Author: The Reviews Hub - Film

Writer: Kraig Wenman Director: Allan Unger Rom-com meets latter day Robin Hood, cinema’s obsession with glamourising bank robbers continues in Kraig Wenman’s disappointing biopic Bandit which dramatises the crime spree undertaken by Robert Whiteman based on a memoir co-authored by Robert Knuckle and Ed Arnold. Whiteman, who eschewed his real name, Gilbert Galvan, holds the record for the most bank robberies in Canada. Played by Josh Duhamel, Bandit really, really wants you to like him, it’s surely just a bit of fun, banks can afford it and he was a good guy really with a lovely wife and baby to…

Written by: Chisa Hutchinson Directed by: Lanie Zipoy The Subject is a morality story offering star Jason Biggs the rare opportunity to defy expectations as an ethically dubious character. Documentary filmmaker Phil Waterhouse (Jason Biggs) is at a high point in his career. His last documentary garnered critical praise and he has been commissioned to make a follow-up series. However, Waterhouse is tormented by guilt as to how his fame was achieved- as part of his documentary he accidently filmed his subject Malcolm Barnes (Nile Bullock) being murdered by members of the urban gang he sought to leave. Waterhouse’s guilt…

Writer and Director: Mali Elfman In Next Exit writer/ director Mali Elfman uses the format of mismatched lovers/ road movie to explore some heavyweight concepts. Hamlet argued the fear of what comes after death is the only reason we endure a weary life. Next Exit speculates on the impact of this fear being removed. In the present day, scientists find conclusive, demonstrable proof of life after death. As a result, society slides into chaos with suicides and homicides increasing. The scientists seek to verify their findings by euthanising volunteers to monitor, and get feedback from, them as they cross into…

Writer & Director: Elegance Bratton When Tom Cruise’s character stood up in a military courtroom to defend two marines accused of torturing and killing a weaker colleague, the brutal order, it was discovered, came straight from the top. 30 years on and nothing has change it seems in Elegance Bratton’s new film, The Inspection, that places a spotlight on the intensive training programme for the US Marines. But while the racism, bullying and degradation still exits, Bratton’s story also celebrates the resilience of the men that this system produces. Homeless and struggling with addiction, Ellis French decides to join the…

Director: Brian Vincent We love stories about struggling artists who suddenly make it in the art world. Edward Brezinski’s one isn’t quite like that. But his story of failure makes for a highly entertaining documentary about the Lower East Side art scene of the 1970s and 80s. Filmmaker Brian Vincent shows archive footage of rackety parties in Brezinski’s slum apartment and other contemporary glimpses of some of the period’s biggest names in the art world, including Jean-Michel Basquiat and David Hockney. There are recent interviews with a raft of other artists, gallery owners and critics including Annina Nosei, David McDermott,…

Written by: Laurence Guy Directed by: Keith Wilhelm Kopp Translations takes a non-sensational approach to the potentially melodramatic subject of mental illness. The (off-screen) death of Liam has a devastating effect upon his younger sister Stef (Kate Morgan-Jones) and best friend Evan (Alan Emrys). The latter reverts to his default approach of dealing with trauma by basically running away from his problems and takes to the road. Stef suffers panic attacks so intense she develops a phobia about leaving her house and scratches a living translating Welsh documents into English. The sudden appearance of Evan on her doorstep offers hope…

Writer: Krew Boylan Director: Gracie Otto It is generally accepted Australia, where major musical acts rarely tour, has a higher-than average appreciation of tribute acts. Seriously Red, written by and starring Aussie Krew Boylan flirts with, but does not commit to, an examination of this enthusiasm and of the costs and benefits of being such an act. Red (Krew Boylan) experiences a real-life variation on the nightmare of finding oneself naked in a public place. She shows up for a formal works party dressed as her idol Dolly Parton under the mistaken impression the event is fancy dress. Worse follows…

Writers: Nick Hornby, adapted by Morwenna Banks Director: Oliver Parker In the television adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 1968-set novel, Funny Girl, Gemma Arterton has found a role she has been waiting her whole career for, a chance to be smart and funny as wannabe comedy star Barbara. This gleeful six-part Sky Max production has a glossy veneer with plenty of beautiful outfits and bouffant hairdos but its understanding of women’s roles, class and prejudice in all areas of the entertainment industry, along with the clash of traditional ideals within an evolving society give the more appropriately titled Funny Woman an…