In Review

In Review: Listen Up Philip on DVD

by Tony Griffiths 13 August 2015

Philip Lewis Friedman (Jason Schwartzman) is a young, New York author on the verge of having his second novel published. He is also a self-absorbed, arrogant windbag who seems to despise the trappings of his minor success almost as much as he enjoys rubbing people’s noses in it.

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In Review: Clouds of Sils Maria on DVD

by Linsey Satterthwaite 29 July 2015

The idea of age and identity for actresses, particularly in Hollywood, has become a (sore) talking point in recent times. Stories of women being deemed too old for roles, when their male counterparts are allowed to indulge, are rife in the business and unless you are Meryl Streep, there are few interesting parts for females […]

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In Review: Maggie

by Daniel Goodwin 23 July 2015

Throwing zombies into a Schwarzenegger film may conjure up images of bloody battlefields strewn with bullet shells and carcasses while cheap quips are spat through clouds of thick cigar smoke. But anyone approaching Arnie’s latest expecting that kind of generic zombie/ action flick may be disappointed, for Maggie is far from the conventional Romero calibre […]

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Press Conference: Ant-Man

by Daniel Goodwin 16 July 2015

This week sees the release of director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man: a zany Marvel behemoth that cleverly weaves comedy and heist movie attributes into their trademark bombardment of vibrant visuals and barnstorming action. New Empress caught up with the film’s key players at a press conference in London to talk about working for Marvel on the film […]

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In Review: The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence)

by Daniel Goodwin 11 July 2015

Anyone intending to see The Human Centipede (Final Sequence) should by now know what they’re getting themselves into. Even though writer/ director Tom Six’s crud and gut splatter features are far from exemplary film-making, his trilogy brags distinguishing qualities that make them more than mere franchise fodder. Each of the three films has a unique […]

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In Review: Ted 2

by Maryann O'Connor 11 July 2015

Flash marries Ted and Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) at the start of the film and everyone gets their happy ending. But when the newlyweds apply to adopt a kid the government cottons on to Ted [not paying taxes] and he has to fight the power for his right to party as a sentient being. Mark Wahlberg, as thunder […]

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In Review: Comet

by Daniel Goodwin 2 July 2015

This quaint and quirky indie from debut writer/director Sam Esmail seems like a sugary relation to last week’s Brit rom-com Everyone’s Going To Die. But where Jones’ film was a darker, crime-linked love tale, Comet offers a discombobulating sci-fi twist by weaving parallel universes into its slender almost chemistry-free romance. Justin Long stars as the […]

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In Review: Everyone’s Going to Die

by Daniel Goodwin 26 June 2015

Given their low budgets, it is important for indie film-makers to capitalise on the talent involved in their production, the financial limitations involved often resulting in a very effective creativity. Everyone’s Going To Die, the debut of writer/director Jones, can be counted among those creative efforts; a dark and witty British drama with a slender narrative […]

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In Review: Accidental Love

by Daniel Goodwin 21 June 2015

Accidental Love, a film finally seeing the light of day after five years, assists Director David O’ Russell (using the nom de plume Stephen Greene) to redefine the art of terrible film-making; a rom-com to be ranked alongside other ham-fisted classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959), Ishtar (1987) and Batman & Robin (1997). After […]

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In Review: Life Moves Pretty Fast (Book)

by Maryann O'Connor 19 June 2015

How could we not be sceptical about another book on 1980s movies? Nostalgia, ho! But Hadley Freeman’s ode slash entreaty to us not to forget how good we had it [despite what those awful film critics might have said at the time] paired with discussion of current industry goings-on does provide a considerable dollop of hey-I-never-knew-that alongside […]

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In Review: Jurassic World

by Daniel Goodwin 17 June 2015

After Spielberg’s original SFX game changer Jurassic Park arrived in 1993 an inevitable franchise evolved, seemingly concluded by Jurassic Park 3, directed by Joe Johnston, in 2001. Fourteen years later and Colin Trevorrow (director of decent indie sci-fi Safety Not Guaranteed) has fashioned the fourth instalment; Jurassic World, a lacklustre effort heavily burdened by a lack […]

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