…its thrillingly clever beginning, palpably gritty nature, and the galvanising acting still make it a memorable viewing experience.
Tag: Thriller
“White Material” Review
White Material [2009] – ★★★★1/2 White Material is set in one unspecified French colonial African country, and follows Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert), an owner of a large coffee plantation. Well-known to the area, Maria lives on the estate with her ex-husband Andre (Christopher Lambert), her ex-husband’s father Henri and grown-up son Manuel. However, there are…
“The Power of the Dog” Review
The Power of the Dog [2021] – ★★★★1/2 “Deliver my soul from the sword/My darling from the power of the dog” (Psalms, Preface to Thomas Savage’s novel The Power of the Dog (1967)). The Power of the Dog centres on two very different brothers Phil and George Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons) living on…
Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Films
I. Psycho (1960) This is a quintessential Hitchcock film with some unbelievable twists and deep psychology. Suspense is the word here. In this story, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steals quite a lot of money from her employer’s client and hits the road. However, she needs to rest somewhere on her way to her “financial freedom”…
“Death of a Cyclist” Review
This film by Juan Antonio Bardem presents a fascinating psychological situation, showing sensibilities of one particular group of people who struggle to regain control of their careless and self-absorbed lives.
“Everybody Knows” Review
Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben) [2018] – ★★1/2 This mystery-thriller comes from acclaimed director Asghar Farhadi (The Salesman (2016)), and stars such big stars as Penelope Cruz (Volver (2006)), Javier Bardem (Mother! (2017)) and Ricardo Darin (The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)). It thus seems as though this film can do no wrong, but, unfortunately,…
Hitchcock’s “The Birds”
Fifty-five years on, Alfred Hitchcock’s highly atmospheric, suspenseful and original horror creation is still a “must-see” film.
“Thoroughbreds” Review
Thoroughbreds [2017] – ★★★1/2 What happens when a street-smart, completely unemotional teen girl rekindles her childhood friendship with a doubtful, book-smart girl who has emotions, but who wants to get rid of one pressing problem in her life? This situation lies at the core of Thoroughbreds. Rising stars Olivia Cooke (The Limehouse Golem (2017)) and…
“The Limehouse Golem” Review
The Limehouse Golem [2017] – ★★★★ This film, based on a novel by Peter Ackroyd Dan Leno and The Limehouse Golem, starts with Victorian London being shaken by a series of gruesome murders deemed to be perpetuated by an individual so mythical he is called Golem. Eccentric Inspector John Kildare (Bill Nighy) is assigned to…
Agatha Christie Adaptations: Murder on the Orient Express (1974), & (2017)
Murder on the Orient Express [1974] – ★★★★ It is no wonder that Agatha Christie chose the Orient Express, once the most luxurious train in the world, as the setting for one of her fictitious crime scenes. From Paris to Istanbul, a journey of some 1,920 miles, will take passengers around 1883 (the date of…
The Horrorathon: Les Diaboliques (1955)
🛀 A true classic in the suspenseful thriller/horror genre, with a twist “to die for”.
“Blade Runner” Review
Blade Runner [1982] – ★★★★1/2 “A humanoid robot is like any other machine; it can fluctuate between being a benefit and a hazard very rapidly. As a benefit, it’s not our problem” (Rick Deckard in Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) Since its release in 1982, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner has achieved a…
Hitchcock Spotlight: “Rope” Review
The film grips the audience from the very beginning, and it radiates the same morbid cleverness that would define Hitchcock’s later films.
“Psycho” Review
🚿 A classic which stood the test of time, revolutionising the presentation of horror on screen and showcasing Hitchcock’s unparalleled talent for creating suspense.
“Nocturnal Animals” Review
Nocturnal Animals [2016] – ★★★★ After directing critically-acclaimed A Single Man back in 2009, Tom Ford has decided to try his hand in directing something darker and more complicated, an adaptation of the novel by Austin Wright Tony and Susan. Nocturnal Animals is a drama/thriller having two stories running in parallel: one in which Susan…
“Rebecca” Review
Rebecca [1940] – ★★★★1/2 “…I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end” (Daphne Du Maurier Rebecca (1938)). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca is adapted from the best-selling novel…
“Déjà-vu” Review
Déjà-vu [2006] – ★★★★ “What if you had to tell someone the most important thing in the world, but you knew they’d never believe you?” (Doug Carlin) In 2006, Tony Scott directed a time-travel thriller Déjà-vu, starring Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer, presenting a story of A.T.F. agent Doug Carlin who starts to investigate the bombing…
“The Infiltrator” Review
The Infiltrator [2016] – ★★★★ The 1980s. A federal agent Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston) works as an undercover in a notorious drug trafficking ring established by Pablo Escobar. Robert Mazur is now influential and charismatic Bob Musella who operates alongside two other undercover agents: his “fiancée” Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) and best friend Emir Abreu…
“Dead Ringers” Review
Dead Ringers [1988] – ★★★★ David Cronenberg’s 1988 feature Dead Ringers is the director’s “trademark” film starring Jeremy Irons, and loosely based on a real-life story of identical twin brothers working as gynaecologists in New York. The story closely follows Elliot and Beverly Mantle (both played by Jeremy Irons), who share their lives so closely…
“Eastern Promises” Review
Eastern Promises [2007] – ★★★★ Eastern Promises is David Cronenerg’s film starring Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel and Naomi Watts. The script is written by Steven Knight, better known for Amazing Grace (2006) and Locke (2013), and the film starts with a young Eastern European girl dying during childbirth, leaving her baby girl and a diary behind,…
Spotlight on Film 