PETER MULLAN is a true renaissance figure. He has written and directed films that are admired around the world. He uses his celebrity to highlight social injustice and he is also one of Scotland’s finest actors. In ‘On A Clear Day’ he has one of his best roles since ‘My Name Is Joe’, playing a […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies NORTHERN IRELAND is a place where the wounds of the past are still raw but the possibilities for the future are boundless. ‘The Mighty Celt’ is a thoughtful, coming of age tale that attempts to reflect some of those realities. It is a modest film that will probably seem quite […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies LOS ANGELES is a city without a soul. It is a sprawling mass of humanity in which everyone is a stranger, nobody dares to walk the streets and prejudice permeates every aspect of the culture. That’s the impression you glean from Crash, a passionate, provocative exploration of a city and […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ONE OF THE great mysteries of America is the country’s love affair with the gun. Maybe it all stems from a romantic notion of the wild frontier and the men who tamed the West. The right to bear arms is in the constitution and has created a culture that is […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies DO ALL GREAT leaders worry about how posterity will judge them? Is reputation all that remains once power has faded? Those are the kind of questions at the heart of ‘The Last Mitterand’, a wintry, thought-provoking French drama that provides a worthy alternative to the more frivolous blockbuster fare of […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies JOHN SAYLES is almost the last apostle of complexity in American cinema. Other directors are dumbing down and playing to audiences who like their moral choices in black and white. Sayles is trying to depict a world of pragmatic options, good intentions, long struggles, flawed heroes and disarming villains. His […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the movies. WRITER-DIRECTOR Richard Linklater introduced earnest young lovers Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) nine years ago in Before Sunrise. The American tourist and the French student met on a train and fell in love wandering round Venice. The 12-hour date finished with a promise to meet six months later […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. EDINBURGH IN AUGUST can be the most magical city in Scotland. There is drama on every street corner and laughter in every church hall. It can also be a complete nightmare as normal life is suspended and chaos ensues.    Writer-director Annie Griffin attempts to capture all the bittersweet flavours […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. THE PAST is a country that should only be visited with caution. War photographer Paul Prior discovers that in the course of ‘In My Father’s Den’, a solemn, broodingly atmospheric drama that is one of the most striking films to emerge from New Zealand in recent years.    Best known […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. THERE WAS A TIME when British horror films ruled the world. Martin Scorsese has even praised the lurid glories that emerged from the house of Hammer. Neil Marshall seems intent on pumping fresh blood into that faded genre. His Dog Soldiers was a terrific scary movie that brought added bite […]