Recent reviews

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  Pleasure 2021

  ★★★ Watched 13 Jan 2025

  Very up front and very no holds barred. Absolute credit to the director for not shying away from the darkest parts of our sexuality and psyche. Having said that, the plot falls slightly flat towards the end and we don’t get the redemption I think we’ve earned. The use of actual adult industry talent is great and they turn in pretty good dramatic performances.

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  Incendies 2010

  ★★★★ Watched 11 Jan 2025

  Villeneuve’s sign off from French language films is magical. Was lucky enough to see it on the big screen and it enhanced it and some. The gasps at that twist in the auditorium were audible. Magnifique.

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  Gangs of New York 2002

  ★★★★ Watched 10 Jan 2025

  We all know it’s not Scorsese’s best, but the performances are fantastic. The sweeping cinematography of it is brilliant along with the fighting/rioting scenes and the historical struggles of the Irish and Natives of 1800s America are explained in a way that doesn’t lean entirely on exposition. For these reasons, and others including watch it relentlessly when applying for drama school, it remains one of my favourite ever films.

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  Scum 1977

  ★★★★ Watched 09 Jan 2025

  Violent. Horrifying. Brutal. Stunning.

  Would never get made these days - as real and as proper as it gets. Testament to the old school BBC Play for Today format.

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