ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IT HAS BEEN an endless Summer of animated features, but they have kept the best for last. ‘Monster House’ easily outclasses everything from ‘Cars’ to ‘Over The Hedge’ as it combines imaginative animation, a clever story and poignant characterisations. Even adults should warm to one of the most entertaining family […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SMALL COMMUNITIES can make a big impact. That is one of the messages to emerge from the documentary ‘Paper Clips’. It may not be the most sophisticated or polished film ever made but it does tell a heart-warming tale of how a simple school project grew into a national phenomenon […]

ALLAN HUNTER catches up with Skye-born film-maker DOUGLAS MACKINNON ahead of the scheduled premiere of The Flying Scotsman as opening film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies TWENTY YEARS AGO, Luc Besson was one of the leading figures in a new wave of French filmmaking that promised to unite style and substance. He was the talent behind ‘Subway’, ‘The Big Blue’ and ‘Nikita’. He hasn’t entirely fulfilled that early promise and the romantic fable ‘Angel-A’ is the […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies CATE BLANCHETT is frequently hailed as one of the most impressive performers of her generation. She won an Oscar last year for her extraordinary performance as Katharine Hepburn in ‘The Aviator’. Now, she has returned to her native Australia for a demanding role in the gritty, contemporary drama ‘Little Fish’. […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IT IS ALMOST thirty years since ‘Superman’ made us all believe that a man could fly. It was a defining moment in the history of the comicbook blockbuster. The shoddy sequels may have tarnished that moment but now ‘Superman Returns’ attempts to restore some lustre to the series. Directed by […]

ALLAN HUNTER reports from location on a Gaelic film-making venture on the Isle of Skye.

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies FRENCH DIRECTOR Laurent Cantet has built an international reputation on small, keenly observed tales of work place pressures and personal crises like ‘Time Out’ (2001). In ‘Heading South’, he attempts a broader canvas and a more ambitious drama that deals with colonialism, racism and oppression. It works largely because he […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies CINEMA PROVIDES us with a window on the world. It can take us to places that we could never hope to visit or help explain cultures that are exotic and far removed from our own experience. In ‘The Cave Of The Yellow Dog’, we learn something of the hardships of […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies VETERAN DIRECTOR Ken Loach is no stranger to controversy. His social conscience and left-wing beliefs have created unforgettable films, but incensed those who do not share his view of the world. ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’ won the Palme D’Or at Cannes but has stirred up a hornet’s nest […]