Birth

Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

 

Jonathan Glazer has carved out a niche in the film world, directed four features (so far) but each so very different as the last. Story, genre, cast and setting may divide Glazer’s filmography but the atmospheric, cold, stylised and quietly unhinged tone in each film is undoubtedly Glazer’s signature. Released in 2004, Birth, screened in competition at Venice and garnered attention, even earning Nicole Kidman award nominations. However, the film wasn’t received with open arms from the critics, citing the film suffered from a disorganised plot and rather uncomfortable scenes. With the film’s Criterion Collection release, we are offered another opportunity to re-watch this strange and melancholic psychological drama about grief and obsession.

Ten years after the death of her husband Sean, Anna accepts a proposal from her new boyfriend, Joseph. One day a 10 year old boy visit’s Anna’s family’s apartment claiming to be her deceased husband Sean and urges her not to marry Joseph. As Sean persists he is telling the truth, everyone doubts the boy’s claim, except for Anna who starts to hold out hope that maybe he really is Sean reincarnated.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

Agatha Christie's Seven Dials

 

Courtesy of Netflix

With each Agatha Christie adaptation that is released, any fan of the author may hold their breath in anticipation or for what changes will be made. With the recent adaptations, stories that have not been given proper attention, such as Ordeal by Innocence (that was plagued with re-shoots due to an actor being ‘cancelled’), Murder Is Easy, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? and Towards Zero, these all followed a 3 episode pattern, that is arguable too long for the novel adaptations, especially with some being changed from the source. These were also previously adapted to include Miss Marple in the ITV series, and although she’s a fantastic character, doesn’t appear in the original books, so it was great to see these novels adapted, shall we say, correctly? But The Seven Dials Mystery, having been adapted into a TV movie back in the 80s, had yet to make its more recent significant debut, making its appearance on Netflix most intriguing. Though the book did not receive high praise, this adaptation does make rather large changes, including the end and possible extension into further possible stories. We are introduced to Bundle, or Lady Eileen Brent, who discovers the close family friend Gerry Wade, murdered in his bed after a party at her family’s home. This leads her to follow a trail as to how this happened and why, getting tangled up with her friends in the Foreign Office, as well as Superintendent Battle (who appears in other Christie novels) who starts to investigate the case as further bodies show up.

The Seven Dials, unlike the more recent Christie adaptations, is indeed a murder mystery but one that is more focused on espionage. There are several characters from the government involved and hints to the coming world war two despite everyone still healing from world war one. Murder mystery is the genre but this could very well fall into the ‘spy’ genre as well.

Having read the original book, it's very clear as to why changes were made. Though this story could have been far more effective with just two episodes, a delicious cliff-hanger in between. Though the initial story is intriguing but frustratingly paced, Bundle, played by Mia McKenna-Bruce is delightful, she is perfectly cast, balancing being the pseudo-detective as well as still grieving for her close friend and lost romance. Bundle skates through dangers and equally challenging social obligations with charm and courage, stealing the show entirely. Battle, played with a little less gusto than you’d hope for by Martin Freeman, is meant to be her official counterpart but doesn’t even appear until episode 2, which was slightly disappointing. Most of the excitement (and murders) happen before he even really gets involved. The two leads have an awkward start but soon fall into a rhythm you’d expect from a Christie unlikely duo, with mutual respect to follow.

However, the story doesn’t quite know what it really wants to be and doesn’t quite pull itself off as a blend of genres. The spy elements provide intrigue but then we are pulled into a stereotypical whodunnit setting that feels jarring. Bundle’s own investigation seems to lead somewhere, only for the story to throw in red herrings precisely where you really don’t want them. This all being said, it's the over dramatic climax that was the most disappointing. With three long episodes to go through, you would hope the build up would not be so predictable.

The ultimate end to the story at least provided some hope we’d see Bundle and Battle again, maybe solving another case, who knows, but the characters being the highlight, maybe a juicier story next time too!

Digital Can't Kill The Video Star

 

Wrote a piece about the importance of physical media and how, no matter how many times we're all told that 'no one buys DVDs anymore' this statement just isn't true.

Full piece is over at Late Nite Picture Show.

100 Nights of Hero

 

Courtesy of Vue Lumiere

As the closing night of the BFI London Film Festival 2025, 100 Nights of Hero was always going to have a spotlight on it. But in truth this whimsical (on the surface) fantasy romance may be slightly too odd at first for an audience. At a glance it seems like another version of the famed Middle Eastern folktale, A Thousand And One Nights, from which it takes its inspiration, but digging deeper this is about the power a story can hold as well as a love story buried just below the surface. 

In a world not too similar to our own, a young woman, Cherry is left alone by her neglectful husband Jerome. He secretly makes a deal with a friend, Manfred, to test Cherry’s fidelity. If Manfred successfully seduces his wife, he gets the house and if he loses, Cherry will be executed, which seems win-win for Jerome. But Cherry’s fiercely loyal maid Hero has also been left to watch over Cherry. To distract Manfred from his plan, Hero tells a story each night, but how long can she keep him at bay?

Full review over at Filmhounds.

Watch List 2025

 

Every year is an exciting year in film, from ground-breaking animation to visionary adaptations to original horrors to dom-rom-coms, there have been some truly fantastic films being released this year.

I’ve laid out my top ten films of the year (prior to seeing Zootropolis 2, which I adored), which was submitted to Filmhounds and the OAFFC. We at Filmhounds even released a mini digital magazine with the top ten films overall in depth and the OAFFC also announced the overall winners as well. Some of these films crept up on me and I was able to view them differently from the first time, sometimes a second viewing changes all perspectives. Looking forward to 2026 and the films getting released!

1. Flow

2. Wake Up Dead Man

3. K-Pop Demon Hunters

4. Pillion

5. Sorry, Baby

6. Weapons

7. Bring Her Back

8. The Legend of Ochi

9. Frankenstein

10. Alpha

200 Cigarettes

 

Back in 1999, we were all waiting for the new millenium and hoping never to hear that song by Robbie Williams ever again. My New Year's that year we had family over from New Zealand, we were all going crazy with the fireworks outside and generally having fun. I think I went to sleep soon after (I was 10 after all). Fast forward to 2007. Waiting to bring in the New Year, I watched 200 Cigarettes. I watched it before I went out, just to be clear.

On the surface it's just another ensemble cast, befitting the 90s/early 2000s, with New Year's Eve being the backdrop. Set in New York, 1981, New Year's Eve and a group of people, split into pairs/groups, wander the streets, drinking in dive bars, slowly make their way to a party, where the host is going crazy, worried no one will show up.

The cast is a who's who of the early 2000s fame, plus Elvis Costello making a cameo appearance. The likes of Ben Affleck, Paul Rudd, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci and Casey Affleck are among the cast, looking very young. They were all directed by Risa Bramon Garcia, mostly known for being the casting director on various films and TV shows, but 200 Cigarettes is her only film director credit.

Why is the film called 200 Cigarettes? Well, its because, in total, 200 cigarettes are smoked in the film, apparently. I think on the second viewing I tried to count how many were smoked but was too distracted by the 80s meets the 90s costumes.

There isn't much love out there for this film, with a very low 28% from Rotten Tomatoes and earning such reviews from Roger Ebert as "Maybe another 200 cigarettes would have helped; coughing would be better than some of this dialogue." There isn't much out there either and with good reason. The characters are a mixture of misfits thrown into a blender, dressed in very stereotypical clothing for 1981 and thrown onto the streets of New York on New Year's Eve. The individual stories are uninspiring and rather predictable with a few laughs sprinkled on. But, for me, it encapsulates what New Year's Eve is, a complete underwhelming mess of colour, alcohol and most likely, a 80s soundtrack.

The two dimensional characters are easy to follow throughout the film as they do not stray from their given formula. The characters represent people we know, we may even be that character so their struggles we can relate to. The exaggerated costumes make it easy to remember that you're watching a film, one long costume party and while you're trying to figure out who you are, you can admire the effort that has gone into the listless dialogue. Everything in the film, including the random appearance from Elvis Costello, happens for a reason and over all; it's not too bad.

For all its flaws, this film goes through the stages of how we all feel this time of year. We all want to hope for the future, we all believe in silly curses; we're just trying to have a good night out or in. We do all this, even though we know that when we wake up in the morning, the night before was just another night. But in true cinematic light, 200 Cigarettes, with all its doom and gloom of the evening makes things bright and hopeful. In most cases anyway.