Music to Die For film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring James Doran, Deanna Ritchie, Nigel O'Neill, Jolene O'Hara directed by Rebecca Doherty. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Music to Die For Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Apr 6, 2024 Directed by: Rebecca Doherty Written by: Rebecca Doherty Starring: James Doran, Deanna Ritchie, Nigel O'Neill, Jolene O'Hara After a long time, two musicians remeet at a pub one night and discuss the fateful past. It is night-time in Northern Ireland and Sean (Doran) and Eve (Ritichie) are entertaining a small crowd inside a pub. Sean is playing the piano, while Eve does the vocals with a microphone. The night appears to be calm and uneventful. Then Sean notices a person in the crowd who he recognises and the night takes quite a dramatic turn. An emotional and powerful short that centers on a dramatic encounter that involves the Troubles and confronting a terrible past. The screenplay skilfully makes a transition from a light-hearted drama into a harsh story about a devastating incident that changed lives forever. Initially Sean and Eve are enjoying themselves while they perform and during breaks they chat about moving on to better things, how they view the audience and also touch on the Troubles. Then, the arrival of Tom (O'Neill) an old acquaintance of Sean significantly changes the atmopshere, leading to a conversation (or maybe more of a verbal confrontation) between the two men about a tragedy for which Sean believes that Tom is responsible. Doran and O'Neill deliver superb performances and Sean and Tom make intriguing characters, two musicians who used to work together and have not seen each other for ages and the conflict between them is where the film is at its most dramatic. Sean is presented as the good guy, while Tom is (to some extent) the antagonist, although not a vile individual but rather a well-meaning person who made a grievous error. The music is a big plus and the film almost feels like a musical due to the frequent numbers. Eve and Sean perform various times and the piano along with Eve's singing voice (which belongs to Jolene O'Hara) are rather pleasant and the contribution by Robert Peoples with the wonderful violin melodies adds significant value. Visually, the film also triumphs thanks to the creative lighting and the terrific cinematography by Fiachra O'Longain. This short is a drama about a brief encounter where the past returns to haunt two middle-aged men. It is a moving story about regrets, self-reflection and the suffering caused by the Troubles. The themes that are explored, along with the heavy drama, strong acting and beautiful score makes this film a commendable achievement. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

She film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Aimee Baker directed by Vanessa Cicarelli, Jason Greer. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS She Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Oct 1, 2022 Directed by: Vanessa Cicarelli, Jason Greer Written by: Jaramy Conners, Aimee Baker Starring: Aimee Baker An informative, moving and powerful documentary about author and poet Aimee Baker and her work. This film is based on Baker's book Doe , which is a collection of poems that tell the stories of women in the United States who have disappeared or who were found dead and were never identified. As the only interviewee, Baker shares with the viewer her journey that led to the creation of Doe , explaining how and why she became interested in the subject of lost women and started writing about them. Listening to her story is rather fascinating and at times shocking, as terrible things that happened to a number of women are brought to light. Baker describes several of the tragic cases that she wrote about in detail and as she speaks, reconstructions are shown that re-enact the events that took place on the day that particular person went missing. There are also sequences that contain texts of the poems, which are beautifully read by Raven Goodwin and Coco Jones. By utilising these techniques, the filmmakers familiarise the audience with Baker's work, with her writing style. Due to the subject matter, the atmosphere is serious throughout and melancholic, which is supported by the score by Jackie Lee McLean, that includes a dramatic piano melody. There are a great deal of photographs and they include pictures of Baker when she was a child and posters about missing women, and looking at the photos of individuals whose lives were lost is heartbreaking. The filmmakers do a fantastic job with the editing and there are numerous montage sequences throughout. Particular praise goes to the wonderful montage during the opening credits, which are accompanied by the song Jane , beautifully performed by Stephanie Quayle. This is a memorable documentary that introduces the viewer to a creative individual and her admirable work, which is also dark at the same time due to its subject. It also raises awareness of violence against women in the United States and pays tribute to the ones who either vanished or were killed. The subject matter may not be for everyone, however this is a very well made film that grabs the audience's attention from start to finish. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Indie Feature Film, Documentary < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Awakening film review by UK film critic William Hemingway. Starring Eric Gravez, Amanda Kiener, Mohamad Khatib, Porter Scanlon directed by Alex Culberson. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Awakening Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: William Hemingway | Posted on: Jul 20, 2024 Directed by: Alex Culberson Written by: Alex Culberson Starring: Eric Gravez, Amanda Kiener, Mohamad Khatib, Porter Scanlon A soldier, Grimes (Gravez), wakes up in a mine shaft after a blast or a quake or a cave-in of some kind and finds that the rest of his team are dead. The intro sequence has already told us that survivors are not always the strongest or the smartest, but more often than not the luckiest, so we have to assume that Grimes is one of the lucky ones. After coughing his guts up, stumbling around for a while and checking on the rest of his team, Grimes finally heads down the tunnel and gets comms chatter from the Doc (Khatib), who he is very happy to hear from. But there are things other than what he knows which are also in the mine shaft with him. After moving a little way down the tunnel, Grimes comes across a character who is no longer what he once was. The guy has deep, black inky eyes, blood coming from his mouth, and dark black veins branching out all across his skin. He comes for Grimes in the expected lumbering way until he is shot and put to the ground, where Grimes also lands and pops a load of fungal spores into the air, which he ingests. Cue some quick shots of blood cells and colourful graphics to suggest that our hero is now also infected and will inevitably turn into one of those things he just killed – which are, of course, if you haven’t guessed it yet, yes, that’s right – they’re zombies. There’s no need for head shots here though, as these zombies will go down with a few rounds to the gut, and that’s not the only thing which doesn’t track properly in student writer/director Alex Culberson’s new short film, Awakening . Despite the synopsis mentioning an asteroid mining facility, there is nothing within the main body of the film to suggest that what we are seeing is out in the depths of space. We get no explanation as to the ‘quake’ which occurred just before we join the story and there’s certainly no explanation as to what Grimes’ wife (Kiener) and child (Scanlon) also seem to be doing there. Everything is garbled in quick, minimal dialogue, with one line to suggest that Grimes ‘needs off this rock’ and one that there may or may not be a ‘ship’ on standby. Other than that, this story could take place in Cornwall for all we know. The plotting seems to dive around thick and fast, with Doc coming in and out real quick before Grimes’ wife pops up on comms, then in the mine, and then somehow even Grimes’ child entering the story at the end. Nothing ever really gets explained properly and while there is undoubtedly betrayal and subterfuge going on behind the scenes, Culberson is never able to make any of this clear with his dialogue or plotting. In fact, we just have to rely on our own sci-fi references and knowledge – mostly of the Alien franchise but of other things, too – to see what’s going on and figure out what Culberson probably means. The fact that he’s lifted the main character name straight from zombie phenomenon The Walking Dead also shows the level of originality we are getting in this short film. Awakening does, however, have a decent look to it, with director of photography Luke Park making the best use of spot lighting to fill his frames and keep the shadows in the background. The sound design is also pretty good, with all the audio linking in with the scenes naturally to offer some pretty tense atmosphere. The costumes and effects deserve praise, too, with everything giving off the feel of a bigger budget project and the attention to detail allowing the audience to feel somewhat pulled into the scenario. It’s just a shame that the audience still doesn’t really know where they are or know about anything that’s going on beyond the scope of the camera. While Awakening is actually pretty well made, it suffers irredeemably from bad plotting and dialogue and a confused manner in which it tries to tell its story. There’s just too much that’s been borrowed from somewhere else and nothing new to see in what is essentially a boring film about a guy in a tunnel. Awakening , ironically, doesn’t see how its unoriginality permeates through almost every scene and would do a lot better if it opened its eyes a little to try something new. It’s only one step from space zombies to space zombie Nazis and that is a road that nobody wants to go down – anymore. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Hemingway Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Heron film review by UK film critic Swati Verma . Starring Leah Eddleston, Rachel Hassett, Lucy Riscardo Jones directed by Samuel W. Ross. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Heron Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Swati Verma | Posted on: May 6, 2025 Directed by: Samuel W. Ross Written by: Samuel W. Ross Starring: Leah Eddleston, Rachel Hassett, Lucy Riscardo Jones Writer-director Samuel W Ross blends the essence of contemporary dance, and emotions in the way of his storytelling showcasing his growth and versatility, handling the subject matter with utmost softness as well as care, but also experimenting with it to make it interesting for the viewers therefore, increasing the audience engagement with the content. Leah Eddleston, Rachel Hassett, and Lucy Riscardo Jones are key cast members who help realistically portray emotions transcending the same to the viewers when they watch the movie. After a failed attempt to secure a position in a dance exhibition, a young dancer becomes infatuated with redeeming herself after dealing with a string of rejections. An unexpected audition provides an unusual opportunity to be the understudy for-The Heron. Heron begins with a black screen along with a mysterious background sound that keeps playing during the audition in a hall, adding the element of mystery to the narrative. The combination of colours like white, black, and grey helps communicate the deep-seated sadness, distress, isolation, and emptiness felt by the female protagonist Morgan Stokes adding the multiple layers as well as the depth to her character arc and the storyline. The set design, colour pallet, camera angles, lighting, sound, dialogue, choreography, costume, hair, makeup, and props have been kept natural to complement and elevate the topic of the short film. In terms of performance, Leah Eddleston plays Morgan Stokes who is passionate about dancing and wants to pursue it as a career choice, but is not getting any support from her loved ones. Eddleston depicts the ups and downs in addition to the emotional turmoil she faces with utmost conviction that the viewers become her cheerleaders through the running time of the film. Lucy Riscardo Jones plays the role of a trained dancer is an absolute delight to watch. The dance movements are beautifully done. The screen time for Jone’s character is limited but she manages to make a mark on the audience’s mind. The young actress as a trained dancer illustrates various qualities that inspire us and provides an opportunity to learn from her. Rachel Hassett plays the role of Madam, who judges various auditions to choose the best participants for dance exhibitions. Hassett showcases the characteristics of an ideal mentor. Rachel Hassett utilises body-language, voice modulation, facial expressions, and eyes to portray the various layers in her character arc. Heron talks about realising one’s potential, self-worth, expressing self-love, and dedicating the hard work towards what one likes so that one can have the freedom to dream big and ultimately achieve success. The short film reiterates that inculcating the feeling of competition is very good to have when one wants to improve their performance, but if it starts affecting the mental and physical well-being, it proves to be bad for the person and the people around them. The cinematic piece highlights the need for having the right guidance in the field one is interested in so that the teacher can bring about the best version, helping one to get rid of those well-wishers in disguise that are secretly ready to discourage at every step of the way. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Swati Verma Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

A Shared Experience film review by UK film critic Swati Verma. Starring Jennifer Kingston, Zuzana Spacirova , Sophia Roberts directed by Tianna Banton. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS A Shared Experience Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Swati Verma | Posted on: Apr 14, 2022 Directed by: Tianna Banton Written by: Tianna Banton Starring: Jennifer Kingston, Zuzana Spacirova , Sophia Roberts The pink and white colour used for the title of the film has connotations of innocence, love, kindness, and femininity. The writer-director Tianna Banton works towards telling female-oriented stories about a sensitive topic like Sexual harassment. The white and grey colour palette and lighting of the film complement the theme of the creative piece beautifully. The plot of the movie revolves around a group of women opening up about their ordeal related to sexual harassment. These women also vent out their anger and frustration on how these crucial issues are being treated as normal in a support group set-up. The set design and the upbeat music help establish the film and the audience also starts to feel relatable to the film as the camera tracks the location where the story unfolds. The use of flashbacks, extreme close-up shots, and a shaky camera showcases the agony the victim has to go through with such unwanted experiences. The voice modulation used gets the viewers emotionally connected to the film. The costume designer, makeup artist along with the hair department have done a brilliant job to depict the changes in the lifestyle of these women as the story moves forward. In terms of performance, Miranda played by Jennifer Kingston is a strong woman who decides to keep her tormented past aside and set-up a support group for those who are reluctant to talk about their experiences with sexual harassment. Dani Raza and Ricky Senior are men who abuse Josie and Angela respectively in the storyline. Both the actors have picked up the body language of their characters so well. The audience tends to get scared of the dominance. These two male characters are very well written and reflect the realism in the narrative. The storyline of the film highlights the importance of standing up to misdeeds of these victimizers. A shared experience talks about the need to have a conversation about both physical and mental exploitation. All men should understand their social responsibility towards women and make the ladies feel safe around them. The cinematic piece also gives a strong message that solidarity among women can be a good initial step in the fight against social evil like offensive sexual advances. Mutual consent is a very crucial element for any kind of relationship to prosper between two individuals. The short film has an open-ended closure giving its target audience a lot of opportunities to interpret the film as per their understanding. The inclusion of the survey reports at the end of the movie attempts to give the viewers a reality check and forces them to work towards the change that is necessary for the betterment of the community. I liked the choice of the title of the film- A shared experience by Tianna Banton. The use of this name gives a sense of ease, comfort and courage to the viewers watching the movie to be able to condemn the crimes committed against ladies. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Swati Verma Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Country and Courage film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Jamelle C. Shawley, Dae McDonald, Martin Bandy, JT Traffanstedt, Peter Friedrich, Stephan Wolfert directed by Rodney Roldan. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Country and Courage Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Aug 13, 2022 Directed by: Rodney Roldan Written by: N/A Starring: Jamelle C. Shawley, Dae McDonald, Martin Bandy, JT Traffanstedt, Peter Friedrich, Stephan Wolfert A powerful and informative documentary about United States Army veterans. This forty-minute long film aims to raise support for veterans of the United States Armed Forces, reveal their great contributions and show the efforts done by American people in order to support and honour them. The documentary is filled with fascinating facts that include how the 11th of November became a day dedicated to the honour of American veterans of all wars, the experiences of a war veteran in Vietnam and programmes that involve the use of works by English playwright William Shakespeare in order to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Several individuals are interviewed and they consist of Major General Jamelle C. Shawley, Sergeant First Class Dae McDonald, Vietnam War Veterans Martin Bandy and JT Traffanstedt, Associate Professor of Theatre Peter Friedrich. Stephan Wolfert also contributes, who is an army veteran and founder of Decruit, a programme that utilises Shakespeare to assist veterans with PTSD. All these people share their knowledge and experience and provide an insight on what it is like being a U.S. Army veteran and what support they get from their country. The film contains a rich collection of photographs of members of the U.S. Military in uniform and they include pictures of soldiers doing their duty in several wars, including the two World Wars and the Vietnam War. Most of the photos are seen through brief and beautifully edited montages. There is also footage of soldiers engaging in combat. Roldan also provides narration and does a great job. Occasionally, the screen reveals quotes from Shakespeare himself or texts from some of his plays. The music that is heard throughout adds significant value, as it is dramatic and creates a feeling of courage. This short documentary is an admirable achievement that pays homage to veterans of the United States Armed Forces and points out the importance of supporting them, honouring them and acknowledging their accomplishments. It also introduces the viewer to some wonderful individuals and analyses a number of significant facts. For these reasons, this is a film that should be praised. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film, Documentary < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Devil's Hollow film review by UK film critic Alasdair MacRae. Starring Shuler Hensley, David Dwyer, Skyler Hensley directed by Chris Easterly. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Devil's Hollow Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: Alasdair MacRae | Posted on: Jun 11, 2022 Directed by: Chris Easterly Written by: Chris Easterly Starring: Shuler Hensley, David Dwyer, Skyler Hensley After a heist gone wrong, Bobby Hawkins (Shuler Hensley) spends over a decade in La Grange prison. Now, he is released to house arrest where he lives amicably. That is until he discovers that his estranged teenage daughter (Skyler Hensley) is being held hostage by a former criminal associate (David Dwyer). Ah, the slow burn journey of a middle-aged man to perform one last redemptive act. He doesn’t want to have to resort to his old ways, but he must… for the greater good. Films like this are ten a penny but recently writers have been having fun with this trope, stretching the mould. Take Pig (2021) for instance, a career-best Nicolas Cage seeking out his kidnapped truffle pig in the seedy underground hospitality scene, an emotionally resonant thriller with twists that no one saw coming. Devil’s Hollow on the other hand plays it frustratingly safe. Maybe comparing it to the best in class is a little unfair but variation is how storytelling evolves and this seventy-seven-minute feature stubbornly refuses to experiment or diverge from a tired formula. Everything about Devil’s Hollow is competent, but competence doesn’t make for entertainment. Almost every single scene is a conversation strictly adhering to the structure of establishing shot followed by shot, reverse shot etc. Even within that grounding, there is little to no experimentation with height or depth. Shuler Hensley and David Dwyer may be solid in their starring roles as protagonist and antagonist respectfully but there is a spark lacking to really push into tension or excitement. They seem too comfortable with the status quo, unwilling to venture into new territory. Furthermore, the film seems disinterested in exploring its core themes. A discussion around incarceration almost makes it to the fore at one point, with the sad truth of Bobby being taught how to use a mobile phone. Momentarily it offers a chance for a commentary on society. Instead, it turns out to be Chekhov calling. Throughout are small glimpses of a connection between Bobby and his estranged daughter. To begin with, she doesn’t even know who he is, the most she remembers of him is a fleeting memory of harmonica music. In one scene, the closest we get to her becoming a character rather than a plot device, she reluctantly discusses reading with her father, but this richness is quickly snatched away. And of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a throwaway reference to drug dependency in rural America. Overall, Devil’s Hollow is a thriller that lacks excitement and depth. It takes a wearisome paint by numbers approach and then makes you watch that paint dry. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Alasdair MacRae Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Live Health film review by UK film critic Joe Beck. Starring Timothy J. Cox, Nancy Kellogg Gray, Matthew Harris, Becca Robinson, Bob Rutan, Heidi Swarthout directed by Jamie Cox, Timothy J. Cox . HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Live Health Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: Joe Beck | Posted on: May 2, 2022 Directed by: Jamie Cox, Timothy J. Cox Written by: Timothy J. Cox Starring: Timothy J. Cox, Nancy Kellogg Gray, Matthew Harris, Becca Robinson, Bob Rutan, Heidi Swarthout The pandemic was, and still is, hard for all of us. We spent nearly a year shut up inside, away from friends and family, not allowed to see the people we loved. We missed the general flow of day to day life, we missed eating out at restaurants, we missed going to the cinema. For better or worse, we also missed going into the office. Dr. Peter Marcus (Timothy J. Cox) is a therapist, struggling through his series of zoom calls to patients and clients just like the rest of us. Just like the rest of us he has good moments and he has bad moments. You can tell the pressure of being helplessly cooped up indoors is getting to him. ‘Live Health’ does a good job of presenting Dr. Marcus as a human character, but becomes stale early on and stays that way due to its uncompromising nature. It gets to the stage, after three different - all bland - virtual sessions, that you don’t care for the fourth, which is the important one that we’re supposed to care about. The film is steadfastly committed to giving each patient ample screen time to air their problems, which is detrimental to the pacing, which is sometimes slow and laborious - not what you want from a nine minute short. 

That’s not to say that the problems of the first three characters are trivial - they’re not by any stretch of the imagination - but they don’t unlock Dr Marcus in any shape or form, which means that by the fourth patient, he’s still a blank canvas. So when the fourth patient, Lincoln (Bob Rutan) appears, he’s left with far too much to paint in too short a time, and the end result is patchy. To its credit, ‘Live Health’ does have a lot to say about mental health, and it gets most of it across cleanly, but again too much is left to the fourth patient. Notice, how I’m not saying final - there’s one more to remind us that anyone can struggle with their mental health, no matter how they come across. As well as starring, Timothy J.Cox wrote and directed the film alongside husband Jamie Cox, and they handle the camera well. Films revolving around zoom calls or the internet in general, never tend to come off cleanly and they certainly never look particularly aesthetically pleasing, but for what it is ‘Live Health’ does a competent job. Cox, and all the other actors, fare well, especially when you consider that all of the dialogue was improvised. It certainly doesn’t come off that way and is credit to the quick thinking of Nancy Kellogg Gray, Matthew Harris, Becca Robinson and Bob Rutan who all present their characters issues in a clear, well thought out manner. ‘Live Health’ lacks a spark to bring its human characters to life, suffering from pacing issues (which is worrying in a film of its length) and an overall lack of anything special. The cast and crew do well, but the film ultimately suffers from the single-minded nature of its approach, so intent to tell a story that it forgets to explore characters until its too late. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Joe Beck Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Terrifier 3 film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera directed by Damien Leone. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Terrifier 3 Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Oct 9, 2024 Directed by: Damien Leone Written by: Damien Leone Starring: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera Horror cinema has a long, conflicted relationship with Christmas movies, especially those boasting a maniacal Santa Claus. In 1984, Silent Night, Deadly Night found itself yanked from theaters only days after its release. The Netherlands removed every poster of Dick Maas’s 2010 Saint from public display because its depiction of St. Nick was deemed too disturbing for children. If Christmas horror tends to be the most divisive and the likeliest to offend, then it seems like an obvious choice for the next installment in Damien Leone’s Terrifier series. Yes, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) has left Halloween behind in favor of a jollier holiday. But wait, you say. Wasn’t Art decapitated at the end of Terrifier 2 ? Please see Halloween H2O and its follow up, Halloween: Resurrection . Actually, don’t. Resurrection is easily among the worst in the franchise. Suffice it to say, decapitation does not mean the end of a true horror franchise villain, especially when his films are raking in the cash. And there is no doubt that Art has gone the way of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers—silent, deadly, and able to really bounce back from injury. Death, even. So, it’s Christmas Eve in Miles County and Sienna (Lauren LaVera, decapitator from T2 ), recently released from a psychiatric hospital, is spending the holidays with her aunt, uncle and little cousin Gabbie (Antonella Rose). Art’s been waiting (in a nice callback to Black Christmas , among the finest and first holiday horrors). He’s not alone, and that’s too bad because he’s more fun on his own. His guest is part of a convoluted explanation for his re-capitation (I did make that up, thank you). But do we need to understand it? Weak spots include most references to the magic and mental illness of the tediously long (2 ½ hours, whew!) Terrifier 2 . Strengths involve a barroom scene with cameos aplenty, plus a nod to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre —once considered the most nihilistic and violent of all horror films. Once. What has set Art the Clown apart from other unstoppable genre monsters is his sadism. Michael was mainly efficient with his kills. Jason could be inventive. Art delights in the pain and terror, and his holiday killing spree offers loads of opportunities to exercise his depraved imagination. Thornton is again a charismatic villain, and he gets his own Christmas song this time, which is undeniably fun. The third installment is not nearly as lean and mean as the original, nor is it as bloated and ludicrous as the second. As crazy as it sounds when you’re talking about watching limbs being torn off a screaming human’s body, the carnage does get tiresome after a while. If you dug the previous Art the Clown films, you will find endless entertainment in the newest. You’ll also find mediocre acting and dumb plotting but really excellent practical effects. And blood by the bucketful. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Slingshot film review by UK film critic George Wolf. Starring Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, DavidMorrissey directed by Mikael Håfstöm. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Slingshot Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: George Wolf | Posted on: Aug 28, 2024 Directed by: Mikael Håfstöm Written by: R. Scott Adams, Nathan Parker Starring: Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, DavidMorrissey A small group of dedicated souls travel in deep space. Worn down by isolation and boredom, they start to question their commitment to the mission as they fight to keep a firm grip on reality. Slingshot does not offer a groundbreaking premise. In fact, co-writer Nathan Parker took us on a similar ride in 2009 with Moon , a solid morality tale that pulled some of its punches on the trip home. But here, it is the third act that rescues the film from the slog of familiarity, with director Mikael Håfström never completely tipping his hand until the last, well-executed reveal. Casey Affleck stars as John, who is on board the Odyssey 1 with Captain Franks (Laurence Fishburne) and fellow crewman Nash (Tomer Capone from The Boys ). They are 9 months into an Earth-saving mission to Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons, but they will need to execute a tricky “slingshot” maneuver around Jupiter to make the trip successfully. Trouble starts with adverse reactions to deep space hibernation. John sees visions of Zoe (Emily Beecham) – the love he left behind – while Nash becomes convinced the ship has taken on too much damage to complete the mission. Captain Franks is wondering if he can trust either one, and paranoia begins to envelope the Odyssey. Performances are fine all around and set the stakes convincingly enough, as Håfström (Evil, The Rite ) layers the romantic flashbacks with plenty of obligatory shots of Zoe rolling over and staring longingly from underneath the sheets. Yes, yes, very nice. But what’s the endgame here? Events get a welcome escalation once violence erupts. Håfström’s atmospherics help aid the tension and Affleck makes his character’s battle with sanity more believable than most. And though the script often invites you to catch on to what’s up, Slingshot finds an identity by seeing its vision through to the very end, a will-they-or-won’t-they moment that almost recalls the genius of Take Shelter . Almost. But still pretty good. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic George Wolf Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Death and Ramen film review by UK film critic Chris Olson. Starring Bobby Lee, Matt Jones directed by Tiger Ji. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Death and Ramen Film Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Critic: Chris Olson | Posted on: May 12, 2023 Directed by: Tiger Ji Written by: Tiger Ji Starring: Bobby Lee, Matt Jones If you could hang out with the grim reaper for a night before he took you to the beyond, would you? In filmmaker Tiger Ji’s short dark comedy film Death and Ramen , we see the central character Timmy (Bobby Lee) do just that. After swallowing a bunch of pills and eating his favourite (last) meal, Timmy thinks he’s about to depart this world quickly and quietly. But when a grim reaper (Breaking Bad’s Matt Jones) rocks up and fireman-lifts him across town, the pair are both surprised when Timmy awakens and starts blowing chunks, meaning the afterlife is going to have to wait. The links between food and souls are long established, and with Death and Ramen , the film is able to successfully celebrate life’s glorious minutia whilst being shadowed by a fairly tragic tale of one man’s suicide. There is certainly a bittersweet aspect to the short film that works and the comedy is never too boisterous to risk dropping the sombre notes altogether, or vice versa. Bobby Lee and Matt Jones are a match made in, ahem, heaven, perfect casting. The quasi-bromance that gets established is a joy to watch and the film is littered with small moments of nuanced performance from both actors that engage the viewer and make them invested in this “last night on Earth” epic night out. The dancing sequence on the rooftop is a particular highlight. We reviewed Tiger Ji’s other short film, Wuhan Driver , and it seems this filmmaker is able to deliver strong pieces of poignant drama. With Death and Ramen, the poignancy seems to blend really nicely with the film’s other, ahem, ingredients such as the comedy and heartfelt warmth. The delivery of ramen to Timmy’s mother in a nursing home is a great example of this blend, a scene filled with comedy (bashing through the window), sadness (his mother on a hospital-style bed), and warmth (a tear-jerking story about eating this particular ramen dish on Sunday mornings). All of these genres swirling around beautifully is what makes Death and Ramen such a special film, and Tiger Ji a promising filmmaker to observe. As with all short films, the question begs whether this works as a perfectly executed short or a proof of concept for a potentially great feature. It’s my pleasure to reveal that Death and Ramen is both. If we get more of this in a longer format, tuck my bib in now, but if this is all there is then I am satiated with a short film full of subtle beauty, life-affirming characters, and a sublime gag about the Grim Reaper gig going corporate and even having a union. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Chris Olson Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Something Flash film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Catena directed by Alessandro Amaducci. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Something Flash Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Mar 16, 2023 Directed by: Alessandro Amaducci Written by: Kris Vanderheyden Starring: Catena A music video with mobile phones, funny faces, punk, dance floors, office workers, a woman with a baseball bat and the Joker. Something Flash is a song from the album In Order To Dance 4.0 by R&S Records and it is the work of Belgian music producer Kris Vanderheyden, who is also known as Insider. The video is five-and-a-half minutes long and the constant accompanying sound is the title song and being put together with the images creates quite a ride. Visually, the video is basically a montage that contains a variety of subjects that alternate between them and it mixes live action with animation. These subjects include closeups of people looking into the camera, with their faces cartoonishly altered and surrounded by symbols that are found in social media, such as 'Thumbs Up', 'Hearts' and 'Emojis', floating around the person. Other shots show people with changed faces again taking selfies and surrounded by floating symbols, while others have a man in a suit, with a television instead of a head. Sequences that are not animated consist of people dancing, rioting and a man wearing makeup that resembles the 2019 film Joker . All these shots alternate between them throughout, along with two characters who make frequent appearances. These two characters are a live action woman wearing punk clothing and an animated woman holding a baseball bat, also dressed in punk clothing and she looks like Harley Quinn. The video appears to be satirising society's obsession with mobile phones and social media and the world of high-tech corporations and rebelling against them. This is indicated with the funny faces taking selfies, along with the symbols, the suited man with a TV head and scenes where the punk woman has been edited in front of occupied offices and boardrooms, primarily sticking her tongue out and a scene where fire is coming out of her mouth, torching social media heart symbols. Punk is sometimes associated with rebellion and the character of Joker represents anarchy and having these two present could mean an opposition against a world dominated by technology and rules and the footage of people dancing could be an idea that people should stop being slaves to a system and dance in order to be free. Listening to the Dance/Electronic track Something Flash , while watching the intriguing and occasionally awkward images is quite an experience. The dynamic song is the kind that would be very appropriate for a dance floor and it provides more energy to the images. There are no words, apart from the few that are uttered by the Joker character. This is a super cool music video. What the main message is might be open to interpretation, however its true value lies in the awesome song and the creative animation. It offers entertainment and for the viewers who are interested in looking into its themes, it offers a thoughtful experience. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Music Video, Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >