Cars 2 - Movie Poster

Cars 2

4.0 Anthony Macali

Star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix.

It takes time adjusting to a parallel world of talking planes, trains and automobiles. Once "Cars 2" hits its rhythm, this clever adaptation of the most famous spy franchise of all time will appeal to all ages. Our favourite characters are back, with laughs (and lessons) coming from the most unlikely of heroes in the simple-minded Mater, whose case of mistaken identity drives most of the laughter. While the film is probably one leg too long, it does allow for some more time to enjoy the cultural joking and the iconic cities recreated and polished in beautiful digi-colour. Can't lose this race.


X-Men: First Class - Movie Poster

X-Men: First Class

4.0 Andrew O'Dea

In 1962, Charles Xavier starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lensherr, his best friend... and future archenemy.

"X-Men: First Class" is a successful revival of the franchise. Fans won't be let down as the movie remains faithful to its source material, managing to deliver a solid story replete with witty dialogue and pulsating action sequences. The dazzling CGI provides an entertaining showcase of mutant powers, while the superb cast are just as impressive, underpinning character development and bringing real substance to the story. Top of the class.


Get Low - Movie Poster

Get Low

4.0 Stefan Bugryn

An old hermit throws himself a funeral party... while he's still alive.

This thoughtful meditation on forgiveness starts out as a comedy, but unravels to become something much more poignant. The joke of the 'funeral party' lasts only briefly, while the true drama slowly creeps in. What really makes this film work is the fine acting by the three leads. The odd sense of humour, and some truly touching moments are delivered with marvellous poise by the cast. Combined with stylish music, customers and production design, it makes for a very enjoyable movie... and that's the low down!


Angèle and Tony - Movie Poster

Angèle and Tony

4.0 Anne Murphy

A fragile woman returns to the seaside town of Normandy on completing a jail term and meets a fisherman through a personal ad.

The sensitivities around relationships are captured with few words in this intimate exploration of human connections. The characters are forthright and defensive, whatever warmth they may have is not to be squandered, and their innermost temperaments are reflected in the windswept coastline and grey subdued ocean. The tone is understated and the film is all the more powerful for the simplicity with which it captures restrained expressions of longing. Tony ❤ Angele and vice versa.


The Human Resources Manager - Movie Poster

The Human Resources Manager

4.0 Anne Murphy

The HR manager of Israel's largest industrial bakery sets out to save the reputation of his business and prevent the publication of a defamatory article.

The plot sounds like the set-up for a punch-line; an HR manager, a journalist, a street kid and the Commissar's husband go on a road trip, as opposed to walking into a bar. "The Human Resources Manager" is a warm and satirical journey across the landscapes of Israel and Romania that reveals man's humanity towards man, and it's as funny as any good bar joke. If only more HR managers were this delightfully quirky.


Potiche - Movie Poster

Potiche

4.0 Anne Murphy

When her husband is taken hostage by his striking employees, a trophy wife takes the reins of the family business and proves to be a remarkably effective leader.

The 70's are perfectly recreated with all of the colour and fashion to bring on pangs of nostalgia. The social attitudes are missed less. "Potiche" is a light-hearted movie loaded with social comment, looking at the role of women in the workplace, and the incumbent responsibilities of fatherhood. Focused on individual choices and growth, there's no haranguing, and the delivery is affable, warm, and comic. A gold medal for the trophy wife.


A Year Ago in Winter - Movie Poster

A Year Ago in Winter

4.0 Anne Murphy

A renowned artist must uncover a young dancer's secrets in order to truly capture her likeness for a commissioned work.

"A Year Ago in Winter" deftly explores themes of grief, guilt, and longing; as a meaning for suicide is sought by those left behind asking 'why?'. Troubling family relationships are delicately mined, and troubled souls are sensitively exposed. Various reactions, feelings and emotions, not healed by time, are faultlessly laid bare as winter approaches. However, the cold reality is that there's little sense to be made of the senseless.


The Day I Was Not Born - Movie Poster

The Day I Was Not Born

4.0 Anne Murphy

During a stopover in Buenos Aires, Maria recognises a nursery rhyme being sung in Spanish.

The storyline of "The Day I Was Not Born" is original and disquieting. Hefty political themes are narrated through a personal lens of family and identity, and the Buenos Aries setting is perfect in capturing a city with an atmospheric sense of the recent past - it looks both foreign and familiar, balancing the disoriented characters. Sensitively told with an assured minimalism, the movie is understated and the acting is restrained, creating compelling viewing. A tale of dislocation that carries both wounds and warmth.


Never Let Me Go - Movie Poster

Never Let Me Go

4.0 Anne Murphy

As children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy, spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school.

"Never Let Me Go" is a cinematic experience easy to be engrossed in, set late last century in a melancholic countryside dreamed up in storybooks. At its heart the tale is a haunting love story, but its soul holds grim secrets from the realms of sci-fi, and is told from an emotionally undeveloped point of view so restrained the audience may feel more manipulated than the characters. The plot dilemmas will fuel sober dinner-party conversations, destined to hold on.


Last Train Home - Movie Poster

Last Train Home

4.0 Tom Jones

A family embarks on an annual journey along with 200 million workers to reunite with their family.

To all who think New Years is overrated, your pessimism will pale in comparison to the endeavors made by the Chinese migrant workers who get home to celebrate their Chinese New Years. The footage captured in this movie is mind blowing. From the aerial shots of the crowds waiting (sometimes days) to board the trains to the more intimate moments depicting Chinese family life, it is astonishing to think that this film is real. A compelling documentary, which realises despite all cultural differences, for everyone, there's really no place like home.


The Last Summer of La Boyita - Movie Poster

The Last Summer of La Boyita

4.0 Anne Murphy

Feeling estranged from her older sister, Jorgelina and her father go in their Boyita camper-van, to the countryside where playmate Mario is undergoing some changes of his own.

This coming of age story is set during a long hot summer on the Argentinean Pampas. It's a summer of discovery, particularly of the unknown and unimagined world of inter-sexuality and gender identity. The children's roles are well acted, striking a perfect balance between innocence and precociousness. The sensitive themes are tenderly handled - the film's narration is more through visual imagery than dialogue - and it never becomes clumsy. Can't wait for Autumn.


Heartbeats - Movie Poster

Heartbeats

4.0 Anne Murphy

The story of two close friends who are unintentionally drawn into a love-triangle.

Love lives in the hearts and minds of stylish twenty-something's, as friends vie for the attention of the same Adonis. "Heartbeats" is a sophisticated examination of desire brought to the screen by an assured director. The almost excruciating clumsiness of inexperienced lovers and the intimacy of their relationships is depicted without a physical consummation of the same. Obsession overtakes sanity, friendship is sacrificed for love, and the audience can relate to the qualms and dreams of the protagonists. L'amour, l'amour…


Rango - Movie Poster

Rango

4.0 Anthony Macali

Rango is an ordinary chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff.

Although "Rango" might contain guitar playing owls and animals aplenty, it's not really an animation suited for kids. Like a lucid dream, our philosophical lizard ventures into the desert, and through an amusing account of luck and classically trained theatrics, becomes a leader to an eclectic bunch of western inspired creatures. Superb aesthetics, scarily realistic textures and political motifs central to the film create a very odd, yet surprisingly enjoyable experience. Cool, clever and deeply refreshing.


First Love - Movie Poster

First Love

4.0 Stefan Bugryn

Three young girls share their love of the waves as they make a trip to Hawaii.

This film is a hidden gem. As the title suggests, you fall in love with these young playful girls as you follow their inspiring passion for surfing. You get swept up in their carefree attitudes, and it really does make you want to pick up a surfboard and hit the waves! It is stunningly shot, where every shot looks like a masterpeice. It almost feels like a young girls scrapbook, where even the soundtrack and editing add to the lively tone. Don't miss this one.


127 Hours - Movie Poster

127 Hours

4.0 Stefan Bugryn

A man gets stuck under a boulder while he ventures out alone to a canyon in Utah.

It is quite obvious the film-makers wanted the audience to feel like they were right there with the protagonist throughout this harrowingly absorbing ordeal. At times it almost feels like a 'docu-drama'. There's an abundance of uncomfortable close ups as the storyline is confined to that wretched canyon, while 'that scene' is unflinchingly realistic (you won't ever forget it!). In doing so, they created a film experience that is both gruelling and rewarding, and will leave you deep in thought afterwards. Every minute, and hour, is worth it.