CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. LET’S JUST get it out the way – I have not seen the 1962 original. So don’t expect worthy, insightful comparisons. Taking 2004’s The Manchurian Candidate at face value, you have a political thriller with X-files overtones. A disturbing, conspiracy theory film that despite strong performances from Denzel Washington, Meryl […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. HERE’S A COMEDY with bite starring Billy Bob Thornton as the alcoholic, foul-mouthed Santa from a parent’s worst nightmare. Directed by Terry Zwigoff, the idea for Bad Santa originated with the Coen brothers, who stayed on board to produce the film. The result is a surprise feel-good film, crass but […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the movies. FOR A truly awkward viewing experience, go see Birth. It’s an uncomfortable chiller, verging on the supernatural, set in New York. Nicole Kidman stars as a widow who becomes convinced her dead husband has been reborn. She gives a flawless performance, and Lauren Bacall makes a rare outing playing Kidman’s […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. RENEE ZELLWEGER has once again piled on the pounds, which can only mean one thing – Bridget Jones is back. Plumper, more awkward, more ungracious, yet supposedly more like the average female British singleton than ever, Bridget is just as likely to infuriate as charm second time round.    Annoyance […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. SAVED! is the classic American high school comedy, save for one defining twist. The school is not so much all-American, as all-Christian. American Eagle Christian High is a Baptist Church for born again teenagers, where the in-girls judge you as much on your religious values as they do on your […]

MICHAEL McDAID tells the Arts Journal what lies ahead for movie fans in the second Inverness Film Festival

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. COMBINE the naff title and the idea of a drama about wheelchair users discovering freedom and you may turn a million corners to avoid anything so worthy. But word is spreading – this is an immensely moving picture with sharp, funny dialogue, wonderful acting and engaging characters. Late-comers at an […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. PADDY CONSIDINE was my reason for seeing this violent revenge story. Noble as a grieving father in In America opposite Samantha Morton; re-born as a criminal who’d found God in Pawel Pawlikowski’s Edinburgh festival hit, My Summer of Love. In Dead Man’s Shoes, he plays Richard, recently released from the […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. WINNER OF THREE Golden Globes and up for four Oscars at this month’s Academy Awards, writer and director Sofia Coppola has brought to the screen no average rom-com. Lost in Translation is a subtle, sincere, moving film of an unlikely relationship set in the crazy, luminous city of Tokyo.   […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the movies. HERO is a sumptuously shot Far Eastern epic with enough martial arts wizardry and wirework to attract comparisons with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  Attracting impressive audiences both stateside and at its opening weekend here in Scotland, its beguiling beauty and big themes – love, honour, sacrifice, country – will haunt […]