KhodjaFilm

'What We Do In The Shadows' #vampire #mockumentary #horror #comedy #NewZealand #TaikaWaititi

What We Do In The Shadows (2014) (85 mins) Director – Jermaine Clement, Taika Waititi Starring – Taika Waititi, Jermaine Clement, Jonathan Brugh Premise – In Wellington, New Zealand, a group of vampires living together show us how a vampire passes his time in this mockumentary-styled horror comedy. The Review: Taika Waititi is the most exciting export New Zealand has to offer since the auteur…

'Duck Soup' #review #comedy #anarchy #Marx #brother #Groucho #Freedonia #Firefly #Harpo #Chico

Duck Soup (1933) (68 mins) Director – Leo McCarey Starring – Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx Premise – Rufus T. Firefly is named president of the bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on the neighbouring Sylvania and its ambassador Trentino. The Review: Arguably the most successful family act in the history of the entertainment business, the Marx Brothers dominated vaudeville, Broadway and…

'Me Before You' #romance #drama #disability #EmiliaClarke #MeBeforeYou #weepy #sentimental

Me Before You (2016) (110 mins) Director – Thea Sharrock Starring – Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer Premise – A ditzy unemployed girl in a small town becomes the caretaker of a quadriplegic man and soon they form an unbreakable bond. The Review: Romance + Disability + Convention = Cloyingly Saccharine + Emilia Clarke = Heart-warmingly Sweet. That’s the formula by which Me Before You is…

'X-Men: Apocalypse' #Apocalypse #Xmen #Mystique #Magneto #Xavier #JenniferLawrence #Marvel #X

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) (140 mins) Director – Bryan Singer Starring – James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence Premise – The world’s first mutant wakes from his slumber seeking to cleanse the world, leaving the X-Men the only force capable of defeating him. The Review: If you thought The Avengers franchise was as convoluted a storyline as there was, Batman v Superman: Dawn of…

'After the Dark' #philosophy #philosophers #AftertheDark #JamesD'Arcy #ThoughExperiment #Love

After the Dark (2014) (107 mins) Director – John Huddles Starring – James D’Arcy, Sophie Lowe, Rhys Wakefield Premise – A group of philosophy students at an international school are challenged by their teacher to survive an oncoming atomic apocalypse. The Review: Changing its title from The Philosophers to After the Dark was always going to be a damaging prospect. Not only did this film pass…

'Bottle Rocket' #WesAnderson #LukeWilson #OwenWilson #Comedy #Crime #BottleRocket

Bottle Rocket (1996) (92 mins) Director – Wes Anderson Starring – Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave Premise – Three friends form an elaborate plan to perform a small heist and then go on the run. The Review: Debut was the word for Bottle Rocket, the 1996 crime comedy about a group of foolish friends who turn to pulling off heists as a means of supporting their 75-year plan. The quirky Wes…

'Green Room' #NeoNazi #skinhead #GreenRoom #Violent #PatrickStewart #AntonYelchin #ImogenPoots

Green Room (2016) (95 mins) Director – Jeremy Saulnier Starring – Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart Premise – A punk band is mercilessly targeted by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads after witnessing a murder. The Review: Jeremy Saulnier is one more step on his way to mastering the grim and deadly. This is a director who holds no punches, who tells his stories with the intention to…

'Captain America: Civil War' #Marvel #IronMan #CaptainAmerica #CivilWar #superhero #Avengers

Captain America: Civil War (2016) (147 mins) Directors – Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Starring – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan Premise – Disparities over superhero regulation splits the Avengers into two opposing sides headed by Captain America and Iron Man. The Review: Narratively situated exactly where The Winter Soldier left off with warnings of international supervision, yet…

'The Jungle Book' #Mowgli #Baloo #Bagheera #Shere Khan #JonFavreau #Kipling #JungleBook #Kaa

The Jungle Book (2016) (105 mins) Director – John Favreau Starring – Neel Sethi, Bill Murray*, Ben Kingsley* Premise – A man cub raised in the wild must survive a tiger’s bloodthirsty pursuit of him with the help of his jungle friends. The Review:  Our favourite man-cub is back! Mowgli and his furry friends of all shapes and sizes have returned to the big screen after decades stranded in the…

'Hardcore Henry' #hardcore #firstperson #GoPro #cyborg #telekinesis #action #scifi #Henry

Hardcore Henry (2016) (96 mins) Director – Ilya Naishuller Starring – Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett Premise – A first-person action film from the eyes of Henry, an amnesiac cyborg who must discover his identity and save his wife from a telekinetic warlord. The Review: Billed as the first ever first-person action film by its director Ilya Naishuller, 2016s Hardcore Henry is an…

'The Blair Witch Project' #horror #foundfootage #true #fake #mystery #BlairWitch #Maryland

The Blair Witch Project (1999) (81 mins) Directors – Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez Starring – Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard Premise – Three students disappear whilst hiking in the Black Hills to film a documentary about a local legend knows as the Blair Witch. The Review: Before “breaking the Internet” was a thing only a voluptuous woman was able to do, the 1999…

'Eddie the Eagle' #TaronEgerton #HughJackman #WinterOlympics #SkiJump #EddietheEagle #Underdog

Eddie the Eagle (2016) (105 mins) Director – Dexter Fletcher Starring – Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken Premise – A biopic of the heroic failure Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards who at the 1988 Winter Olympics became the first ski jumper to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. The Review: The 1988 Winter Olympics will forever remain etched in history as perhaps the most…

'Slow West' #western #MichaelFassbender #KodiSmitMcPhee #America #OldWest #wanted #Scottish

Slow West (2015) (84 mins) Director – John Maclean Starring – Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Mendelsohn Premise – A young Scotsman alone in the Old West befriends a mysterious cowboy and enlists his help in searching for his ‘wanted’ wife. The Review: The western genre it seems has become slim pickings as every year goes by. In 2015, only The Hateful Eight truly made ripples in this…

'Batman v Superman' #DawnofJustice #BenAffleck #HenryCavill #Superman #Batman #WonderWoman #DC

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) (151 mins) Director – Zack Snyder Starring – Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams Premise – Now a controversial figure for humanity, Superman must reflect on his nature just as evil businessman Lex Luthor manipulates Batman into fighting him. The Review: With only one film under DC Extended Universe’s belt, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is either…

'High-Rise' #Dystopia #TomHiddlestone #LukeEvans #BenWheatley #SiennaMiller #High-Rise #sci-fi

High-Rise (2016) (119 mins) Director – Ben Wheatley Starring – Tom Hiddlestone, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller Premise – A doctor moves into his ultra-modern luxury apartment in a high-rise divided by hierarchy, but it soon erupts into tribal warfare. The Review: “I concede that this building will be a crucible for change.” Uttered from the very mouth of the structure’s Architect himself, there is…

'Freaks' #disability #TodBrowning #Horror #Drama #Misguided #Dwarf #legless #microcephaly

Freaks (1932) (64 mins) Director – Tod Browning Starring – Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles, Wallace Ford Premise – In a side-show circus where deformed people are paraded, the beautiful Cleopatra tries to conspire against the dwarf leader Hans, but his disabled friends are having none of it. The Review: Despite directing the classic that is Dracula, Tod Browning’s career was kaput a little over a…

'Zootropolis' #zootopia #animal #utopia #Disney #fox #rabbit #IdrisElba #zootropolis #predator

Zootropolis (2016) (108 mins) Directors – Byron Howard, Rich Moore Starring – Ginnifer Goodwin*, Jason Bateman*, Idris Elba* Premise – An unlikely partnership between a police rabbit and swindler red fox is zootopia’s best hope at uncovering a predatory conspiracy. The Review: Continuing the animated trend of creating multi-layered worlds that cater 50/50 to children and the people that take the…