Articles from Film Reviews
Dec 16, 2009 | No Comments | BySophie Ivan
Sam Taylor-Wood in action:directing Nowhere Boy
About a third of the way into Nowhere Boy, there’s a moment which snaps the viewer back to director Sam Taylor-Wood’s debut short, Love You More: a close-up of a needle being delicately settled on a vinyl groove, an audible crackle which sparks an electric sense of silent anticipation and sexual tension… And then a rock ‘n’ roll record lets rip. Except, this time round, it’s not 1978 and it’s not the Buzzcock’s unrestrained ‘Love You More’ providing both foreplay and soundtrack to the teenage protagonists’ charming, fumbling, randy lovemaking; it’s the fag end of the 1950s, it’s Screamin’ Jay Hawkins howling, thrilling ‘I Put a Spell on You’ on the stereo, and the two thumping hearts trying not to be heard over it belong to a teenager called John Lennon and his estranged mother. In essence, it’s a tad more complicated this time round. Read the full story
Sep 10, 2009 | No Comments | ByMarcie Maclellan
Three Miles North of Molkom directed by Corinna Villari-McFarlane and Robert Cannan
Three Miles North of Molkom, a documentary that follows fabulously relatable characters through the Shamanic rituals of a Swedish spiritual-enlightenment festival is a film that should be seen. It has been described as “a sheer delight” by The Mirror, “a hoot” by The Guardian and “hilarious” by The Times, but filmmakers Corinna Villari-McFarlane and Robert Cannan, do not want viewers to walk away with the notion that ‘this is dark’ or ‘this is hilarious.’ Unafraid of confusion, they simply hope that you will walk away sensing that something amazing has happened. And, cynic or believer, hippy or not, you will. Read the full story
Jul 8, 2009 | No Comments | ByMarcie Maclellan
Rebecca Miller
BEV’s new reviewer Marcie MacLellan has both read and watched Private Lives of Pippa Lee, and last week had the chance to talk to the inspirational director, Rebecca Miller. Read on for her review:
“I’ve had enough of being an enigma, I want to be known.”
When this line is delivered by the title character of Rebecca Miller’s new film, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, it’s hard to predict what surprises are in store. Played by a subdued Robin Wright-Penn, Pippa Lee appears to be anything but mysterious. But as with any good movie, all is not as it seems.
Perhaps this line is one of the more poignant in the film because Miller is a bit of an enigma herself. Writer, director and best-selling author of the book of the same name, Miller’s life could read like a Hollywood script. But it’s her unwillingness to box her film into a particular genre or wax lyrical about its main message that makes her so elusive – in the best kind of way.
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Jun 30, 2009 | No Comments | ByMarcie Maclellan
Marcie MacLellan reviews…
American Teen
Dir, Nanette Burstein, USA, 2009, 97 mins
Starring: Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Jack Tusing
DVD out now
Some people loved high school. I was not one of them. Not because I didn’t fit in. I did. Not because I didn’t have a boyfriend. I did. Not because I didn’t do well in school. I did. In fact, I couldn’t really tell you why I didn’t like high school. That is, until last night, after watching American Teen.
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May 18, 2009 | 2 Comments | BySophie Ivan
Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold
On Saturday BEV managed to catch Fish Tank, one of the three women-directed features screening in competition at Cannes (alongside Isabel Coixet’s Maps of the Sounds of Tokyo and Jane Campion’s Bright Star – more on that coming soon). BEV has been a supporter of director Andrea Arnold since screening her short Dog in November 2002, at the first ever Birds Eye View event! In 2005 we were the first festival to screen her Oscar-winning follow-up, Wasp, and welcomed Andrea for a Q&A just after receiving the award. And in 2006 Andrea spoke at a BEV event about the experience directing her first feature, the acclaimed Red Road, so – to put it mildly – BEV has been getting just a little excited about feasting our eyes on Fish Tank… Read the full story
Mar 7, 2009 | 22 Comments | ByRachel Millward
Prepping for the Sex on Screen Debate, I’ve been asking around to find out about our fave sexy moments in cinema. The BEV team have set the ball rolling with a quick email whip round. More erotic cinema moments stories to come from beyond the BEV HQ soon.
WARNING: may contain some filthy adult content…
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