Check out our #review of #Queenpins, starring Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste:

Written and directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, Queenpins is a comedy starring Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Vince Vaughn. Inspired by real-life events taking place in 2012, the story follows a pair of friends, bored housewife Connie (Bell) and aspiring influencer Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), who steals fake coupons and sells them online, scamming millions of dollars from…

Martial arts comedy The Paper Tigers (@_ThePaperTigers) is the opening film of this year's Fighting Spirit Film Festival (@FSFilmFestival, #FSFF2021, #FightingSpiritFilmFestival) at Stratford Picturehouse on 11-12 Sept - check out our #review here:

Marking the directorial debut of Asian-American filmmaker Tran Quoc Bao, The Paper Tigers is a martial arts comedy-drama set in Seattle. Starring Alain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mykel Shannon Jenkins, the film centres on three former martial artists who unite after being estranged for 30 years to avenge their late master. In a plot reminiscent of Bruce Lee classic Fist of Fury, a plot focusing on a…

Check out our #review of Alexandre Rockwell's Sweet Thing (@SweetThingFilm), which is in cinemas from 10 September.

Directed by indie filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell, Sweet Thing stars Lana Rockwell as teenager Billie, who lives with her younger brother Nico (real-life sibling Nico Rockwell) and their loving yet alcoholic father Adam (Will Patton). When Adam finds himself stuck in rehab, the children are forced to stay with mother Eve (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air‘s Karyn Parsons) and her boyfriend Beaux (ML…

Lorelei (2021) – Film Review

From first-time writer-director Sabrina Doyle, a former BBC journalist, arrives Lorelei, a modest if perceptive family drama starred by Jena Malone and Pablo Schreiber. The film examines the meaning of family, the importance of a second opportunity in life, and the nerve needed to change at some point in order to keep us attuned to our wildest dreams. It’s a relatable, simple story set in a small…

Here Today (2021) – Film Review

There is an initial anticipation for Here Today. Its heart is undeniably in the right place, and there are plenty of great ingredients in its recipe. The rightfully beloved Billy Crystal stars, co-writes and directs this feature. He plays Charlie Burnz, an ageing comedy writer who’s the most affable guy in the world. He’s jovial, naturally funny, and is a great mentor, even to those who believe…

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) – Film Review

Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in full swing this year. With four Disney plus shows, the long overdue Black Widow film, and two more films and shows left to go this year, Marvel is more than making up for lost time after last year’s spell of delays. While some are becoming somewhat fatigued by the seemingly endless barrage of new comic book media, one thing that is still very…

Nika McGuigan and Nora-Jane Noone are stunning as reunited sisters in Cathy Brady's Wildfire (2020). Flickfeast gives it 3/5 stars.

Belfast, Northern Ireland is the backdrop for Cathy Brady’s searing drama Wildfire (2020), where long-missing Kelly (Nika McGuigan, in her final on-screen performance) is reunited with her sister, Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone), and the buried traumas of their past. They are two sides of the same coin, sometimes mistaken for twins, with the special capacity to love and hate the other that only brothers…

Chilean Pablo Larraín is a fabulous director, but his newest film, Ema, leaves one with a sense of anticlimax and dissatisfaction, especially after the ridiculous finale. The filmmaker maintains the dark undertones that characterize his films but forgot the sardonic humor in this icy tale of guilt, cynicism and lust that loses consistency with time. The story, co-written by Larraín, Guillermo…

EIFF Review: Skies of Lebanon (2021)

Chloe Mazlo’s directorial debut has a lot going for it. Charm, intrigue, empathy, and, most of all, creativity. It’s both an interesting character drama and a nuanced look at the cost of war. It’s nothing if not ambitious for a first film. We open on a woman named Alice (Alba Rohrwacher). She is writing a letter to explain her life and what has led to where she is. From there, the film is…

EIFF Review: Stop-Zemlia (2021)

Teenage years are such a fascinating part of our lives. Probably because it’s a chasm between the landmasses of child and adult that every one of us remembers being so terrifying in one way or another. It’s as universal as it gets. Kateryna Gornostai’s new film Stop-Zemlia explores the realm of teenagers in the contemporary world with sensitive and intriguing insight. The story centres around a…

Candyman (2021) will have you thinking twice before checking your reflection - Our review is here!

Nia DaCosta’s Candyman (2021) is described as a “spiritual sequel” to Bernard Rose’s 1992 classic Candyman. The film indeed touches upon moments of the original, harking back to the 19th century story where an enslaved person was brutally killed for his relationship with a white woman. However, in this telling of the legend we focus on artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and an…

EIFF 2021 Review: Europa (2021)

Perhaps it is a case of timing, but I found Europa a spine-chilling viewing experience. On its own it’s an excellent example of minimum storytelling. But with the added real world context of the ongoing migrant crisis, especially with the recent horror we’re seeing in Afghanistan, the film becomes a whole new level of devastating. Movies like this prove Ebert’s sentiments on cinema being a…

The #SpiderManNoWayHome trailer swings online. Watch it here.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. The trailer confirms what other recent Marvel Cinematic…

Spotlight: Censor - Enid's Edited Reality. A detailed theory into what #CensorFilm's ambigious finale means for the character of Enid Baines *Spoiler Warning*

The following article takes a deep dive into some of the themes of Prano Bailey-Bond‘s horror film Censor. One of the film’s strengths is the ambiguity around the film’s intense climax. Festivals Editor Dallas King theorises what this could mean for the central character of Enid so be warned that this article will feature explicit, spoiler-filled discussion of the third act… In the final frames…

The Beta Test (2021) - #EIFF2021 Film Review

The Fest faces a big Test as the hotly anticipated The Beta Test makes its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. A married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, infidelity, and digital data. It is obvious from that start that Jordan should just ingnore the mystery invitation. However,…

EIFF 2021: Pig (2021) – Film Review

The Edinburgh International Film Festival returns with its best opening gala film in years with Michael Sarnowski’s Pig. Nicolas Cage stars as a truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped. It would be incredibly easy to offhandedly dismiss this film. For one, on paper the plot could…

Here is our review of The Lies We Tell, the directorial debut of Kabir McKeely:

The Lies We Tell is Kabir McKeely‘s directorial debut and follows Andy (Eimara Eris)’s attempt to deal with the first anniversary of her boyfriend Jaden’s suicide on New Year’s Day. As her friends and family gather to celebrate the end of another year, Andy’s relationship with her mother becomes more difficult as secrets are revealed. The Lies We Tell is archetypal of a debut feature and it’s…