Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Dexter Fletcher Stars: George MacKay, Kevin Guthrie, Freya Mavor, Antonia Thomas, Peter Mullan, Jane Horrocks, Jason Flemyng. Sunshine On Leith is the second film from Scottish actor turned director Dexter Fletcher (from the tv series Press Gang, etc), whose first film Wild Bill screened at MIFF in 2012. This feelgood musical drama is a marked contrast to that dour, gritty drama, …
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: John Wells Stars: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margo Martindale, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney, Juliette Lewis, Julianne Nicholson. If two hours of watching a dysfunctional family yelling and tearing strips off each other is your thing, then this adaptation of Tracy Lett's acclaimed drama August: Osage County will provide you with …
RABBIT HOLE
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: John Cameron Mitchell Stars: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Miles Teller, Dianne Weist. Nicole Kidman has long been considered box office poison, given the disappointing performance of some of her recent film choices (Bewitched, The Golden Compass, The Invasion, etc). Her new film Rabbit Hole is unlikely to change this perception, as it is a down beat film that is difficult …
CLOSER
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Mike Nichols Stars: Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman. In some of his best films, Oscar winning director Mike Nichols has often been drawn to explorations of sex and disintegrating relationships (Carnal Knowledge, The Graduate, etc). His films often feature crackling dialogue, biting humour, barbed exchanges, rich performances, and an arch sensibility …
BLACK ROCK
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Stephen Vidler Stars: Laurence Bruels, Linda Cropper, Simon Lyndon, Jessica Napier, Rebecca Smart, Chris Haywood, Essie Davis, Justine Clark, Jeannette Cronin, David Field Running Time: 90 minutes Adapted from the stage play by Nick Enright (Lorenzo's Oil, etc), Black Rock is a punchy, powerful and hard hitting Australian drama examining the devastating impact a brutal rape and …
SLING BLADE
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Billy Bob Thornton Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, J T Walsh, Robert Duvall, James Hampton, Rick Dial, Jim Jarmusch, Christy Ward Running Time: 135 minutes. Actor/writer Billy Bob Thornton's screenplays for the tense and violent thriller One False Move and the wonderful but largely ignored drama A Family Thing …
