ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies EVERYBODY loves the chance to cheer the underdog especially when the underdog in question is something of a local hero. Scotsman Graeme Obree was world cycling champion in 1993 and 1995, a remarkable achievement for a man who was wasn’t just chasing records, but was also battling personal demons. ‘The […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies EDITH PIAF’S life was as intense and emotional as any of the songs that she immortalised. Filled with triumph and tragedy, passion and scandal, it is the stuff of any biographer’s dreams. ‘La Vie En Rose’ (12A) is a gloriously old-fashioned wallow in the Piaf story presented with such style […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies HOLLYWOOD always seems to be appropriating the best aspects of other cultures for their own ends. Even the recent Martin Scorsese Oscar-winner ‘The Departed’ was a remake of the Hong Kong thriller ‘Infernal Affairs’. It rarely works in the opposite direction, but the French hit ‘Tell No One’ is a […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies THE HOT news about ‘Ocean’s 13’ is that it marks a big improvement on ‘Ocean’s Twelve’. The latter film was a self-indulgent romp with the all-star cast drifting around Europe in search of a half decent story. ‘Ocean’s 13’ restores the cool characters to their rightful home among the neon […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies WATER is the final film in a trilogy capturing the changing face of India society. It began production in Varansi in 2000, but attracted so much opposition from Hindu fundamentalists that it had to be abandoned. Writer/director Deepa Mehta was able to resume production five years later, but only by […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IN A TIME of uncertainty or crisis, the only things you can cling on to are personal integrity and a sense of community. That is the hard lesson learnt by the residents of Jindabyne in Australian director Ray Lawrence’s haunting companion piece to his award-winning comeback feature, ‘Lantana’ (2001). Like […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies COMEDY DUO Mitchell and Webb seem intent on world domination. ‘Peep Show’ has just finished another series on Channel 4. ‘That Mitchell & Webb Sound’ has just started on Radio 4. Now, they make their first stab at film stardom with the mild-mannered ‘Magicians’. Cinema has been a graveyard for […]

ALLAN HUNTER caught up with the Gaelic film Seachd at the Cannes Film Festival

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ‘28 DAYS LATER’ brought some fresh ideas and a touch of British class to the zombie genre. ‘28 Weeks Later’ is an intense, expertly-made sequel with a slapdash plot that doesn’t quite conceal the lack of logic or credibility. Quality performers like versatile Scot Robert Carlyle and Catherine McCormack help […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies WE ARE constantly told that you are what you eat. The real problem is knowing enough about what we consume to make informed choices. It doesn’t help that we seem to be a society that prizes cheap, convenient food over quality, local produce. The problem is even more acute in […]