|
5/5
|
97%
|
Hotaru no haka (Grave of the Fireflies) (1988) |
"
We're so used to seeing the human spirit triumph. Here, we're allowed to understand how it might fail."
—
This is London
Posted May 24, 2013
|
|
5/5
|
100%
|
Kes (1969) |
"
Jaunty, sad, poetic, Kes is so humane it makes you tremble."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 9, 2011
|
|
5/5
|
96%
|
Gilda (1946) |
"
Cast and crew spin a twilight magic."
—
This is London
Posted Jul 22, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
92%
|
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) |
"
Not as complex or tense as Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, released 13 years later). Still, few things are."
—
This is London
Posted May 24, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
71%
|
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) |
"
A cult classic about fading dreams that has curiously improved with age."
—
This is London
Posted May 24, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
98%
|
Beware Of Mr. Baker (2012) |
"
Bleakly entertaining, Beware of Mr Baker neither eulogises nor patronises its subject; one day (though possibly not soon), Baker may take it upon himself to say thanks."
—
This is London
Posted May 17, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
96%
|
Monsters, Inc. (2001) |
"
If anything, it improves with age."
—
This is London
Posted Jan 18, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
58%
|
I, Anna () |
"
This may be the first film noir to revolve around a lonely granny."
—
This is London
Posted Dec 7, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
The Sapphires (2013) |
"
Cheering. Churning. No wonder Harvey Weinstein raced to pick up this little gem."
—
This is London
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
88%
|
Crossfire Hurricane () |
"
Though there are no real surprises US director Brett Morgen has come up with a tight little thesis that makes the time fly."
—
This is London
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
87%
|
Frankenweenie (2012) |
"
Tim Burton loves paying homage to other movies. Here, just for a change, he does so to one of his own."
—
This is London
Posted Oct 12, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
86%
|
Tabu (2012) |
"
One of those films you need to see twice, Miguel Gomes's subtle and bizarre little masterpiece unfolds slowly. Very slowly."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
95%
|
The Queen of Versailles (2012) |
"
[Siegel] is now suing Greenfield for "misrepresentation". Well, I know whose side I'm on."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
78%
|
Dredd (2012) |
"
The film is about law vs chaos. Via its images, it manages to take both sides."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 7, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
74%
|
Sound of My Voice (2012) |
"
Proof that you can create nerve-scraping twilight zones without A-list stars or CGI."
—
This is London
Posted Aug 3, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
100%
|
Position Among the Stars (2011) |
"
Tari is headed for college; Sriywati is headed nowhere. By the time the credits roll, you ache for them both."
—
This is London
Posted Feb 17, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
89%
|
The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (2011) |
"
Pooley could have been more probing in her interviews with the twins and their supporters. But the fact of the duo's success is so astounding you're gripped all the same."
—
This is London
Posted Feb 17, 2012
|
|
4/5
|
71%
|
Margaret (2011) |
"
Paquin, whose squirmy style of acting I've never liked, is astounding here..."
—
This is London
Posted Dec 2, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
Take Shelter (2011) |
"
As in Todd Haynes's 1995 masterpiece, Safe, we are in a world that can't be pinned down."
—
This is London
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
50/50 (2011) |
"
A rom-com with brains that - at key moments - feels as sly and sweet as Annie Hall."
—
This is London
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
89%
|
The Silence () |
"
The Silence is one of the most excruciating, paranoia-inducing films you'll see all year. Spread the word."
—
This is London
Posted Oct 28, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
67%
|
Trishna (2012) |
"
A haunting exploration of emotional and financial dependence that leaves you wondering if anyone can truly be said to stand on their own two feet."
—
This is London
Posted Oct 24, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
82%
|
Trollhunter (2011) |
"
Jespersen is a veteran comedian and he uses all his gravitas and dry wit to make us care about a lonely man on the verge of a crisis of faith."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 9, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
84%
|
Post Mortem (2012) |
"
If you're fascinated by the fall of Salvador Allende (who, of course, started his career as a physician) the wounded bodies on display will almost certainly break your heart."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 9, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
76%
|
Kill List (2012) |
"
One of the funniest and most discombobulating films of the year."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 2, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
88%
|
Honey (2011) |
"
Yusef's trials feel exquisitely urgent."
—
This is London
Posted Jul 15, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
87%
|
Bobby Fischer Against The World (2011) |
"
Bobby Fischer Against The World could be six times as long and still have you on the edge of your seat."
—
This is London
Posted Jul 15, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
82%
|
Life, Above All (2011) |
"
Schmitz shoots the kids with dreamy respect. The adult actors have less to work with. Still, their agonised faces, not to mention their voices, create their own kind of texture and ensure we leave the cinema in tears."
—
This is London
Posted May 27, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
87%
|
Fire in Babylon (2011) |
"
Not so much triumphalist as upbeat, saucy rather than slick, Fire in Babylon is the kind of film that makes you proud to be a human being."
—
This is London
Posted May 20, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
Win Win (2011) |
"
Win Win is slighter, and sappier, than it might have been. Still and all, it's a joy."
—
This is London
Posted May 20, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
Winter's Bone (2010) |
"
The Coen Brothers' O Brother Where Art Thou? was the last film to make such delirious use of mountain music. The rest of the world can start drooling over Lawrence. I'm gonna git me a copy of that soundtrack."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 22, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
80%
|
Cyrus (2010) |
"
Cast and crew seem committed to making a simple point: "unhealthily close" relationships can be enriching. And the result is a movie that feels both small and deep."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 15, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
88%
|
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) |
"
I'd rather rot in a New Orleans jail than watch it again. And yet its epiphanies are outrageously sharp, it is beautifully shot by cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger and the ending is a joy."
—
This is London
Posted May 27, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
75%
|
Heartless (2010) |
"
With great support from Eddie Marsan, Timothy Spall and young newcomer Nikita Mistry, humour and horror finally take a convincing hold of the plot and -- bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! -- an original idea gets transferred to the screen."
—
This is London
Posted May 27, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
72%
|
La Mujer sin Cabeza (The Headless Woman) (2008) |
"
You realise that Martel knows exactly what she's doing and your heart starts to race."
—
This is London
Posted Feb 19, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
The Unloved (2009) |
"
Authentic and hyper-real, a reflection of a young girl's inner life that never strays into hysteria."
—
This is London
Posted Feb 19, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
91%
|
Crazy Heart (2009) |
"
You'd have to be crazier than Joaquin Phoenix to see this film as ground-breaking. But when it's good, it ain't too bad at all."
—
This is London
Posted Feb 19, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
81%
|
Okuribito (Departures) (2009) |
"
Departure's cynicism, ironically, is what makes the optimism of its last act so moving."
—
This is London
Posted Dec 4, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
90%
|
Fish Tank (2010) |
"
Fish Tank feels electrifyingly bold. And yet, taken as a whole, it's frustrating."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 11, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
84%
|
In the Realm of the Senses (1976) |
"
It was made 33 years ago but Nagisa Oshima's doomed lust classic doesn't look in the least bit dusty. Quite the opposite."
—
This is London
Posted Aug 29, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
92%
|
Drag Me to Hell (2009) |
"
Drag Me to Hell is simultaneously gritty and goofy, brightly coloured and down-to-earth."
—
This is London
Posted May 29, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
86%
|
L'Empreinte de l'ange (Mark of an Angel) (2008) |
"
Films like this - taut, expertly paced - are invariably dubbed Hitchcockian."
—
This is London
Posted May 22, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
85%
|
Rachel Getting Married (2008) |
"
Director Jonathan Demme, who says he wanted to make "the most beautiful home movie ever made", didn't rehearse scenes before filming. He and Hathaway, as much as Lumet, deserve praise for creating a pariah at once close-to-home and unique."
—
This is London
Posted Jan 23, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
Milk (2008) |
"
As biopics go, this portrait of gay activist Harvey Milk isn't quite up there with, say, Raging Bull. Still, it is smart, sexy and very funny."
—
This is London
Posted Jan 23, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
92%
|
Frost/Nixon (2008) |
"
Devoid of heroes, Frost/Nixon is a film about filming. And - perhaps because I ducked the play and loathed The Queen - I enjoyed every minute of it."
—
This is London
Posted Jan 23, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
45%
|
Lakeview Terrace (2008) |
"
Happily, it's not only a return to form for the one-time Mormon and agent provocateur, it also offers Samuel L Jackson his first decent part in years."
—
This is London
Posted Dec 5, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
74%
|
Julia (2009) |
"
Julia, by and large, is a tale of desperate opportunists, fugitive souls who survive by living on their wits, taking risks and making it up as they go along. It sometimes feels that a similar person is behind the camera as well as in front of it."
—
This is London
Posted Dec 5, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
61%
|
The Duchess (2008) |
"
He has tried to make Georgiana's quest for independence - her attempt to gain power via the media and the Whigs - just as gritty. Against the odds, he mostly succeeds."
—
This is London
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
55%
|
Step Brothers (2008) |
"
Dude, the film so totally happens to be great."
—
This is London
Posted Aug 29, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
74%
|
The Magic Flute (2006) |
"
A week is a long time in cinema. Last Friday saw Branagh being all but written off thanks to the ludicrous Sleuth. This week, he's hitting the high notes."
—
This is London
Posted Nov 30, 2007
|
75%
80%
62%
52%
26%
4%
