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Hamnet (2026) Review – A Raw Meditation on Grief
In one sentence: Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best selling novel, Hamnet explores the impact of the death of Shakespeare’s young son and how this loss was transformed into art through grief, memory and loss. Often we watch films hoping to be surprised, but Hamnet is not interested in twists. Its power lies instead in emotional…
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Rental Family (2026) Review – Performing Connection in a Lonely World
In one sentence: Rental Family follows a struggling American actor in Tokyo who finds unexpected purpose when he begins performing emotional roles in real people’s lives, blurring the line between acting and genuine connection. In a world that feels more connected than ever, many people are quietly lonelier and cinema has become a space to…
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Permission (2017) Review – Testing the Boundaries of Commitment
In one sentence: Permission follows a long term couple who, on the brink of engagement, agree to explore other relationships, only to discover that freedom comes with unexpected consequences. How can you be sure your partner is the one? Permission confronts this question head on. Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens) are a couple…
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Balloon (2018) Review – A Remarkable True Escape
In one sentence: Balloon tells the astonishing true story of two families who attempt to escape across the Iron Curtain in a homemade hot air balloon. Mark Twain once said “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t”and no quote could ring truer for German…
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Nuremberg (2025) Review – Power, Psychology and Accountability
In one sentence: Set in the aftermath of the WWII, Nuremberg follows American psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley, tasked with assessing captured Nazi leaders, as psychological power games and moral dilemmas shape the world’s first attempt to prosecute evil through law. When I first learned of Nuremberg, I was not convinced it would be a movie for…
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Summer in February (2013) Review – When Art and Love Collide
In one sentence: Summer in February follows two close friends in pre WWI Cornwall whose bond is tested when a young woman enters their creative circle, igniting desire, rivalry and tragedy. Period British dramas were as popular as ever at the time Summer in February was released. Downton Abbey dominated television and Dan Stevens had…
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Maggie’s Plan (2015) Review – A Rom-Com That Knows Life Is Complicated
In one sentence: Maggie’s Plan follows a single woman determined to become a mother on her own, whose carefully laid plans unravel when she falls for a married academic. Romantic comedies often follow a familiar formula and can feel overly predictable. Too frequently, women are portrayed as waiting for a man to arrive before their…
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The Mastermind (2025) Review – A Crime Film That Moves at a Crawl
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On Swift Horses (2025) Review – When Longing Outpaces Action
In one sentence: On Swift Horses is a post-war American drama following Muriel and Julius as they navigate repression, risk, and emotional longing in the aftermath of the Korean War. Based on the book by Shannon Pufahl, On Swift Horses brings together some of the most talked-about actors of the moment in a quiet, beautifully…
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Savages (2025) Review – When Animation Takes on Deforestation
In one sentence: Savages is a stop-motion animated film that turns deforestation and overconsumption into an expressive and striking narrative. We hear a great deal about how overconsumption drives deforestation and climate change, but the makers of My Life as a Courgette bring this urgent issue to the screen in an unexpected and striking way;…
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