ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IT IS ALMOST a decade since erstwhile enfant terrible Harmony Korine made a film. The fact that Mister Lonely was partially filmed in Scotland adds to the sense of expectation that it could be something special. It is certainly different, but his oddball mixture of the eccentric and the grotesque […]

Eden Court Theatre, Inverness

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies AWARD-WINNING German melodrama Four Minutes has been described as ‘Prisoner Cell Block H-meets-Shine’. That’s not a subtle description but then there are times when its not a very subtle film. It is a compelling, expertly acted story charting the unlikely connection that develops between an elderly teacher and a fiercely […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies WRITER and director Noah Baumbach’s The Squid And The Whale was one of the best films of the past few years, with dialogue that stung and characters that were flawed and complex. Baumbach returns with Margot At The Wedding, an ambitious, tart-tasting ensemble exploring some unhappy middle-class lives and picking […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies WONG KAR WAI is the director behind languid tales of romance and longing like In The Mood For Love. His English-language debut My Blueberry Nights explores familiar territory but the American settings make it seem much more conventional. Fans of his earlier work can only feel a pang of disappointment […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies BETWEEN them Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman have earned sixteen nominations and four Oscars. Director Rob Reiner has been responsible for comedy classics like Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally. Any film that brings this trio of talents together has to be something special. Alas, The Bucket List is […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies DO YOU believe in the Loch Ness monster? Controversy over the great beastie’s origins might just be resolved by The Water Horse, a sweet, old-fashioned family film based on the novel by Babe author Dick King-Smith. Filmed in Scotland and New Zealand, this is an amiable, entertaining affair that should […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies WHEN EUROPEAN directors work within the Hollywood mainstream they frequently struggle to retain their individuality. Gabriele Muccino managed it with the Will Smith hit The Pursuit Of Happyness. Now, Danish director Susanne Bier has managed to create an unusually serious, thoughtful tale of grief, addiction and reconciliation in Things We […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SWEENEY TODD is nobody’s idea of a conventional musical. Stephen Sondheim’s sensational saga of the demon barber of Fleet Street was a Broadway success thirty years ago. There are no cheery tunes or happy endings, just a dark tale of revenge, bloody murder and the kind of pie-making that would […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies JOEL AND ETHAN COEN are past masters of the dark, disturbing thriller. Their best films like Blood Simple and Fargo are all about desperate men driven to random acts of fatal foolishness. No Country For Old Men gives them the perfect source material in the acclaimed novel by Cormac McCarthy […]