a animal entirely borne of Burton - and it's all the better for it." — Eye for Film Posted Oct 12, 2012
4/5	87%	Robot & Frank (2012)	" Jake Schreier and scriptwriter Christopher Ford go well beyond the initial fun of the robot conceit to craft a thoughtful film musing on both the ageing process and our relationship with technology. " — Eye for Film Posted Oct 10, 2012
4/5	——	After Lucia ()	" After Lucia is an uncomfortable and disturbing experience with a vengeful sting in the tail that sinks our already taut and wrung out emotions into even more chilling waters." — Eye for Film Posted Oct 9, 2012
4.5/5	94%	Amour (2012)	" Haneke goes far beyond pushing emotional buttons into territory where our most visceral fears lurk." — Eye for Film Posted Oct 8, 2012
3.5/5	88%	Not Suitable for Children (2013)	" The premise sounds like a playpen for vulgarity but Michael Lucas's script is smarter than that. " — Eye for Film Posted Oct 7, 2012
2.5/5	56%	Now Is Good (2013)	" This latest directorial outing by Ol Parker has a veneer of cancer but it's the wish-fulfilment teenage romance at its heart that is most likely to appeal to its target audience. " — Eye for Film Posted Oct 7, 2012
3.5/5	89%	Shell ()	" Isolation rules and comfort is cold in Scott Graham's gripping and emotionally tense feature debut. " — Eye for Film Posted Sep 29, 2012
3/5	75%	Goddess ()	" Low on pretension and big on charm, Lamprell's film is infectiously feel-good even if the level of acting doesn't quite match up to Kelly and Keating's ability to belt out a decent tune." — Eye for Film Posted Sep 15, 2012
2.5/5	22%	When the Lights Went Out ()	" Despite the fact that the scariest thing about this Yorkshire-brewed ghost story are the 70s fashions (avocado kitchen and rum and pep, anyone?), there is something quite charming about the creakiness of it all." — Eye for Film Posted Sep 14, 2012
2/5	34%	Lola Versus (2012)	" Essentially, this is Gerwig's natural charm versus her character and script's lack of it." — Eye for Film Posted Jul 19, 2012
1.5/5	37%	Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012)	" At one point, a character says: "Let the brown foaming mess wash all over you." Whatever you are imagining happening at this juncture, I promise you it's worse. " — Eye for Film Posted Jul 17, 2012
3/5	——	Papirosen ()	" Although never less than immersive, the documentary suffers from Solnicki's freeform approach, which has a tendency to lack context." — Eye for Film Posted Jul 6, 2012
3.5/5	——	Low Definition Control - Malfunctions #0 ()	" Debates play out over the relevant types of grainy CCTV footage but although branded an "experimental" film, the argument is robust and coherent." — Eye for Film Posted Jul 5, 2012
2.5/5	——	Música Campesina (Country Music) ()	" A typical festival journeyman of a film that is amiable but ambling." — Eye for Film Posted Jul 5, 2012
3/5	——	Kebun binatang (Postcards from the Zoo) ()	" The picture Edwin paints recalls the postcards of the title, both for good and ill." — Eye for Film Posted Jul 5, 2012
3/5	——	Day of the Flowers ()	" Always charmingly frothy, even when the narrative threatens to salsa off with the fairies." — Eye for Film Posted Jul 5, 2012
4.5/5	——	Vivan las Antipodas! (2013)	" Vivan las Antipodas! is never dull, thanks to Kossakovsky's constant inventiveness, always offering fresh perspectives, either through the physical angle of shooting or through the interesting juxtaposition of life on either side of the planet. " — Eye for Film Posted Jul 4, 2012
4/5	——	Amok ()	" Farjado's style is immersive, capturing both the sense of chaos in the district but also finding time to linger on fine details, giving a vibrant sense of place. " — Eye for Film Posted Jun 23, 2012
3.5/5	80%	It's The Earth Not The Moon (2012)	" What emerges is a picture of a place where much history has been lost, often deliberately, but where the residents, though mindful of their past are always looking to the future." — Eye for Film Posted Jun 23, 2012
2/5	——	The Fourth Dimension ()	" Given the huge brief and the fact that none of the directors saw what the others were up to during the creative process, it's no wonder that the end result feels diminshed by comparison, like an elaborate joke set-up without a decent punchline." — Eye for Film Posted Jun 23, 2012
3.5/5	93%	Sun Don't Shine (2013)	" The sun don't shine but you may find it quite hard to breathe, such is the tension of Amy Seimetz's impressive debut feature, which uses the oppressive, sultry heat of Florida to accentuate the over-bearing atmosphere." — Eye for Film Posted Jun 23, 2012
2.5/5	——	Z daleka widok jest piekny (It Looks Pretty from a Distance) ()	" This is a bleak portrait of rural poverty that, like the bear trap set in the woods in the opening scene, holds unexpected and violent surprises." — Eye for Film Posted Jun 21, 2012
4.5/5	85%	Bestiaire (2012)	" This is a challenging and rewarding piece that reflects your own thoughts as much as those of the filmmaker." — Eye for Film Posted Jun 17, 2012
3.5/5	67%	California Solo (2012)	" Lewy avoids the trite path to redemption, choosing instead to keep this a study of man in midlife crisis, understated and realistic. " — Eye for Film Posted Jun 17, 2012
3/5	29%	Red Lights (2012)	" Ultimately suffers from excess in almost every department. " — Eye for Film Posted Jun 15, 2012
4.5/5	78%	Brave (2012)	" While Brave may occasionally shy away from darker territory in order to retain its appeal for even the youngest of audiences, there are still plenty of 'big' ideas here for small minds to think about." — Eye for Film Posted Jun 10, 2012
4/5	67%	Jackpot (Arme Riddere) ()	" The only thing Martens takes seriously is his humour - and it pays off handsomely." — Eye for Film Posted May 22, 2012
4/5	87%	She Monkeys (Apflickorna) (2011)	" Built on the shifting sands of childhood and adolescence, She Monkeys has an undercurrent of unease in which the characters are struggling to become 'adult', whatever that may mean." — Eye for Film Posted May 18, 2012
2.5/5	0%	Outside Bet ()	" Tension in the final section is never enough to send pulses galloping, making this more of a trot over well-trodden ground than a hot tip." — Eye for Film Posted May 7, 2012
4.5/5	77%	Any Day Now (2012)	" Laugh out loud funny and heartbreaking without resorting to neat Hollywood set-ups or resolutions." — Eye for Film Posted May 4, 2012
4/5	93%	The House I Live In (2012)	" Jarecki, as always, does a good job of presenting a huge amount of information in bite-size chunks." — Eye for Film Posted Apr 24, 2012
3.5/5	69%	Liberal Arts (2012)	" Josh Radnor is adept at creating flawed characters who nevertheless prove sweetly likeable." — Eye for Film Posted Apr 24, 2012
2/5	67%	Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012)	" It's hard to see the fish for the froth in Lasse Hallstrom's twee adaptation of Paul Torday's novel. " — Eye for Film Posted Apr 20, 2012
4/5	80%	Ward No. 6 (2011)	" Much more complex than it first appears and fully deserving of its selection as Russia's foreign language Oscar nominee this year, Ward No 6 persuasively prods at our preconceptions of 'madness'." — Eye for Film Posted Apr 18, 2012
3.5/5	77%	Take This Waltz (2012)	" The idea of the cyclical nature of love and life is ripe for exploration, and Margot is a pleasingly complex character, whose motivations are believable. " — Eye for Film Posted Apr 8, 2012
3.5/5	77%	Tiny Furniture (2010)	" It is Dunham's fearlessness in showing Aura warts and all that becomes endearing. " — Eye for Film Posted Apr 3, 2012
4/5	98%	The Island President (2012)	" Shenk gets almost unfettered acccess to Nasheed, who is refreshingly honest about the tactics he is employing to get other countries onside " — Eye for Film Posted Apr 3, 2012
1.5/5	25%	Act of Valor (2012)	" Act Of Valor essentially marries platitude with attitude, veering from the realms of wholesome all-American family life to bullets-raging battle scenes. " — Eye for Film Posted Mar 23, 2012
4.5/5	85%	The Hunger Games (2012)	" Ross avoids the hyperbole of gore and mayhem to keep the emotions of what is happening so near the bone it hurts. " — Eye for Film Posted Mar 21, 2012
4/5	54%	Brother (Hermano) (2012)	" Rasquin and Jones avoid cliche to deliver an ending that hits home as hard as an unexpected football to the solar plexus. " — Eye for Film Posted Mar 15, 2012
3.5/5	88%	Even the Rain (Meme La Pluie) (2011)	" The film's heart is certainly in the right place, but its narrative is more of a scattergun affair. " — Eye for Film Posted Mar 14, 2012
3/5	36%	LUV (2013)	" Succeeds on an emotional level even if it fails to deliver anything very surprising in terms of plot." — Eye for Film Posted Mar 14, 2012
4.5/5	97%	Tomboy (2011)	" Sciamma's capturing of children at play is disarmingly accurate, perfectly showing the freewheeling nature of prepubescence in all its glory." — Eye for Film Posted Mar 8, 2012
3.5/5	——	Behave (Juízo) (2009)	" Rather than heaping condemnation on everyone involved - as you might expect - Ramos just tells it like it is." — Eye for Film Posted Mar 3, 2012
4/5	——	Wrinkles ()	" A thought-provoking consideration of ageing from the perspective of the elderly that is, perhaps ironically, hard to forget. " — Eye for Film Posted Mar 1, 2012
4/5	——	Wild Bill ()	" The steady - but never sluggish - pace allows the characters to live and breathe. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 24, 2012
4.5/5	99%	Le Havre (2011)	" A humanist hug of a fable, which concludes that while big miracles may happen, it's the everyday 'miracles' people create for one another that really count. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 22, 2012
3/5	80%	Putin's Kiss (2012)	" There are complex machinations at work here - but there's always a sense of the surface being skimmed in favour of telling Drokova's story." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 20, 2012
3.5/5	78%	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)	" Bolstered by the great and the good of homegrown acting royalty, it just about gets away with the fact that Ol Parker's screenplay... at times pushes the humour parlously close to Carry On Up The Elderly." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 20, 2012
3.5/5	77%	The Swell Season (2011)	" While the film may be monochrome, every colour of emotion is represented here, from elation in the creative process to anxiousness and disillusionment. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 17, 2012
3.5/5	68%	Extraterrestrial (2012)	" Alien invasion aficionados would do well to avoid but if you're a fan of the comedy of discomfort with a slacker vibe and a hint of romance, Extraterrestrial certainly has charms. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 15, 2012
3.5/5	94%	Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011)	" You'd have to be a real Grouch not to enjoy it." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 13, 2012
4.5/5	82%	Shadow Dancer (2013)	" Distilling a country's worth of tensions down to the dynamics of a single household, Marsh has produced a thriller so taut that it makes last year's masterclass in dread, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, pale in comparison." — Eye for Film Posted Feb 8, 2012
3/5	32%	Man on a Ledge (2012)	" Enjoyment of Man On A Ledge largely depends on whether you can suspend your disbelief from 21 storeys without it crashing to the ground. " — Eye for Film Posted Feb 3, 2012
4/5	78%	The Ambassador (2012)	" Subversive and incendiary." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 21, 2012
3/5	71%	Wish You Were Here (2013)	" The acting is unwaveringly excellent, but there's a sense of the film developing a 'holding pattern' of broodiness to keep us occupied until the denoument." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 20, 2012
4.5/5	95%	The Queen of Versailles (2012)	" While in some ways the collapsing of the Siegels' wealth may seem like commeuppance for their excessiveness, Greenfield has painted such a human portrait that Jackie, in particular, remains sympathetic, even when she is adding to her own tragedy. " — Eye for Film Posted Jan 20, 2012
3/5	13%	W.E. (2012)	" While the film sacrifices depth in favour of shiny surfaces and is by no means a masterpiece, it is not an out-and-out failure either." — iofilm.co.uk Posted Jan 20, 2012
2.5/5	80%	Haywire (2012)	" Steven Soderbergh is becoming increasingly strong on convolution and weak on connection. " — Eye for Film Posted Jan 18, 2012
4/5	100%	The Colors Of The Mountain (2011)	" Shot almost entirely from the children's perspective, Arbeláez tackles universal themes of conflict and its impact on ordinary people without getting mired in specific politics." — Eye for Film Posted Jan 9, 2012
2.5/5	51%	The Iron Lady (2012)	" Anyone over the age of 35 will find the whistle-stop, romanticised tour of Thatcher's career offers scarcely any insight, skating over most of the interesting issues. " — Eye for Film Posted Jan 6, 2012
4/5	84%	Puss in Boots (2011)	" Just a whisker away from being the cat's whiskers. " — Eye for Film Posted Dec 8, 2011
1.5/5	7%	New Year's Eve (2011)	" It's as though Marshall and writer Katherine Fugate gathered together all the subplots from films that never got made or were left on the cutting-room floor - and sticky-taped them together end on end to create this horror of a holiday centipede." — Eye for Film Posted Dec 8, 2011
5/5	86%	The Snowtown Murders (2012)	" Layer in the realisation that what you are seeing actually happened and the result takes you beyond disturbing into that place where your skin starts to creep and your brain crawls into the foetal position. " — Eye for Film Posted Nov 22, 2011
4/5	95%	Weekend (2011)	" Deserves to find a place in the hearts of wistful romantics everywhere, no matter what their sexual preference." — Eye for Film Posted Nov 19, 2011
4.5/5	92%	The British Guide To Showing Off ()	" Jes Benstock's documentary is a big glittery hug of a celebration. " — Eye for Film Posted Nov 17, 2011

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