Post Tenebras Lux (2012)
★★★☆☆
A semi-autobiographic patchwork of family, sex and violence, Carlos Reygadas’s Post Tenebras Lux casts a distorted view over his own past, present and future.
Americas
Compliance (2012)
★★★☆☆
Based on real events, Craig Zobel’s Compliance is a disturbing foray into civic obedience, gullibility and the limits of compassion.
The Paperboy (2012)
★★★★☆
Exposing Sixties race relations in the sultry heat of a Florida summer, Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy is a hothouse of lust and violence.
Robot & Frank (2012)
★★★★☆
An unlikely odd-couple relationship between man and robot, Robot & Frank poignantly contrasts human memory and ageing with its computerised counterparts.
Side Effects (2013)
★★★☆☆
With nods to Hitchcock and Clouzot, Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects takes on the pharmaceutical industry and the doctors risking it all on wages of fear.
To The Wonder (2012)
★★★☆☆
With its loose strands of lonely souls looking for love, Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder reaches for the stars with his poetry of image.
Hitchcock (2012)
★★★☆☆
Despite great performances from a stellar cast, Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock muddles between biopic, a making of and a troubled marriage drama.
Mea Maxima Culpa Silence In The House Of God (2012)
★★★★☆
Through the testimony of signing victims, Alex Gibney’s documentary Mea Maxima Culpa Silence In The House Of God lifts the lid on Church secrecy and child abuse.
No (2012)
★★★★☆
Televising the revolution, Pablo Larrain’s No puts advertising and happiness at the heart of Chile’s campaign to depose Pinochet.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
★★★★☆
Released barely a year and a half after the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty rides high on a wave of political currency.
Boxing Day (2012)
★★★☆☆
Transporting Tolstoy to Los Angeles, Bernard Rose’s Boxing Day is an entirely unfestive Christmas carol on altruism and greed.
Laurence Anyways (2012)
★★★★☆
Stylish, witty and clever, Xavier Dolan’s Queer Palm winner Laurence Anyways shows the pain of reinvention, the tragedy of impossible love and the survival of the spirit.
End Of Watch (2012)
★★★★☆
A long hard look at the brotherhood and bravery of men on the right side of the law, David Ayer’s End Of Watch takes on the mean streets of LA.
Argo (2012)
★★★☆☆
On a mission to retrieve six Americans in hiding from Iran, Ben Affleck’s Argo is a taut thriller and a hilarious Hollywood caper. Just don’t talk politics.