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 | Review | |
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96% | Dinner in America (2020) |
An offbeat romance served with rumbustious energy and a punk spirit. - Screen International
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| Posted Jan 8, 2021
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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
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| Posted Dec 9, 2020
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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
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| Posted Dec 3, 2020
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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
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| Posted Dec 2, 2020
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No Score Yet | Dormant (La Vida Dormida) (2020) |
A thoughtful, intensely personal documentary. - Screen International
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| Posted Nov 23, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 23, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 19, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 19, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 11, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 11, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 10, 2020
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No Score Yet | Hokusai (2020) |
Reserved and unshowy in style, Hasimoto respects the character and serves the story. - Screen International
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| Posted Nov 9, 2020
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No Score Yet | Amercement (2020) |
A plangent morality tale steeped in a culture of violence, misogyny and toxic masculinity. - Screen International
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| Posted Nov 9, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 5, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 3, 2020
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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
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| Posted Nov 3, 2020
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No Score Yet | Summer Blur (2020) |
A restrained first feature that captures the emotional toll of an anguished adolescence. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 26, 2020
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67% | Teddy (2020) |
There is a boisterous energy in Anthony Bajon's magnetic central performance that seeps into the film itself. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 24, 2020
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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
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| Posted Oct 24, 2020
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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
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| Posted Oct 22, 2020
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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
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| Posted Oct 22, 2020
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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
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| Posted Oct 21, 2020
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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
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| Posted Oct 21, 2020
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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
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| Posted Oct 13, 2020
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No Score Yet | Rascal (Vaurien) (2020) |
A sober, non-judgemental portrait of a sociopath. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 26, 2020
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91% | Tragic Jungle (Selva Trágica) (2020) |
Brooding atmosphere easily trumps the unsurprising narrative... - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 25, 2020
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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
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| Posted Sep 13, 2020
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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
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| Posted Sep 10, 2020
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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
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| Posted Sep 10, 2020
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100% | Tove (2020) |
Alma Poysti achieves a remarkable likeness to Jansson, and her luminous central performance is a considerable asset. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 9, 2020
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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
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| Posted Sep 7, 2020
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4/5 | 82% | The Painted Bird (2020) |
However relentless the misery becomes, The Painted Bird is also utterly compelling. - The List
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| Posted Sep 7, 2020
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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
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| Posted Sep 6, 2020
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83% | Kriya (2020) |
Ultimately, it is some risible dialogue and flat performances that prevent his film from catching fire. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 27, 2020
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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
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| Posted Aug 24, 2020
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No Score Yet | In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand (2020) |
[A] lack of consistency... prevents Laura Durand from really catching fire. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 18, 2020
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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
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| Posted Aug 17, 2020
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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
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| Posted Aug 17, 2020
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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
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| Posted Aug 17, 2020
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No Score Yet | Focus, Grandma (Koncentrisi se, Baba) (2020) |
Zalica's screenplay... creates enough space for everyone to shine. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 17, 2020
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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
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| Posted Aug 17, 2020
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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
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| Posted Jul 13, 2020
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No Score Yet | Redemption of a Rogue (2020) |
Doherty's cheerfully dark and quirky tale wears its influences lightly. - Screen International
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| Posted Jul 13, 2020
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No Score Yet | Here Are the Young Men (2020) |
Macken keeps a clear eye on the film's recurring themes. - Screen International
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| Posted Jul 13, 2020
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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
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| Posted Jul 11, 2020
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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
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| Posted Jun 24, 2020
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No Score Yet | Coalesce (Les Affluents) (2020) |
Overall, this remains a promising first feature with some sharp-eyed thoughts on modern Cambodia. - Screen International
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| Posted Jun 23, 2020
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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
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| Posted Jun 23, 2020
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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
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| Posted Jun 18, 2020
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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
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| Posted Jun 15, 2020
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