September 2, 2010 • No Comments

France | 1985 | Directed by Luc Besson Logline: A cocky safe-cracker evading police finds an escape haven in the Metro of Paris and is befriended by a ragtag group of musicians and misfits, while an elusive romance beckons. Luc Besson is a style merchant extraordinaire. He became the cine vogue du jour (he was [...]
August 18, 2010 • No Comments

Italy | 1960 | Directed by Federico Fellini Logline: A listless playboy journalist drifts in and around Rome over the course of several days and nights following celebrities and dealing with the breakdown of his marriage. While not the masterstroke of cinema 8½ is, La Dolce Vita, which translates as The Sweet Life, is a [...]
August 4, 2010 • No Comments

UK | 2008 | Directed by Shane Meadows Logline: An unlikely friendship is forged between a young reckless runaway from the Midlands, a young Polish immigrant living with his poor father, and a pretty French girl who both boys fancy. Shane Meadows is one of the best directors working in England. He has numerous excellent [...]
August 3, 2010 • 2 Comments

France/Italy | 1990 | Directed by Luc Besson Logline: A young and volatile criminal is convicted of multiple felon, but given a second chance; a new identity and exclusive training as a top secret assassin. Talented French filmmaker Luc Besson had already garnered a cult following with his mid-80s subterranean neon romance, Subway, and then [...]
July 29, 2010 • No Comments

Sweden | 1985 | Directed by Lasse Hallström Logline: A young mischievous boy is sent to live with his uncle after his ill mother can’t tolerate the fighting between him and his older brother. Before Lasse Hallström became widely-known for directing the Hollywood films What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (which introduced Leonardo DiCaprio), The Cider House [...]
June 28, 2010 • 2 Comments

Poland | 1989 | Directed by Krzystof Kieslowski Logline: Ten modern fables loosely based on each of the Ten Commandments, all set within different apartments in the same high-rise block. When Polish filmmaker was commissioned to make a series of hour-long dramas for Polish television little did he know the impact his work would have [...]
June 24, 2010 • No Comments

UK/Italy | 1990 | Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci Logline: The plight of an American woman, and her husband, whilst traveling through the desert and villages of the Sahara, North Africa, in 1947. Peter Bowles’ best-seller adapted for the big screen by master Italian director Bertolucci, co-scripted with Mark Peploe, and starring John Malkovich as Port [...]
June 21, 2010 • No Comments

UK | 2004 | Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski Logline: A naïve teenager, in despair over her working class father’s born again Christianity, seeks solace and escapism in a romantic fling with an upper-middle class teenage girl. With a cast of only eight speaking parts, five of which barely have more than a line or two, [...]
June 16, 2010 • No Comments

France | 2009 | Directed by Serge Bromberg & Ruxandra Medrea Logline: A documentary about the making of the ill-fated feature Inferno by a legendary French director and starring a legendary Austrian actress. French director Henri-Georges Clouzot had an illustrious career, with two brilliant movies in particular; The Wages of Fear and Diabolique. In 1964 [...]
June 16, 2010 • No Comments

UK | 2009 | Directed by Sonia Anderson Logline: An unathorised documentary tracing the career of Led Zeppelin from the demise of The Yardbirds to the death of drummer John Bonham. A straight-to-DVD title that is not listed on imdb.com, even under its director’s credentials, which makes one wonder just how libelous this production potentially [...]
June 11, 2010 • No Comments

Germany/Austria | 2010 | Directed by Benjamin Hesienberg Logline: The true story of an ex-con who trains as a marathon runner whilst leading a double life as a masked armed robber. A thoroughly gripping drama that borders on being an action thriller The Robber is driven, in every sense of the word. Based on real [...]
June 10, 2010 • No Comments

France/Germany/UK | 2010 | Directed by Roman Polanski Logline: A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister uncovers dangerous secrets that put his own life in jeopardy. Returning to the genre he knows and understands best, the brilliant Roman Polanski, now aged a stately 76-years-old, delivers a moody political thriller [...]
June 4, 2010 • No Comments

Estonia/Finland/Sweden | 2009 | Directed by Veiko Õunpuu Logline: A mid-level manager finds himself inexorably drawn across a lonely landscape, through a series of nightmarish incidents that test his morality and twist his perspective on love, life and death. Probably the strangest movie I’ve seen in many moons, an enigma, a psychologically labyrinthine, yet physically [...]
May 5, 2010 • No Comments

USA | 2006 | Directed by Chris Davies Logline: A two-part quasi-documentary that focuses on the music and performance of legendary British rock band Queen. A curious production; low-fi, subjective, oddly selective, yet passionate, detailed and informative, this is an independent critical analysis of the music of Queen, the bombastic English group of highly talented [...]
April 11, 2010 • 2 Comments

France/Canada/Italy | 2008 | Directed by Jean-Francois Richet Logline: The story of France’s public enemy #1; Jacques Mesrine, and his colourful criminal career as a gangster. This is by far the best French movie in years, an instant modern classic, packed full of vibrant characters, intrigue, and action. Vincent Cassel in the titular role delivers [...]
February 15, 2010 • No Comments

South Korea | 2003 | Directed by Chan-wook Park Logline: An ordinary man is kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, then suddenly released, confused and bewildered, only to be informed he must find his captor in five days. “Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.” Adapted for the screen from [...]
February 11, 2010 • No Comments

USA/France | 2005 | Directed by Tommy Lee Jones Logline: A ranch foreman honours the final Mexican burial wishes of his murdered best friend and makes sure the man responsible, an arrogant and reckless Border Patrolman, is held accountable. It’s curious how a respected actor decides he needs to try his hand at directing, gets [...]
February 3, 2010 • No Comments

Sweden/Denmark | 1998 | Directed by Lukas Moodysson Logline: Two teenagers – an unhappy girl with a secret crush on the cute popular girl – find themselves the centre of attention, much of it very awkward. Writer and director Lukas Moodysson had been writing serious poetry for years before finally turning his hand to telling [...]
February 1, 2010 • No Comments

Spain | 2007 | Directed by Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza Logline: A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside an apartment building along with two firemen, two policemen … and a bloodthirsty virulent disease that is spreading amongst the residents. A low-budget horror that twists the zombie conventions on its head and delivers [...]
January 28, 2010 • No Comments

UK/USA/Australia/Japan | 2007 | Directed by Anton Corbijn Logline: The story of Ian Curtis, the singer of seminal UK indie band Joy Division, whose personal and professional troubles lead to him committing suicide at age 23. “When routine bites hard, and ambitions are low. And resentment rides high, but emotions won’t grow. And we’re changing [...]