Allan Hunter

Allan Hunter
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications: London Evening Standard, Screen International, Downtown Express, Daily Express (UK), The List

Movie Reviews Only

T-Meter Title | Year
96% Dinner in America (2020) An offbeat romance served with rumbustious energy and a punk spirit. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 8, 2021
27% Wild Mountain Thyme (2020) The much-derided accents are the least of the issues with Wild Mountain Thyme as whimsy and cliche overwhelm the more intriguing melancholy elements. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 9, 2020
No Score Yet Narciso Em Férias (2020) Those in the know will relish the chance to hear the inside story, making this ideal for arts documentary channels. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 3, 2020
82% Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2021) Lili Horvat's striking second feature is a multi-layered rumination on love, fate and the way individuals construct their own sense of reality. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 2, 2020
No Score Yet Dormant (La Vida Dormida) (2020) A thoughtful, intensely personal documentary. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 23, 2020
No Score Yet She Had a Dream (2020) Binous' determination to be an agent of change lends the film an engaging, upbeat energy that enhances its appeal... - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 23, 2020
No Score Yet Nothing But The Sun (Apenas El Sol) (2020) Offers a moving requiem for uprooted communities with no possibility of reclaiming the life they once cherished. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 19, 2020
90% Landfall (2020) Cecilia Aldarondo's intelligent, insightful documentary captures how a natural disaster served to expose the man-made troubles that have blighted the island down the centuries. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 19, 2020
No Score Yet Death on the Streets (2020) The plight of a proud young worker struggling to provide for his family and retain his self-respect touches on some interesting issues but makes for a glum, low-key drama. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 11, 2020
No Score Yet Castro's Spies (2020) Blended together with a rich array of archival material, including FBI surveillance footage, the testimony of the five is fascinating. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 11, 2020
No Score Yet The Bright Side (2020) The understanding, jagged wit and warmth makes for a conventional but likeable laughter-through-tears drama with modest commercial appeal. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 10, 2020
No Score Yet Hokusai (2020) Reserved and unshowy in style, Hasimoto respects the character and serves the story. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 9, 2020
No Score Yet Amercement (2020) A plangent morality tale steeped in a culture of violence, misogyny and toxic masculinity. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 9, 2020
No Score Yet My Dear Spies (Mes Chers Espions) (2020) An intriguing detective story poised somewhere between television's Who Do You Think You Are? and the novels of John Le Carre. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 5, 2020
No Score Yet Mr. Suzuki - A Man in God's Country (2020) An oddball confection of dystopian drama, tentative romance and barbed social satire set in a land marked by blind loyalty, state oppression and a yawning divide between the generations. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 3, 2020
No Score Yet Underdog (2020) Masaharu Take doesn't pull his punches with Underdog, a boxing epic that feels like the entire Rocky franchise rolled into one. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 3, 2020
No Score Yet Summer Blur (2020) A restrained first feature that captures the emotional toll of an anguished adolescence. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 26, 2020
67% Teddy (2020) There is a boisterous energy in Anthony Bajon's magnetic central performance that seeps into the film itself. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 24, 2020
No Score Yet Red Soil (Rouge) (2020) Bentoumi adheres to a familiar template, but the efficient storytelling and strong performances should achieve modest returns for a Cannes Label title co-produced by the Dardenne brothers. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 24, 2020
No Score Yet Rival (2020) The fate of a nine-year-old boy faced with increasingly desperate circumstances becomes the basis of an intriguing, thought-provoking tale. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 22, 2020
80% Kubrick by Kubrick (Kubrick par Kubrick) (2020) Backed by a wealth of archive interviews and a judicious use of clips, Gregory Monro's elegant documentary should prove irresistible to those familiar with Kubrick's films and keen to deepen their understanding of his process and filmmaking philosophy. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 22, 2020
No Score Yet The Art of Dying Far Away (A Arte de Morrer Longe) (2020) There is a quirky charm to The Art Of Dying Far Away. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 21, 2020
No Score Yet Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (Baat Bou Bun) (2020) Achieves an above-par batting average for an anthology film as it conveys a nostalgic ache for a settled land far removed from the current political turmoil. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 21, 2020
100% Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation (2020) Vreeland has diligently raided the archives to assemble a visually appealing mosaic of iconic photographs, television interviews, magazine articles, clippings and comments that combine to fully immerse us in the lives and loves of both men. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 13, 2020
No Score Yet Rascal (Vaurien) (2020) A sober, non-judgemental portrait of a sociopath. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2020
91% Tragic Jungle (Selva Trágica) (2020) Brooding atmosphere easily trumps the unsurprising narrative... - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 25, 2020
99% Wolfwalkers (2020) Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart have an enviable reputation as purveyors of world class animated features. Wolfwalkers will only enhance that status. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2020
78% Enemies of the State (2020) This is a documentary that carefully, meticulously builds a case and then blindsides the viewer with revelations, second thoughts and fresh evidence that makes you reconsider everything you thought was certain. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 10, 2020
73% Falling (2020) Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut is an earnest family drama etched in jagged memories and an elegant waltz between past and present. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 10, 2020
100% Tove (2020) Alma Poysti achieves a remarkable likeness to Jansson, and her luminous central performance is a considerable asset. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 9, 2020
No Score Yet Shorta (2020) This impressive first feature from Anders Olholm and Frederik Louis Hviid confronts police brutality, racial tension and social division in a muscular, compelling thriller that proudly carries the influence of Walter Hill and John Carpenter. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 7, 2020
4/5 82% The Painted Bird (2020) However relentless the misery becomes, The Painted Bird is also utterly compelling. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 7, 2020
80% Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020) Luca Guadagnino's lush documentary may be traditional in its use of talking head interviews and evocative archive footage, but it works a treat when the subject is this fascinating. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 6, 2020
83% Kriya (2020) Ultimately, it is some risible dialogue and flat performances that prevent his film from catching fire. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 27, 2020
76% The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw (2020) Thomas Robert Lee's handsomely mounted, intriguing folk horror yarn may not reveal all its mysteries but it provides classy genre fare. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 24, 2020
No Score Yet In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand (2020) [A] lack of consistency... prevents Laura Durand from really catching fire. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 18, 2020
No Score Yet Full Moon (Pun Mjesec) (2019) Intense and intriguing, it connects the dots between the personal and the political to become an angry cry from the heart about the state of the nation. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 17, 2020
33% Crazy Samurai: 400 vs 1 (Crazy Samurai Musashi) (2020) In the end, Crazy Samurai Musashi emerges as an impressive feat of fight choreography and of physical stamina on both sides of the camera, not least from its indefatigable star Tak Sakaguchi. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 17, 2020
No Score Yet Otto the Barbarian (Otto Barbarul) (2020) Marc Titieni's soulful central performance keeps us engaged by Otto and aware of all the emotions simmering beneath the surface of his implacable features. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 17, 2020
No Score Yet Focus, Grandma (Koncentrisi se, Baba) (2020) Zalica's screenplay... creates enough space for everyone to shine. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 17, 2020
No Score Yet Mare (2020) A plaintive portrait of a middle-aged woman's longing for something beyond the drudgery of her daily existence. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 17, 2020
No Score Yet The Castle (Pilis) (2020) An assured coming of age story with a spirited, eye-catching performance from teenage newcomer Barbora Bareikyte. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2020
No Score Yet Redemption of a Rogue (2020) Doherty's cheerfully dark and quirky tale wears its influences lightly. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2020
No Score Yet Here Are the Young Men (2020) Macken keeps a clear eye on the film's recurring themes. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2020
No Score Yet The Winter Lake (2020) The ingredients here could lend themselves to a full throttle chiller but Sheerin reins them in, focusing on the emotional journeys of the four central characters. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 11, 2020
No Score Yet Paradise (L'Oiseau De Paradis) (2020) The debut feature from Paul Manate successfully blends social realism and mysticism to create a thoughtful portrait of a community in transition. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 24, 2020
No Score Yet Coalesce (Les Affluents) (2020) Overall, this remains a promising first feature with some sharp-eyed thoughts on modern Cambodia. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 23, 2020
4/5 93% The Delivered (Fanny Lye Deliver'd) (2019) Imagine Witchfinder General crossed with a flinty Clint Eastwood revenge saga and you have a sense of what Clay has achieved. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 23, 2020
No Score Yet Jungle Beat: The Movie (2020) Sweet, wholesome family fare that should win the approval of parents and hold the attention of younger viewers. - Screen International EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 18, 2020
3/5 70% 7500 (2020) Despite its flaws, 7500 has some edge-of-the-seat moments and a nicely understated performance from Gordon-Levitt as an ordinary man hit by the full force of extraordinary circumstances. - The List EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 15, 2020