Reviews by Andrew Robertson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  House Of Gucci (2021)

  Review preview for House Of Gucci

  An inconstancy of detail might be forgivable if it were not matched by inconstancy elsewhere.

  When an outsider from humble beginnings marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel their legacy, leading to a spiral of betrayal and violence.
• 
  The Humans (2021)

  Review preview for The Humans

  As with most everything in the A24 stable it looks amazing, but at root it is just people in rooms, talking. Sometimes talking about their dreams, which is to undersell it.

  Set inside a pre-war duplex in downtown Manhattan, The Humans follows the course of an evening in which the Blake family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving. As darkness falls outside the crumbling building, mysterious things start to go bump in the night.
• 
  Hypnotic (2023)

  Review preview for Hypnotic

  Amounts to a criminal thriller with extra magic

  A detective investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government programme.
• 
  High-Rise (2015)

  Review preview for High-Rise

  In the literal act of performance there is room to talk about self as performance, and that is where High-Rise is strongest.

  Class war breaks out in a tower block.
• 
  Holika (2015)

  Review preview for Holika

  The mixture of elements is at times startling.

  A hallucinatory recollection of conflict between gods.
• 
  Hot Rod (2007)

  Review preview for Hot Rod

  While the cast is odd they all do their best with what they're given, and in some cases their best is more than what's deserved.

  A would-be superstar stuntman prepares for the jump of his life.
• 
  Household Gods (2008)

  Review preview for Household Gods

  Household Gods is unsettling. It attempts further tricks to that end... New walls are created

  Alone at home, but haunted by other voices: six people in six rooms somewhere in London.
• 
  The House Of Magic (2013)

  Review preview for The House Of Magic

  Assembly line filmmaking.

  An abandoned kitten finds refuge in a magician's house that is filled with talking animals and animated objects
• 
  How She Move (2007)

  Review preview for How She Move

  Feels as if it has been lifted wholesale from an after school special.

  A troubled teenager tries to prove herself through dance.
• 
  How To Abandon Ship (2013)

  Review preview for How To Abandon Ship

  Its realism isn't textural or technical, but emotional.

  An anatomy of a failed relationship, with puppets.
• 
  Hula (2016)

  Review preview for Hula

  Strong performances throughout.

  A gently humorous drama about uptight divorcee Clara, who opens a B&B in the Scottish Highlands. Unexpectedly inspired by her guests, she rediscovers the joys of life.
• 
  Hum (2007)

  Review preview for Hum

  A number of nice touches.

  The story of a lonely robot. Showing at EIFF 2007 as part of World Animation 1.
• 
  The Human Factor (2011)

  Review preview for The Human Factor

  In this small and human drama there are the shadows of the idealism and tyranny of the assembly-line.

  Correspondence intermingled with manual notes explores themes of work, productivity and integrity.
• 
  The Ice Plant (2007)

  Review preview for The Ice Plant

  This is a touching little film.

  A new employee adjusts to an unusual job.
• 
  I.D. (2012)

  Review preview for I.D.

  Ostensibly simple but brave enough to give its audience the time to understand, ID knows what it's looking for, and you should seek it out.

  Wen the man painting her house dies with no I.D., a young woman journeys into the slums to try and find his family, discovering a different world.
• 
  Ideal Home (2018)

  Review preview for Ideal Home

  Ideal Home isn't perfect, but 'lovely' doesn't do it justice.

  A bickering gay couple find their lives turn upside down when a young boy arrives on their doorstep saying he is the grandson of one of them.
• 
  Idrish (2021)

  Review preview for Idrish

  An act of scholarship, contrast.

  Found footage and archival sound come together as an urgent and potent piece of anti-deportation activism.
• 
  If (2024)

  Review preview for If

  While Framestore and Cadence have notionally brought the various creatures to 'life' they've not got that vital spark one would hope for.

  A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.
• 
  If Only I Was Simone De Beauvoir (2010)

  Review preview for If Only I Was Simone De Beauvoir

  There's something interesting here, but it's an arch construct without foundation.

  Experimental short.
• 
  If We Dead Awaken (2012)

  Review preview for If We Dead Awaken

  This is a strong film, an indicator of the talent of both writer and director.

  A former KGB agent seeks out the ballerina he loved, but he cannot escape the past.
• 
  iHuman (2019)

  Review preview for iHuman

  iHuman is worthy, and good, but not worthwhile, nor very good.

  Exploring the artificial intelligence revolution and its implications.
• 
  Impossible Figures And Other Stories I (2021)

  Review preview for Impossible Figures And Other Stories I

  Pajek's animation is striking, pencilled lines and negative spaces creating something distinctive and delightful.

  Following an explosion, a mysterious and elegant elderly woman wanders deserted city streets, recalling what was and what could have been.
• 
  Incident By A Bank (2009)

  Review preview for Incident By A Bank

  As a feat it's impressive and as a film it's entertaining.

  A failed bank heist comedy, which takes place in one meticulously choreographed scene.
• 
  Incredibles 2 (2018)

  Review preview for Incredibles 2

  When Pixar are good, they are very very good, and this is.

  The animated super family take on a new villain - The Screenslaver.
• 
  Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023)

  Review preview for Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

  There's a difficult place between homage and pastiche, between nostalgia and the new.

  As the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artefact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
• 
  Infectious Nihilism And Small Metallic Pieces Of Hope (2021)

  Review preview for Infectious Nihilism And Small Metallic Pieces Of Hope

  There's a whole set of semiotics, tracksuits and jackets, Berghaus and Buckfast.

  An impressionable youngster is thrust into a dangerous and adult world when he is initiated into a gang made up of older locals.
• 
  The Inseparables (2023)

  Review preview for The Inseparables

  I did laugh a few times.

  A puppet and an abandoned stuffed animal toy they cross paths in Central Park and pair up for an epic adventure in New York City.
• 
  Interference (2005)

  Review preview for Interference

  As a historic artefact of past creativity it stands up well.

  When a late-night DJ receives a call, may not be quite all it initially seems.
• 
  The Invasion (2007)

  Review preview for The Invasion

  The script is laden with biologic techno-babble, and while Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig are convincing, if not always interesting, they are wasted in this film.

  A psychiatrist stumbling upon an alien invasion fears that her small son may be the only one who can stop it.
• 
  The Invisible Fight (2023)

  Review preview for The Invisible Fight

  Sometimes the rumblings are of the Shaw Brothers, at others the Marx Brothers.

  A kung-fu comedy set in an Orthodox Monastery in 1970s Soviet Union.
• 
  The Invite (2026)

  Review preview for The Invite

  Wilde's direction is assured, there's some gorgeous framing and frequent Rogen collaborator Adam Newport-Berra's camera makes the most of what's in front of it.

  Joe and Angela are on thin ice, and tonight might be when it all falls apart. Unfortunately, their upstairs neighbours are about to arrive for dinner, and everything that can go wrong goes worse.
• 
  In A Pig's Eye (2010)

  Review preview for In A Pig's Eye

  There is a beauty to it, a sort of quasi-legendary feel, a tickling, yawning surrealism.

  A quiet little Japanese farm is dominated by an enormous pig.
• 
  In A Violent Nature (2024)

  Review preview for In A Violent Nature

  Not necessarily successful, but nonetheless compelling, even hypnotic

  The enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness.
• 
  In My Network (2021)

  Review preview for In My Network

  The recursively unreal spaces are an environment produced by external constraints.

  Recalling the endless scrolling of social networks, a camera shifts from space to space, settling on the profiles of various young people.
• 
  In The Fall (2018)

  Review preview for In The Fall

  A stunning film.

  Faced with the ageing of his faithful workhorse, a man is forced to confront his own mortality and consider a sacrifice to ensure his family's survival.
• 
  In The Meadow (2010)

  Review preview for In The Meadow

  From a gentle start In The Meadow gets very dark, very quickly.

  A middle-aged man and his young mistress head for a birthday picnic in the countryside. At least, that's the plan.
• 
  In The Soil (2021)

  Review preview for In The Soil

  It is not just in vision that there is quality.

  Karoline’s life is turned upside down when her father, Kjeld, manically starts digging a pit in their backyard.
• 
  Irati (2022)

  Review preview for Irati

  A tale that has a textured solidity, a mythological weight.

  Christian nobleman Eneko must fulfil the promise he made to his late father, to protect and lead his people into the new era. To do so, he must recover his father’s body, buried next to Charlemagne's treasure. However, despite his faith, he needs the help of his childhood friend, the pagan Irati.
• 
  Irene's Ghost (2018)

  Review preview for Irene's Ghost

  I commend this film to you, entreat you to see it.

  A filmmaker explores the life of the mother who died when he was just three years old.
• 
  Iron Lung (2026)

  Review preview for Iron Lung

  It's suspenseful, scary, stunning.

  In a post-apocalyptic future after an event called 'The Quiet Rapture', a convict explores a blood ocean on a desolate moon using the submarine Iron Lung to search for missing stars/planets.
• 
  The Iron Mask (2019)

  Review preview for The Iron Mask

  This is a film whose bombast and ambition is compromised by the fact that it clearly never met an idea it didn't like.

  An English traveller journeys from Russia to China in the 18th century, encountering dragons, black magic wizardry and a dragon king.
• 
  Isle Of Dogs (2018)

  Review preview for Isle Of Dogs

  Go in as a fan of Anderson's work and you will not be disappointed. Go in as a fan of film and you will likely be delighted.

  In a future world where dogs have been exiled to the giant rubbish dumps of Trash Island, a Japanese boy sets out alone in search of his beloved pet.
• 
  It Ends With Us (2024)

  Review preview for It Ends With Us

  Despite a difficult subject matter, It Ends With Us is a powerful piece that features several strong performances, most notably its co-leads.

  Lily overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life. A chance meeting with a neurosurgeon sparks a connection but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents' relationship.
• 
  I Am Zlatan (2021)

  Review preview for I Am Zlatan

  Despite two strong central performances, this is a partial story, partially told.

  Son of Balkan immigrants Zlatan Ibrahimovic, born in Sweden, becomes, after a rough childhood, a Swedish football champion of several decades.
• 
  I Gotta Look Good For The Apocalypse (2021)

  Review preview for I Gotta Look Good For The Apocalypse

  At under six minutes Kartal's piece can only gloss over what amount to highlights.

  Our world is being drained of its substance and digital life forms are multiplying, like these couples who meet in a virtual universe.
• 
  I Live Here Now (2025)

  Review preview for I Live Here Now

  While the film's ambition should be saluted it falls short in ways that frustrate.

  A woman finds herself trapped in a remote hotel where the violent echoes of her past come alive, blurring the lines between her darkest nightmares and the waking world.
• 
  I Love Boosters (2026)

  Review preview for I Love Boosters

  I suspected there'd be ideas introduced that lesser films would attempt to spin out while this grabbed another and another and another, and so it came to pass.

  A crew of professional shoplifters takes aim at a cutthroat fashion maven.
• 
  I Own A Carousel (2011)

  Review preview for I Own A Carousel

  A jealous castle in time, falsity piled upon artifice, circular and fleeting.

  A meditation on hidden, unused treasure.
• 
  The Illusionist (2010)

  Review preview for The Illusionist

  The Illusionist has a sense of humour, a sense of wonder, and a sense of place, and in combination that's enough to make it magical.

  A stage entertainer dedicated to a dying art finds his life transformed by a chance encounter with a young devotee.
• 
  I'll Be Right Here (2010)

  Review preview for I'll Be Right Here

  The risk for a film that focuses on film is that it'll reference something that does what it's trying to do better.

  A deranged and delusional screenwriter Moffat is holed up in an LA hotel room, ready to meet his idol Steven Spielberg.