Reviews by Luke Shaw

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  100 Yen Love (2014)

  Review preview for 100 Yen Love

  Shin Adachi’s script seeks to get past the gloss and into the reality of Japan’s “lost generation”.

  A young woman morphs from slacker to boxer.
• 
  45 Years (2015)

  Review preview for 45 Years

  To call the film haunting is an understatement.

  A marriage is thrown into turmoil with news of a long dead lover.
• 
  Above And Below (2015)

  Review preview for Above And Below

  If this weren’t a documentary, these five people would surely find themselves nestled in the pages of some postmodern epic.

  Existence on the fringes of society.
• 
  April And The Extraordinary World (2015)

  Review preview for April And The Extraordinary World

  Another sumptuously realised and animated film that will be creeping onto lists of “films you probably haven’t seen” in a decade or so.

  A teenager and her talking cat go in search of her missing scientist parents.
• 
  Arrival (2016)

  Review preview for Arrival

  Arrival is a stunning, vital film that exemplifies the greatest tenets of sci-fi as a whole.

  A linguist is given the task of helping to communicate with extra-terrestrial beings when they touch down around the globe.
• 
  The Age Of Shadows (2016)

  Review preview for The Age Of Shadows

  A sumptuous period epic littered with over the top direction and action scenes that wouldn’t feel out of place in a gritty Hong Kong police flick.

  Resistance fighters try to dodge the attention of Japanese agents while smuggling explosives through 1920s Korea.
• 
  American Ultra (2015)

  Review preview for American Ultra

  The lack of any real ‘pop’ to the proceedings is rooted in the fact that the whole film is played as a flashback.

  A secret agent undercover as a drug user is marked for extermination but proves too hardcore and too high to handle.
• 
  Ant-Man (2015)

  Review preview for Ant-Man

  Ant-Man’s weirdness and goofy tangents mean that it’s definitely on its way to alleviating the fatigue of the larger pictures.

  A con man with the power to decrease in size and increase in strength must pull off a daring heist in order to save the world.
• 
  Battle Mountain: Graeme Obree's Story (2015)

  Review preview for Battle Mountain: Graeme Obree's Story

  As compelling as it is humourous.

  A documentary about one man and his bike.
• 
  The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years (2016)

  Review preview for The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years

  Howard’s documentary is candid and enlightening.

  A compilation of found footage.
• 
  The Benefactor (2015)

  Review preview for The Benefactor

  Richard Gere is exceptional.

  A guilt-ridden philanthropist tries to help a young couple but isn't so good at caring for himself.
• 
  Black Mountain Poets (2015)

  Review preview for Black Mountain Poets

  The script sparkles, delivering plenty of great moments.

  Relationship comedy about a pair of on-the-run sisters who pose as poets on a camping retreat.
• 
  Blair Witch (2016)

  Review preview for Blair Witch

  For some, it may well be the breakneck thrillride of the year, but there’s just something lacking in all its bombast and supernatural goings on.

  Another group of innocent hikers return to the woods where a previous party disappeared 17 years ago
• 
  Blood Cells (2014)

  Review preview for Blood Cells

  Wells delivers a great performance.

  A farmer's son is faced with a decison about whether to return to the home he has exiled himself from.
• 
  The Brand New Testament (2015)

  Review preview for The Brand New Testament

  The levels of twee are fairly high, and contrasted with the bizarre and often regressive gendered comedy it’s likely to divide audiences right down the middle.

  The new adventures of God, who lives in Brussels with his teenage daughter and falls foul of her hacking skills.
• 
  Brotherhood Of Blades (2014)

  Review preview for Brotherhood Of Blades

  Everything here is just a rehash of other films.

  Three assassins take on the Ming dynasty's evil secret police.
• 
  Chevalier (2015)

  Review preview for Chevalier

  Takes a bawdy idea and turns it into something far more complex.

  Six men on a boat try to judge who is best.
• 
  Cream (2016)

  Review preview for Cream

  A welcome piece of righteous fury with a distinctly Firthian twist.

  Life's problems are resolved with the aid of a miraculous goo.
• 
  Cub (2014)

  Review preview for Cub

  There is no safety net for characters here.

  A young boy heads to scout camp, certain he will encounter a monster - and he's right.
• 
  Cut Snake (2014)

  Review preview for Cut Snake

  The novel angle it takes is the best thing going for this film, and it is a smart twist to an rote story.

  A pair of ex-cons are set on a collision course.
• 
  Deadpool (2016)

  Review preview for Deadpool

  For fans of the various franchises given nods and winks, and elbow nudges, and telegraphed air quotes by the Meta Merc, there’s a lot to like here.

  After being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, Wade Wilson adopts the alter ego Deadpool and goes looking for revenge.
• 
  Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015)

  Review preview for Dead Rising: Watchtower

  This film's attempt to contextualise a zombie threat as something more deeply political is clumsy at best.

  Video game spin-off sees a group of people try to survive a zombie attack.
• 
  Demolition (2015)

  Review preview for Demolition

  Gyllenhaal puts in such a brilliant performance that it’s hard not to get swept away.

  A man unravelling after the death of his wife forms an unexpected bond with a customer service representative.
• 
  The Finest Hours (2016)

  Review preview for The Finest Hours

  A functional disaster-cum-rescue film with a glut of special effects.

  In 1952 coastguards makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard.
• 
  Future Shock! The Story Of 2000AD (2014)

  Review preview for Future Shock! The Story Of 2000AD

  This is not the most revealing documentary ever, and it deals with a subject that is ultimately pure pop-culture, but it is impossible to feel anything other than inspired by the pluckiness of the this British underdog.

  Study of the British sci-fi comic's evolution.
• 
  The Gift (2015)

  Review preview for The Gift

  Instead of falling into the trap of making a thriller with easily defined characters, Edgerton has made a film that understands how devastating uncertainty is, something that comprehends the insidious nature of lies and half-truths.

  An old acquaintance bearing gifts brings suspicion and fear into the lives of a successful couple recently moved to California
• 
  Goodnight Mommy (2014)

  Review preview for Goodnight Mommy

  Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s film is one entirely about small details.

  Twin boys suspect that their mum, who has just undergone reconstructive facial surgery, is an imposter and set out to discover the truth.
• 
  The Hallow (2015)

  Review preview for The Hallow

  There’s plenty of the pre-requisite tension, and the monsters are designed well and deployed with restraint.

  When a visiting conservationist accidentally trespasses in an ancient wood, its denizens set their sights on his family.
• 
  Handsome Devil (2016)

  Review preview for Handsome Devil

  A stylish and heartwarming tale of triumph against adversity that is somewhat undermined by its predictable story and lack of guts in its final third.

  A loner and the star athlete at a rugby-mad school form an intense friendship, but it will be tested.
• 
  Headshot (2016)

  Review preview for Headshot

  The insane amount of violence is in danger of becoming totally monotonous, but is rescued by Iko Uwais' dynamic and hitherto unrevealed comic sense of motion and timing.

  Washed ashore on a small Indonesian island, a man wakes up in hospital with no memory of who he is or how he got there - but a gang boss is on his trail.
• 
  Hellions (2014)

  Review preview for Hellions

  There isn’t anything particularly wrong with the direction, which is solid horror fare, but it’s trying to animate a cadaver of a script.

  A young pregnant woman is threatened by malignant children.
• 
  Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)

  Review preview for Hitman: Agent 47

  Rupert Friend plays Agent 47, managing to imbue him with a restrained and economical ferocity, until he opens his mouth and ruins the trick.

  A genetically engineered assassin tries to help a mysterious woman find her father.
• 
  Hot Pursuit (2015)

  Review preview for Hot Pursuit

  It’s possible that the working title was Mild Pursuit, or Languid Pursuit, or maybe even So Offensive I’d Rather They Didn’t Pursuit.

  A strict, by-the-book cop is assigned to protect the widow of a drug boss, who likes to live it up.
• 
  How to Win At Checkers (Every Time) (2015)

  Review preview for How to Win At Checkers (Every Time)

  A charming, if a dark hearted, coming of age story.

  Coming-of-age film about a boy and his brother in Thailand.
• 
  Identicals (2015)

  Review preview for Identicals

  For an ambitious SciFi film made for a conservative budget, there’s a lot to enjoy here.

  Sci-fi thriller about a man on a quest to find the love of his life.
• 
  In The Heart Of The Sea (2015)

  Review preview for In The Heart Of The Sea

  Class and experience divisions form the bulk of the interpersonal drama and it’s as predictable as expected, with the added tedium of Hemsworth apparently defaulting back to weirdly out of place Asgardian diction, bellowing like Thor at every little thing

  Recounting of the tale that went on to inspire Moby Dick.
• 
  The Incident (2015)

  Review preview for The Incident

  It’s the quiet unease and invasive nature of Lily’s probing into the house that are the real highlights here.

  Psychological drama about a couple whose lives are disrupted by a troubled teenage girl.
• 
  Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

  Review preview for Independence Day: Resurgence

  The new blood get to run around saving the world in a largely unremarkable fashion.

  Two decades after Independence Day, the aliens return to have another go. Humans have prepared for this event, but so have they.
• 
  Kafka's The Burrow (2014)

  Review preview for Kafka's The Burrow

  The buildup of clutter over the course of the film is its most appealing visual metaphor.

  Adaptation of a Kafka short story about loneliness and isolation.
• 
  Koza (2015)

  Review preview for Koza

  Its refusal to treat fights as spectacle, together with its austere editing and static camera, provides a melancholic grounding.

  A boxer comes out of retirement to help his girlfriend pay for an abortion.
• 
  Kuso (2017)

  Review preview for Kuso

  It’s absolutely a little squalid, but focusing on these elements ignores the often sublime visuals that permeate the film.

  Broadcasting through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, this story is tangled up in the aftermath of Los Angeles's worst earthquake nightmare.
• 
  Kyoto Elegy (2014)

  Review preview for Kyoto Elegy

  Unfortunately, it’s all rather muddled.

  Three women have an impact on the life of a selfish would-be lawyer.
• 
  Labyrinth Of Lies (2014)

  Review preview for Labyrinth Of Lies

  Labyrinth Of Lies is an interesting document of a very important piece of national history, but it fails to make it engaging.

  An idealistic attorney in post-war Germany faces public hostility as he tries to prosecute former members of the SS.
• 
  La La La At Rock Bottom (2015)

  Review preview for La La La At Rock Bottom

  Subaru gives a brilliant performance - including some excellent vocal takes - as an amnesiac whose only link to the world is his singing.

  A young girl with a band tries to help an amnesiac petty criminal.
• 
  Liberation Day (2016)

  Review preview for Liberation Day

  There’s a strange voyeurism to the film, especially given the isolated nature of North Korea.

  The story of Laibach's visit to North Korea.
• 
  Mad To Be Normal (2017)

  Review preview for Mad To Be Normal

  Sadly, like many biopics, the film blends so many elements of the life of its subject that it starts to lose focus, and falls back on a relationship conflict to lend some backbone.

  The story of psychiatrist RD Laing and his unique community at Kingsley Hall, East London, during the Sixties.
• 
  Manson Family Vacation (2015)

  Review preview for Manson Family Vacation

  The inevitable schmaltz may be a little too saccharine for some, but the premise is unique and the situations dynamic enough to elevate this a little higher than it seems at first glance.

  Two brothers tour Charlie Manson murder sites.
• 
  Men And Chicken (2015)

  Review preview for Men And Chicken

  Its disgusting surface is supported by a framework that’s more intelligent than in plenty of prettier films.

  Black comedy about a pair of brothers who discover a dark family secret.
• 
  The Messenger (2015)

  Review preview for The Messenger

  Doesn’t so much leave threads untied as set the ropes on fire.

  A man is haunted by the spirits of the dead who want him to help them settled unfinished business.
• 
  Miles Ahead (2015)

  Review preview for Miles Ahead

  Cheadle attempts to give us the feel of the man rather than the real essence.

  A biopic of legendary musician Miles Davis.