United Kingdom
Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s adaptation of their hit stage play Ghost Stories is a serviceable British horror – but with so many recent gems in the genre, is being “serviceable” enough to justify its existence?
Failing to bring anything new the second time around, Pacific Rim: Uprising suffers from an identity crisis with little chance to rise up from its cinematic shortfalls to save itself.
Paddy Considine’s long-awaited second film in the director’s chair is an emotionally manipulative disappointment, that has replaced the grit of his debut with a stale, maudlin predictability.
Though it is too perfectly machine-tooled to appeal to British pensioners, Finding Your Feet is a charming and funny ride.
![Were you familiar with Mary Magdalene before you read the script? Garth Davis: Not in a deep, detailed way, but in the movies I have seen before and in the way everyone kind of understands. When I read this it was a completely different version, so that got me curious. I started to investigate it in a deeper way and found it astonishing it has taken us so long to put that story out there in a more popular light. Extraordinary really. It was definitely different than the story I grew up reading in the bible. I remember when the Passion of the Christ came out, an actor got struck by lightening during shooting. Anything like that happen on set for you? Garth Davis: There were a couple of pretty amazing moments. When we were shooting the scene of the exorcism, where the family was exorcising Mary in the Sea of Galilee, just before we were about to walk into the water the wind just completely stopped. Completely still, almost on cue, right? Then suddenly lightening appeared all over the ocean. It was unbelievable! So much so, that when shooting the scene I had to paint it out. It just felt like a trope, you know? People would have thought it was a visual effect. [laughs] Wow!Garth Davis: The other one was during a scene on the beach of Magdala. I did a drawing of the location and I wanted to add some smoke in the background. So we went down to the Recee, and as I was standing there, smoke emerged exactly where I was drawing it (laughs). It was one of those moments where you have to ask if something was guiding us in some way.](https://www.filminquiry.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MV5BNDc5ODE4OTQxNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODEzOTcyNDM_V1_SY1000_CR0014991000_AL_.jpg)
Garth Davis proves once again his skills behind the camera can help uplift middlebrow material, but only to a certain extent, Mary Magdalene significantly undercut by the increased familiarity and conventional storytelling.
With the upcoming likelihood of an Oscar for Darkest Hour, we look back at Gary Oldman’s over three decade long memorable career.
Dark River feels more like a transitional gateway to better films, bridging the gap between Clio Barnard’ older social realist efforts and flirtations with experimental works likely to come.
Powered by memorable performances and Saul Dibb’s sobering deconstruction of the individuals who fought for their country, the engrossing Journey’s End is a hard-nosed, hard-hitting centennial tribute to Britain’s heroes.
If you’re looking to be scared, then The Ritual may satisfy that itch. Just know that you’ll probably have seen it already, in one horror film or another.
Like the old maxim about waiting all day for a bus only for two to…
From the riotous to the poignant, Sally Potter’s The Party taps into the state-of-the-nation with a smart, sharp comedy populated with hilarious characters and brought to life by a truly fantastic cast.
Director Rebekah Fortune’s Just Charlie is an empathetic transgender coming out tale that slowly becomes a moving story of self-acceptance.
For a studio whose storytelling style and command of visuals is so wonderfully inventive, in Early Man they’ve opted for the laziest, most obvious narrative trajectory imaginable, without even a winning sense of humour to back that up.
Paddington 2 is the rare sequel that is better than the original, filled with a good natured warmth that will delight children and parents alike.
With impeccable direction, engaging dialogue, consummate costume and makeup, and one of the best performances ever to grace the silver screen by Oldman, Darkest Hour is an overwhelming achievement.