
Rachel Brook
Movies reviews only
Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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She Said (2022) |
... A sensitive exploration of a range of women’s experiences, far beyond systemic sexual harassment and abuses of power. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Nov 29, 2022
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The Swimmers (2022) |
... It brings mainstream attention to another deserving migrant story. It's just a shame it does so with such straightforward and unimaginative filmmaking. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Nov 29, 2022
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The Good Nurse (2022) |
Buried somewhere within the glacial 2-hour runtime is a tense, pacy 90-minute thrill-ride. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Oct 31, 2022
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The Lure (2015) |
Though certainly not for the fainthearted, this is a true original with all the trappings of a cult classic and the potential to be a very fun repertory show, costumes and all. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Oct 15, 2022
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Granada Nights (2021) |
Granada Nights is elegantly produced and makes for a gentle, undemanding watch. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Jun 01, 2021
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EMMA. (2020) |
Despite Emma's veneer of snarky modernity, Austen's characters and scenarios are rehashed rather predictably. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Feb 14, 2020
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Begin Again (2013) |
Though there are a few faultless moments, Begin Again's flaw lies in the fact that there's not nearly enough narrative for the runtime; it's more musical montage than movie. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Jun 15, 2019
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Serena (2014) |
Serena packs in as many shock-jolt moments as the average horror movie, though these have above average impact. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 31, 2019
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The Inbetweeners 2 (2014) |
After a strong start The Inbetweeners 2 adds tasteless animal abuse and rape jokes to the mix. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 25, 2019
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What If (2013) |
Billed as the best romcom since (500) Days of Summer, What If doesn't quite earn this praise but it allows Daniel Radcliffe to shine as a leading man almost as magnetic as Joseph Gordon-Levitt. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 25, 2019
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If I Stay (2014) |
Disappointingly little of the rock and classical music shot through the novel is utilised; instead clichéd scoring, familiar dialogue and minimal chemistry between Moretz and Blackley renders Cutler's film far less engaging than its source material. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 25, 2019
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Before I Go to Sleep (2014) |
A persistent score keeps emotions and tension running high while nebulous titles and grainy video footage evoke the faded and partial memories so crucial to the secret-ridden narrative. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 25, 2019
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Batched (2014) |
A finely-crafted combination of high drama and observant kitchen-sink realism shot in Oxford locations makes for a gripping narrative which just about stops short of pandering or polarising. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 25, 2019
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Maps to the Stars (2014) |
It's an unoriginal concept but rarely has this story been told with such visual flair, narrative ingenuity and, despite a character uttering a pivotal fact in the first act, mystery. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 25, 2019
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Unbroken (2014) |
Though excelling with casting, Jolie's direction falls short in style and execution; cheesy dissolves and trite biopic techniques are distractingly formulaic, fracturing absorption with Unbroken's brutal and shocking content. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 17, 2019
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Beyond Clueless (2014) |
Beyond Clueless frequently provokes nostalgic joy whilst also inspiring further cinematic discovery. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 17, 2019
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Focus (2015) |
Very occasionally Focus' Hollywood glamour is offset by an allusion to the idea that money can't buy happiness, but essentially this is a hustler romp with a surprisingly romantic slant. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 14, 2019
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Still Alice (2014) |
Intellectually, the sadness is undeniable, but Still Alice only rarely fulfils its potential for moving the viewer. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 14, 2019
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While We're Young (2014) |
It's rambling, tonally indecisive and contains no one as charming as Frances Ha, but this well-meaning spiritual sequel shines for its wry humour. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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Lost River (2014) |
There's more than a nugget of intrigue to this era-less, nihilism-inflected tale, but Gosling is too concerned with aesthetic and tone to deliver much of a narrative. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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Far From the Madding Crowd (2015) |
Conventionality is almost surpassed by fine performances and some technical flair, yet the emphatically romance-driven conclusion is all the more disappointing alongside such winning translation of Hardy's rural verisimilitude. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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The New Girlfriend (2014) |
Though its respect for the characters and concluding vision of an unconventional family is admirable, The New Girlfriend is most convincing when simply depicting friendship. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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The Age of Adaline (2015) |
The plot is both ridiculous and overly convenient, stealing screentime from the deserving thorough period production design. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) |
Clouds of Sils Maria pertinently discusses the nature of interpreting art, but its tedious attention to paparazzi-plagued celebrities is shallower and skews its already meandering trajectory. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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Moomins on the Riviera (2014) |
Like the Moomins themselves, this film is charming and endlessly imaginative. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 10, 2019
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The Longest Ride (2015) |
Another cookie-cutter Nicholas Sparks adaptation emerges undercooked, seemingly without undergoing redrafts or second takes. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 08, 2019
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Mistress America (2015) |
Mistress America is far less cynical than While We're Young, yet it's hilarity, piquant catty rivalry, and Brooke's straight-talking outer shell poignantly give way to some extremely sad observations. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 04, 2019
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45 Years (2015) |
Haigh incorporates wry observations about relationships, both humorous and tragic, while intelligently reflecting on aging. Sadly though, 45 Years never quite reaches the promise of its premise. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 04, 2019
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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) |
Mann and Cooke's performances are so open and natural that the screenplay's intelligent interrogation of lofty themes - including death, fear, and intergenerational relationships - never feels preachy or condescending. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 04, 2019
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The Company You Keep (2012) |
An exciting chase thriller with unusual emotional depth - in part thanks to Cliff Martinez' mournful score - The Company You Keep proffers interesting commentary on the sacrifices men will make for women they love. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 04, 2019
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Legend (2015) |
Flashy production and performances don't distract from the film's flaws, though the American Helgeland nails the minutiae of British life. - One Room With A View
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| Posted May 04, 2019
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Miss You Already (2015) |
The narrative milestones of Milly's cancer - including head-shaving and chemo-induced puking - are well worn in cinema, yet it's the stale and predictable trajectory of this fictional friendship which really offends. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 23, 2019
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In the Room (2015) |
After opening shorts respectively characterised by static, stagey discourse and poor acting, In the Room grows in confidence and passionate eloquence. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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Hand Gestures (2015) |
Long at 77 minutes, Hand Gestures succeeds only in conveying and recreating the laboriousness of the labours it documents. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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Assassination (2015) |
Assassination is a meticulously crafted film crammed with diverse elements, including sumptuously detailed set design, goofy slapstick humour, and even a meet cute. Best of all, there's a kickass heroine. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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The Program (2015) |
It may not take a groundbreaking approach to biographical drama, but Frears' The Program draws strong performances... - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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Very Big Shot (2015) |
Very Big Shot is a glorious surprise. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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11 Minutes (2015) |
Snappy editing, a well-judged structure and an immersive use of sound - watch out for the sudden increases in volume - help maintain a fast pace. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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Couple In A Hole (2015) |
After a slow build, Couple In A Hole develops from brooding drama to frenetic thriller. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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Queen of Earth (2015) |
If only Perry's direction had been as brave as the performances, Queen of Earth would be unmissable. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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A Perfect Day (2015) |
León de Aranoa finely balances tone to craft a warm human film that sheds light on the stark realities of war - including many of relevance to the current refugee crisis. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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One Floor Below (2015) |
Muntean offers some insight into the routine reality of this Romanian businessman, but ultimately the film sidesteps exploring the moral dilemma that at first seems to be its raison d'être. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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My Skinny Sister (2015) |
Exponentially growing tension makes My Skinny Sister increasingly distressing to watch, yet looking away is never an option. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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My Golden Days (2015) |
Though consistently amusing, the narrative direction and central themes of My Golden Days are too confused for it to serve as anything more than light entertainment. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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Mr. Gaga (2015) |
Heymann may have omitted too much due to overestimating the public's knowledge of Naharin's career, yet Mr Gaga is always interesting, and at times deeply moving. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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Light Years (2015) |
Campbell's eye for a real rather than romanticised Britain - motorways, industrial parks, damp forests - is refreshing, yet Light Years fails to take hold until it's almost passed you by. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 18, 2019
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Sisters (2015) |
It's so disappointing that the usually hilarious Fey and Poehler have indulged themselves with this paper-thin plot... - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 17, 2019
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Freeheld (2015) |
Freeheld's first act combines irrelevant police cases with an awkward early-stage romance that develops into a cheesy, sun-splashed love story. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 12, 2019
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Unicorn Store (2017) |
Taking on a potentially twee and childish premise, [Brie] Larson has created a bold and colourful world for [Samantha] McIntyre's earnest, soulful and relatable tale of personal growth. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 12, 2019
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Room (2015) |
Donaghue's adaptation of her own novel translates the vastly distinct sections of Room equally skilfully, and treats the recoveries of both Jack and Ma with nuance. - One Room With A View
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| Posted Apr 09, 2019
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