ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ASKED TO picture the Lebanese capital Beirut it would seem all too inevitable to think in terms of conflict, strife and suffering. In the delightful Caramel, filmmaker Nadine Labaki is determined to paint a very different picture of her city. She doesn’t ignore the problems or pressures for the women […]

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig , Sleat, Isle of Skye, 10 May 2008

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SCOTLAND has proved a versatile location down the years, standing in for everything from early 20th century New York in House Of Mirth to the picturesque route for the Hogwarts express in the Harry Potter films. Now, South Africa doubles for the Scottish Highlands in futuristic horror thriller Doomsday. It’s […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IF LAST YEAR’S critically admired Ian Curtis biography Control left you eager for a better understanding of his band and their influence on British culture then Joy Division is a film that must be seen. A collage of interviews and memories, it has an attention to detail and a depth […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies THERE IS so much more to animation than gourmet rats and tap-dancing penguins these days. Persepolis has all the innocence of a child’s ink and pen drawings but the style is allied to the very adult subject matter of life in Teheran after the fall of the Shah. Based on […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies MIKE LEIGH has the ability to make everyday life seem much more compelling than a Hollywood blockbuster. His characters are marked by a complex humanity that means they linger in the mind rather than disappear into oblivion. His latest triumph, Happy-Go-Lucky, features an award-winning performance from Sally Hawkins and is […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies OSCAR-WINNING director Martin Scorsese has been a life long fan of The Rolling Stones. Their music plays a vital part in films like Mean Streets and Goodfellas. Now, he has captured the band in all their glory for the documentary Shine A Light. If you love the Stones this is […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies WHERE WERE you in the Summer of 1982? If you were a film fan there’s a chance you might have been heading off to see Sylvester Stallone as the indestructible John Rambo in First Blood. Memories of that film and its unexpected influence on two schoolboys provide the backdrop to […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies 27 DRESSES is never going to win any prizes for originality. It has the kind of plot where you can guess the happy ending within the first ten minutes. The tale is familiar, the handling is unexceptional but what it lacks in inventiveness it makes up for in charm. It […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies THERE IS nothing that can compete with the power of the human imagination. Technological advances mean that cinema can create gruesome, elaborate illusions but they pale by comparison with what you imagine could be lurking in the dark shadows of a gloomy house. Acclaimed Spanish production The Orphanage makes exemplary […]