ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. SPANISH director Alejandro Amenabar is probably best known for the Nicole Kidman chiller ‘The Others’. ‘The Sea Inside’ couldn’t be a more different film, but it also benefits from Amenabar’s rigorous control of mood and pace.    It is a slow-burner, but one that rewards with a deeply moving story […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. HOLLYWOOD’s insatiable appetite for remakes shows no sign of abating. An American remake of Japanese hit Shall We Dance? and a new version of 1960s adventure yarn Flight Of The Phoenix are currently waiting in the wings for British distribution.    Criminal takes its inspiration from the nifty Argentinean con […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. CHILD ABUSE is an issue that demands the most delicate of handling. First time director Nicole Kassell treats the subject with restraint and sensitivity in the sombre story The Woodsman. The focus here is on the abuser rather than the victim as a convicted paedophile is released back into the […]

COLIN MARR, the Director of Eden Court Theatre, tells the Arts Journal what is likely to be happening when the theatre closes its door for massive refurbishment in June

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies. IN The Holy Girl (La Nina Santa), the anguish of adolescence is further complicated by the burden of a strict religious upbringing. The second feature from Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel offers an intriguing portrait of a teenage girl’s passage into adulthood.    Oppressive, ambiguous and demanding, it has the feel […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the movies. ALEXANDER PAYNE has established himself as one of the most beguiling directors in contemporary American cinema. Films like ‘Election’ and ‘About Schmidt’ have been marked by a wry humour and an acute understanding of human nature.    Those qualities are once again evident in the sublime ‘Sideways’, a plaintive salute […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI’s film won Best New British Feature Film at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival but it’s second time round for the director. Last Resort  took the same award in 2000. Whilst the first film focused on the life of a refugee woman coming to Britain, his latest feature places […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. WHAT’S SO incredible about The Incredibles? Here is a kids-adult crossover movie that loses the magic as it spreads its bets and plumps for wisecracks and family life over superhero splendour. A lot of adults enjoy going to kids’ movies. In the beginning, the idea may simply have been to […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. BASED ON the Jane Austen classic, this Anglo-Indian remake trades England for India, throws subtlety out the window and imports Bollywood splendour – complete with Miss World (Aishwarya Rai) in the lead role and singing and dancing galore. The result is a visually stunning but hollow film whose lead characters […]

CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies. IF YOU ARE in need of a charming, off-beat romance then Garden State is the perfect time-out this blustery, grey December. Written and directed by Zach Braff, star of Channel 4’s Scrubs, this American indie debut has done wonders for the actor’s credibility, moving audiences both here and stateside.    […]