Anotn Chekhov’s The Duel is based on the author’s 1891 novella of the same name which sets a seething tale of infidelity, passionate conflict, intellectual debate and decaying society in the deceptively sedate world of a seaside resort in the Caucasus in 19th century Russia. The film centres on Laevsky (Andrew Scott) an angry drunken layabout and self- proclaimed intellectual who’s
Read moreThe Farrelly Brothers’ film The Three Stooges is not a biopic of the comedy trio who beat each other senseless on the silver screen for 30 years but an attempt to recreate the Stooges for the present day. This just seems wrong, the Three Stooges weren’t just generic cinema creations they were unique characters whose personalities as much as their
Read moreLike the operas that it references this film is full of tortured characters, potent drama and intense occasionally grating performances. Filmed in 2005, Margaret stars Anna Paquin (23 at the time) as Lisa a high school student who becomes involved in a bus accident which results in a woman’s (Allison Janney) death. Her repressed guilt over the accident makes her
Read moreYou know the drill with the Ice Age films (and just about every family-oriented animated film these days), lots of loud, manic, headache-inducing gags and obvious homilies about family and friendship made palatable by the cute, lovable characters and inventive animation. The fourth instalment of the franchise employs a plot device very similar to the last Happy Feet movie: sudden
Read moreSnow White and the Huntsman turns the old fairy tale about the battle between the evil queen and the squeaky clean Snow White into a Lord of the Rings style fantasy adventure. While this movie commits some of the cardinal sins of the fantasy film, namely bloodless battles filmed in wobble vision, jerky loping cgi monsters and people pontificating in
Read moreIn Take this Waltz, Michele Williams plays a restless and slightly unhinged woman who, having become disillusioned with her marriage to chicken-obsessed chef Seth Rogen, dabbles in an odd relationship with a young man, Daniel (Luke Kirby) who lives in her street. Williams’s character will produce widely differing responses from audiences; some will see her as horribly selfish while others
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