Love & Mercy (2014)
★★★★☆
With Paul Dano and John Cusack embodying the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Bill Pohlad’s Love & Mercy is a triumph of performance and the creative force.
Reviews
Li’l Quinquin / P’tit Quinquin (2014)
★★★★☆
A French Twin Peaks where crimes are investigated Clouseau-style, Bruno Dumont’s absurd black comedy P’tit Quinquin is both ‘policier’ and satire.
The Choir / Boychoir (2014)
★★☆☆☆
Boasting a stellar cast of Dustin Hoffman, Eddie Izzard and Kathy Bates, François Girard’s The Choir belts out one disappointing cliché after another.
What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
★★★★☆
Charting the rise, fall and rise again of Nina Simone, Liz Garbus’s What Happened, Miss Simone? creates an icon of the High Priestess of Soul.
Mr Holmes (2015)
★★★☆☆
A final chapter for fiction’s greatest detective, Bill Condon’s Mr Holmes sees a bright spark battling against the darkness.
Second Coming (2014)
★★★☆☆
An intriguing film debut for playwright Debbie Tucker Green, Second Coming is a thought-provoking allegory of an unexplained pregnancy in contemporary London.
Queen and Country (2014)
★★★☆☆
A sequel to his Oscar-nominated Hope And Glory, John Boorman’s semi-autobiographic Queen and Country finds all fair in love and war.
Listen Up Philip (2014)
★★★☆☆
Conceived by a writer/director influenced by Philip Roth, Alex Ross Perry’s Listen Up Philip is a darkly comic satire of the American literary world.
Results (2015)
★★★☆☆
A wry comedy on the new-age mantras of fitness training in Austin Texas, Andrew Bujalski’s Results is a sentimental education of love and dreams.
The Goob (2014)
★★★☆☆
Written and directed by Guy Myhill, The Goob is a memorable British coming of age drama with an unusually strong sense of place in its rural setting.
Timbuktu (2014)
★★★☆☆
A magical realist portrait of Mali under occupation, Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu makes for a surprisingly entertaining and satirical riddle of the sands.
The Impressionists and the Man Who Made Them (2015)
★★★★☆
The Impressionists and the Man Who Made Them gives art lovers the chance to learn about the stories behind some of the world’s greatest exhibitions.
Spring (2014)
★★★★☆
An intoxicating alchemy of Shelly and Linklater, Spring is a romantic cross-genre creature feature that is chilling, bold and beautiful.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
★★★☆☆
An Iranian skateboarding vampire movie, Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is a quirky, stylish addition to the genre.