Category Archives: Reviews

The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Ross Birks

A bizarre miracle of restoration and a dizzying, bleary-eyed display of Welles’ effortlessly radical technique, quite unlike anything else he attempted. Turns out he was one hell of a 70s filmmaker. This is a proper full-meal for cinephiles, absolutely punch-drunk … Continue reading →

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The Meg (2018)

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Ross Birks

While basic, The Meg is still a lot more fun and entertaining than the reviews led me to believe. Perhaps not the exact movie we were all hoping for from the concept or trailers (the shark is not big enough to eat … Continue reading →

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Combat Shock (1986)

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Ross Birks

This grimy mutant lovechild of Taxi Driver and Eraserhead is undoubtedly one of the skuzziest movies I’ve ever sat through. Buddy Gionvinazzo’s Combat Shock (or American Nightmares to give it its original title, and the title that appeared on the Director’s Cut I watched) is sometimes just content … Continue reading →

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Thunder Road (2018)

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Ross Birks

I was a big fan of the original short this is based on so I’m very happy to report that Jim Cummings lives up to the promise of those initial twelve minutes and then some. A perfectly pitched cringe comedy featuring some … Continue reading →

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Candyman (1992)

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Ross Birks

This is a far more grotesque and elegantly told work than I initially gave it credit for. For as much as we recognise Candyman as part of the Clive Barker canon, it’s actually writer/director Bernard Rose who’s responsible for the film’s most … Continue reading →

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Night Moves (1975)

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Ross Birks

“I think people are shitty and you’re okay” A wonderfully grizzled PI dirge from the heart of the 70s, Night Moves is my favourite Arthur Penn I’ve seen so far. It’s a movie in which Gene Hackman seems to embody every damn … Continue reading →

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The Canyons (2013)

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Ross Birks

Paul Schrader and Bret Easton Ellis’ Lifestyles of the Rich and Dangerous. An underrated and frequently misunderstood exercise in surfaces and cosmetics. The Canyons feels like an episode of an LA reality TV show as seen through a shattered black mirror. Everything looks … Continue reading →

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Batman Returns (1992)

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Ross Birks

A masked ball-cum-circus/superhero freak show contained within a Halloween snow globe and wrapped in a black Christmas ribbon. One of the great examples of 90s studio/auteur hubris, which seemed to be a totally misjudged disaster upon release but now looks … Continue reading →

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Ross Birks

The most in tune Tim Burton has been with a piece of material in years. There are dashings of imagination here, from full set-pieces to instances of scenic finesse, that see the famously design-orientated director fully engaged and present with … Continue reading →

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Set It Up (2018)

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Ross Birks

A delightfully old-school rom-com amplified by its quartet of charming and attractive leads and knowing screenplay. The fact it feels so bright and sitcommy keeps reminding you this was made for Netflix and not a proper big screen, but the … Continue reading →

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