Film-Forward

U. K.

Starred Up

Directed by David Mackenzie Written by Jonathan Asser Produced by Gillian Berrie Released by Tribeca Film UK. 106 min. Not rated With Jack O’Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend, Sam Spruell, Anthony Welsh, David Ajala and Peter Ferdinando Starred Up, written by real-life prison psychiatrist Jonathan Asser, feels like necessary corrective medicine for our cultural obsession […]

Pride

Directed by Matthew Warchus Written by Stephen Beresford Produced by David Livingstone Released by CBS Films UK. 120 min. Rated R With Bill Nighy, Imelda Stanton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, George MacKay, Joseph Gilgun, Andrew Scott, Ben Schnetzer, Faye Marsay, Liz White, Menna Trussler, Lisa Palfrey, Freddie Fox, and Jessica Gunning With each passing year, […]

Frank

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson Produced by Ed Guiney, David Barron and Stevie Lee Written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan, based on a newspaper article by Ronson Released by Magnolia Pictures UK/Ireland. 98 min. Rated R With Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy, Michael Fassbender, Carla Azar and François Civil A common lack of awareness […]

Mr. Turner/Saint Laurent | Cannes Biopics

In the awards competition at the Cannes Film Festival, two films rejuvenated the often clunky genre of the biopic. Mike Leigh, whose films have won many honors here, offered something of a departure from his previous output. Mr. Turner, appropriately his most picturesque film yet, explores the later years of pre-Impressionistic, pre-rebel chic painter J.M.W. […]

Best First Films | Cannes 2014

One of the top films at Cannes this year—and one of the most shocking and brutal—was The Tribe, from the Ukraine. It was also the most ambitious, dangerous, and accomplished by a debut filmmaker. No subtitles were necessary. It has no spoken dialogue and no translation of any kind; it’s all told through sign language. […]

Locke

Written and Directed by Steven Knight Produced by Paul Webster and Guy Heeley Released by A24 USA. 85 min. Rated R With Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Ben Daniels, and Tom Holland How many different angles can you film one man on an 85-minute car ride in the middle of the night?  […]

Belle

Directed by Amma Asante Written by Misan Sagay Produced by Damian Jones Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. UK. 105 min. Rated PG With Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, James Norton, Matthew Goode & Emily Watson These days, nothing is more addictive than an English period piece, […]

Under the Skin

Directed by Jonathan Glazer Produced by James Wilson and Nick Wechsler Written by Walter Campbell and Glazer, based on the novel by Michel Faber Released by A24 UK. 107 min. Rated R With Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, and Kevin McAlinden If you’re looking for a movie in which Scarlett Johansson […]

Cuban Fury

Directed by James Griffiths Produced by Nira Park and James Biddle Written by Jon Brown, based on an idea by Nick Frost Released by Entertainment One UK. 98 min. Rated R With Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, Olivia Colman, Kayvan Novak, Rory Kinnear, Alexandra Roach and Ian McShane Someone please explain to me the […]