London Film Festival · 2015
22 films · 17 reviews
His - and Johnson's - real triumph in Anomalisa comes in the smaller gestures and human moments
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman; Writer: Charlie Kaufman; Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Thewlis, Tom Noonan)
Surprise film.
The production and costume design by Huang Wen-ying combine historical accuracy with a revelation of detailed splendour.
(Country: Taiwan, China, Hong Kong; Year: 2015; Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien ; Writer: Hou Hsiao-hsien, Chu T'ien-wen, Hsieh Hai-meng; Stars: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Sheu Fang-yi, Hsieh Hsin-ying, Zhou Yun, Juan Ching-tian, Tsumabuki Satoshi)
Journey gala.
Brutally effective in what it does overall, which is fuse western and horror tropes to create a slow-burning, visceral experience that, although not flawless, should ensure fans of both genres are satisfied.
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: S Craig Zahler; Writer: S Craig Zahler; Stars: Sean Young, Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Lili Simmons, Matthew Fox, Michael Paré, David Arquette, Kathryn Morris, Sid Haig, Richard Jenkins, Jamie Hector, Geno Segers, James Tolkan, Eddie Spears, Zahn McClarnon)
Cult gala.
(Country: Canada; Year: 2015; Director: Deepa Mehta; Writer: Deepa Mehta; Stars: Randeep Hooda, Gulshan Grover, Ali Momen, Sarah Allen, Waris Ahluwalia, Steve Dhillon, Gabe Grey, Ali Kazmi, Jag Bal, Gia Sandhu, Paul Gross, Balinder Johal, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Dileep Rao, Samir Amarshi)
Thrill gala.
You have to care for these people to give a damn. That's hard.
(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2015; Director: Luca Guadagnino; Writer: David Kajganich, based on the story by Alain Page; Stars: Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts, Dakota Johnson, Aurore Clément, Corrado Guzzanti, Lily McMenamy, Elena Bucci)
Love gala.
It's true what they say about violence. Too much and you become immune.
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Scott Cooper; Writer: Mark Mallouk, Jez Butterworth, based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill; Stars: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, David Harbour, Juno Temple, Julianne Nicholson, W. Earl Brown, Brad Carter)
Tempting though it might be to think, this is not a mockumentary. Brand is serious.
(Country: UK, US; Year: 2015; Director: Ondi Timoner; Writer: Ondi Timoner; Stars: Simon Amstell, Andrew Antonio, Barbara Brand, Ron Brand, Russell Brand, Shepard Fairey, Noel Gallagher, David Lynch, Stephen Merchant, Matt Morgan, John Noel, James Ohene-Djan, Noreen Oliver, Jeremy Paxman, Katy Perry)
Laugh gala.
With old-school romance pumping through its veins, fans of the genre will find this a pleasing indulgence.
(Country: Ireland, UK, Canada; Year: 2015; Director: John Crowley; Writer: Nick Hornby, based on the novel by Colm Tóibín; Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Fiona Glascott, Jane Brennan, Brid Brennan, Eileen O'Higgins, Michael Zegen, Maeve McGrath, Emily Bett Rickards )
A beautifully crafted piece.
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Todd Haynes; Writer: Phyllis Nagy, based on the book by Patricia Highsmith; Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Cory Michael Smith)
What is quite wonderful in all this flowing and "fade, fade, fade," fading is that the characters and their stories belong to no one specifically. They belong to a cinematic spirit world and maybe nobody even wanted them.
(Country: Canada; Year: 2015; Director: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson; Writer: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk, John Ashbery, Kim Morgan; Stars: Roy Dupuis, Clara Furey, Louis Negin, Udo Kier, Gregory Hlady, Mathieu Amalric, Noel Burton, Geraldine Chaplin, Paul Ahmarani, Caroline Dhavernas, Jacques Nolot, Slimane Dazi, Maria de Medeiros, Charlotte Rampling, Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon)
Experimenta special presentation.
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Rob Letterman; Writer: Darren Lemke, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, R.L. Stine; Stars: Halston Sage, Jack Black, Odeya Rush, Ken Marino, Amy Ryan, Dylan Minnette, Ryan Lee, Jared Sandler, Kumail Nanjiani, Jillian Bell, Ella Wahlestedt, Karan Soni, Timothy Simons, Steven Krueger, Amanda Lund)
Family gala.
Her energy is remarkable and what this film shows is the humility, intelligence and bravery of a girl lucky to be alive
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Davis Guggenheim; Stars: Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Toor Pekai Yousafzai, Khushal Yousafzai, Atal Yousafzai)
Documentary special presentation.
In the literal act of performance there is room to talk about self as performance, and that is where High-Rise is strongest.
(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Ben Wheatley; Writer: Amy Jump, based on the novel by JG Ballard; Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes, Dan Renton Skinner, Sienna Guillory, Enzo Cilenti, Peter Ferdinando, Reece Shearsmith, Augustus Prew, Stacy Martin, Leila Mimmack) , Trailer
(Country: Occupied Palestinian Territory; Year: 2015; Director: Hany Abu-Assad; Writer: Hany Abu-Assad, Annemarie Jacir, Sameh Zoabi; Stars: Tawfeek Barhom, Ahmed Al Rokh, Hiba Attalah, Kais Attalah, Abdel Kareem Barakeh, Nadine Labaki, Ahmad Qasem, Saber Shreim)
Sonic gala.
By locating its own dedicated critic within the action of the film, it is possible to point out the triteness and question whether life can be so simply encapsulated within the tidy confines of literature.
(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Nicholas Hytner; Writer: Alan Bennett; Stars: Maggie Smith, James Corden, Dominic Cooper, Jim Broadbent, Frances de la Tour, Roger Allam, Stephen Campbell Moore, Samuel Anderson, Alex Jennings, Eleanor Matsuura, David Calder, Dermot Crowley, Samuel Barnett, Deborah Findlay, Harriet Thorpe)
Lanthimos satirises our obsession with relationships and modern day electronic dating rituals although the results are not nearly as funny and knowing as the director clearly thinks.
(Country: Greece, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, France; Year: 2015; Director: Yorgos Lanthimos; Writer: fthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos; Stars: Colin Farrell, Léa Seydoux, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, John C Reilly, Olivia Coleman)
Dare gala.
A clear, clean picture without tricks
(Country: UK, France; Year: 2015; Director: Stephen Frears; Writer: John Hodge, based on the book by David Walsh; Stars: Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd, Jesse Plemons, Guillaume Canet, Dustin Hoffman, Lee Pace, Bryan Greenberg, Elaine Cassidy)
Debate gala.
(Country: UK; Year: 1928; Director: Anthony Asquith, AV Bramble; Writer: Anthony Asquith, John Orton; Stars: Annette Benson, Brian Aherne, Donald Calthrop, Wally Patch, David Brooks, Ella Daincourt, Chili Bouchier, Tubby Phillips, Ian Wilson, Judd Green, Jack Rawl)
Archive gala.
All message and no massage
(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Sarah Gavron; Writer: Abi Morgan; Stars: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff, Samuel West, Clive Wood, Geoff Bell, Morgan Watkins, Lorraine Stanley, Lisa Dillon, Natalie Press, Adrian Schiller, Meryl Streep)
Fassbender does his best to not make the man easily likable at first.
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Danny Boyle; Writer: Aaron Sorkin, based on the book by Walter Isaacson; Stars: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Katherine Waterston, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg)
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: James Vanderbilt; Writer: Mary Mapes, James Vanderbilt; Stars: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Elisabeth Moss, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid, Bruce Greenwood, David Lyons, Toni French, John Benjamin Hickey, Lee Anne Ford, Rachael Blake, Andrew McFarlane, Martin Sacks, Natalie Saleeba, Nicholas Hope)
Fellowship special presentation.
Despite this period being so rich in potential subject matter, this admittedly handsomely mounted, nimble and quite funny film chooses to take a pretty much conventional ride to a victory-lap finish.
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Jay Roach; Writer: John McNamara, Bruce Cook; Stars: Bryan Cranston, Elle Fanning, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Alan Tudyk, John Goodman, Roger Bart, Stephen Root, Michael Stuhlbarg, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Louis C.K., Dean O'Gorman, David James Elliott, Dan Bakkedahl, Madison Wolfe)
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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