Reviews by Scott Macdonald

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  About Time (2013)

  Review preview for About Time

  This is complete hand-waving trash - he's an ignorant, privileged cocky arsehole and good things happen to him. Pass the sick bucket.

  A young man who discovers he can travel in time decides to use it to try and get a girlfriend.
• 
  Of Snails And Men (2012)

  Review preview for Of Snails And Men

  Mostly, Of Snails And Men is a light, entertaining comedy.

  When their factory is threatened with closure, a group of men plan to raise the funds to buy it by selling their sperm.
• 
  Cycle (2012)

  Review preview for Cycle

  It's a film that's full of visual life, amid the arid, hard surroundings.

  After failing to win a sheep washing competition, a young shepherd considers life in the city.
• 
  Virgin Forest (2012)

  Review preview for Virgin Forest

  The documentary-style diary is interspersed with striking single shots of nature.

  Thoughts and confrontations about family history at the home of the director's deceased grandmother.
• 
  Once I Entered A Garden (2012)

  Review preview for Once I Entered A Garden

  The film takes great joy in two old men poring over family connections and the past.

  Conversations across the Israeli-Palestinian divide, and memories of a love affair.
• 
  Six Acts (2012)

  Review preview for Six Acts

  Director Jonathan Gurfinkel's film rides a deeply uncomfortable societal line between misogynistic conservatism and liberation through feminism.

  A deep dive into the grey area of sexual abuse told through the story of Gili, a teenager who in order to improve her lame social status hooks up with several different boys, all from her new school.
• 
  Belleville Baby (2013)

  Review preview for Belleville Baby

  A fascinating meta-textual picture.

  The director looks back at her youthful romance in Paris with a small-time criminal.
• 
  Seconds Of Lead (2012)

  Review preview for Seconds Of Lead

  The medium is a time capsule, a documented moment, perpetually frozen in time.

  A cinema projectionist remembers witnessing a massacre.
• 
  The Sea (2013)

  Review preview for The Sea

  For all its visual skill and mostly good performances, this is a tiresome, dull film.

  An art historian explores haunting memories in the village he visited as a child.
• 
  Infiltrators (2013)

  Review preview for Infiltrators

  A full picture of the nuts and bolts of people smuggling.

  This documentary follows the efforts by various Palestinians to cross the 7m high wall that separates the Palestinian Territories from Israel.
• 
  Man of Steel (2013)

  Review preview for Man of Steel

  The first two acts are so strong, it's almost a shame that the invasion plot arrives, and things start blowing up real good.

  A young journalist is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.
• 
  Lunarcy! (2012)

  Review preview for Lunarcy!

  There is no dull speaker, and director Simon Ennis deftly illustrates the subjects with well-chosen archive footage.

  Affectionate look at a group of individuals who are obsessed with the moon.
• 
  From Tehran To London (2012)

  Review preview for From Tehran To London

  It's an intimate, focused look on an unhappy family - but can only tell half of its story.

  An exploration of women's roles in modern Iran, told through the story of a poet.
• 
  Constructors (2012)

  Review preview for Constructors

  The actors sell it.

  Three bickering siblings are forced to work together to build a house quickly so that their family land won't be confiscated.
• 
  Mushrooming (2012)

  Review preview for Mushrooming

  It's just not very funny.

  An under-pressure politician finds a day spent mushroom picking with his wife goes south after they get lost in the woods.
• 
  The Deep (2012)

  Review preview for The Deep

  A superior sense of place and editorial timing lends the Breki's disaster urgency, tension and terror.

  The story of a man who survived for nine hours in freezing seas after a shipwreck, and the impact of his legacy.
• 
  Pluto (2012)

  Review preview for Pluto

  Pluto is an oddly funny film - inhabiting as isolated a world as its titular celestial body.

  A boy works hard to try and enter the elite class at his school, but is kept out by a brutal clique.
• 
  Pusher (2012)

  Review preview for Pusher

  Richard Coyle is decent in the title role, his engaging lead performance is a solid, if not star making turn.

  A London drugs dealer finds himself on the wrong side of a ruthless Mr Big. Remake of the 1996 feature.
• 
  Sound Of My Voice (2011)

  Review preview for Sound Of My Voice

  Maggie's interrogation of Peter is a fascinating back and forth - leveraging sexual attraction with effective psychological showmanship.

  Two skeptics set out to debunk a cult surrounding a woman who claims to be from the future.
• 
  God Bless America (2011)

  Review preview for God Bless America

  God Bless America is an uneven series of sketches.

  The anti-Ikiru. Terminal cancer patient tries to rid the world of as many morons as possible before he goes.
• 
  Tondo, Beloved: To What Are the Poor Born? (2011)

  Review preview for Tondo, Beloved: To What Are the Poor Born?

  The single most striking thing about this film is the soundscape.

  A deprived family's day-to-day survival in Manila.
• 
  Here, Then (2012)

  Review preview for Here, Then

  An interminable, frustrating film

  An low-key and enigmatic portrayal of the alienation, disillusionment and loss of direction that have become widespread among young people in contemporary China.
• 
  Anton Corbijn Inside Out (2012)

  Review preview for Anton Corbijn Inside Out

  Every time the film brings out [...] his photographs, I found myself leaning forward - drinking in their beautiful details.

  Documentary following the work and life of an extraordinary photographer
• 
  Home For The Weekend (2012)

  Review preview for Home For The Weekend

  A haunting, well-directed piece of cinema.

  A family reunion becomes difficult as secrets are revealed and frustrations expressed.
• 
  Siblings - For Better Or Worse (2011)

  Review preview for Siblings - For Better Or Worse

  Siblings: For Better Or Worse comprises a collection of four short documentary features - each dealing with a different set of circumstances. They're all well-made.

  Four short films allow children from around the world to describe their feelings about their siblings.
• 
  MNL 143 (2012)

  Review preview for MNL 143

  It's a thin and sketchy experience.

  A taxi driver picks up an assortment of quirky customers.
• 
  One Mile Away (2012)

  Review preview for One Mile Away

  Almost certainly one of the year's best films.

  Documentary on gang violence, its victims and its perpetrators.
• 
  Grabbers (2012)

  Review preview for Grabbers

  Grabbers is a thoroughly charming and welcome blend of terror and blarney.

  A small island community is terrorised by monsters from the sea.
• 
  El Casamiento (2011)

  Review preview for El Casamiento

  The film observes various individual slices of their lives, some of which are adorable, many dull.

  An elderly couple look forward to their wedding, made possible by Uruguay's changing attitude to gender recognition.
• 
  Brake (2012)

  Review preview for Brake

  Brake is an undying sequence of storytelling gimmicks.

  A secret service agent wakes up trapped inside a perspex coffin in the boot of a car.
• 
  Nuclear Nation (2012)

  Review preview for Nuclear Nation

  They're interesting people, all with interesting and evolving stories to tell.

  Survivors of the 2011 Japanese tsunami discuss their experiences and reveal the nature of their lives as refugees.
• 
  Dr Seuss' The Lorax (2012)

  Review preview for Dr Seuss' The Lorax

  For all the 3D eyeball-poking efforts, barbershop-quartet singing fish and more colours than an explosion in a paintbox, the thin story never rises beyond merely okay.

  A young man sets out to find the guardian of the forests as a swindler tries to trick people into paying for fresh air.
• 
  No Man's Zone (2011)

  Review preview for No Man's Zone

  No Man's Zone is a crushingly dull documentary, at least twice as long as the selected material warrants.

  A journey through the stark post-tsunami landscape around Fukushima.
• 
  Either Way (2011)

  Review preview for Either Way

  A gentle, enjoyable little drama - a very comfortable and concise 80 minutes.

  Finnboeg and Alfred paint lines on a road in this gentle comedy. Re-released to coincide with David Gordon Green's remake Prince Avalanche.
• 
  Fred Won't Move Out (2012)

  Review preview for Fred Won't Move Out

  I found myself forgetting about actors acting, and saw a cruel divine joke played upon mostly decent, interesting people. It's achingly sad.

  A family contemplate what to do as the older generation lose their ability to live independently.
• 
  Rent-A-Cat (2012)

  Review preview for Rent-A-Cat

  The characters' interplay, mutual respect and overwhelming joy at being accepted made my heart swell in delighted awe.

  A young woman rents out cats to lonely people.
• 
  Tahrir: Liberation Square (2011)

  Review preview for Tahrir: Liberation Square

  Director Stefano Savona very simply invites us to stand witness.

  Documentary on the Egyptian revolution.
• 
  Hail (2011)

  Review preview for Hail

  Hail essentially tells the story of going straight, and is filled with knowing details, acidic and authentic writing.

  The true story of a man who, fresh out of prison, tries to make a new start.
• 
  The Invader (2011)

  Review preview for The Invader

  Sawadogo gives a potent, revealing performance which is sadly wasted in a story without impulse or direction.

  A immigrant struggling to fit into Belgian society becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman.
• 
  Killer Joe (2011)

  Review preview for Killer Joe

  Friedkin has fun seeing how far he can push the envelope with swift, bloody violence and frequent full-frontal female nudity.

  Life-insurance crime thriller.
• 
  Charlie Casanova (2010)

  Review preview for Charlie Casanova

  The film is aptly photographed, with dingy lighting and somewhat inventive setups.

  A ruling class sociopath kills a working class girl in a hit-and-run then determines his fate with a deck of cards.
• 
  Hell And Back Again (2011)

  Review preview for Hell And Back Again

  The photography is sumptuous throughout - we often forget that this is a documentary, such is the quality of the footage.

  A documentary examining one soldier's experiences after he is taken out of action by a serious injury.
• 
  Blood And Dust (2011)

  Review preview for Blood And Dust

  We see the battlefield medics at work in handheld, single camera setups.

  A short documentary about medical auxiliaries working to save lives on the battlefields of Helmand.
• 
  Troubadours (2011)

  Review preview for Troubadours

  The film is crammed full of archive footage, talking heads and some cracking music.

  A documentary about the singer/songwriter boom in late Sixties Los Angeles.
• 
  Calvet (2011)

  Review preview for Calvet

  An extraordinary achievement - certainly one of the best films of the year.

  The artist discusses his violent and abusive past and his quest for redemption.
• 
  Some Like It Hot (1959)

  Review preview for Some Like It Hot

  This is possibly the raciest picture ever to get a U-rating.

  Classic cross-dressing comedy as two unemployed musicians go on the run from gangsters in an all-girl band.
• 
  The Electric Mind (2010)

  Review preview for The Electric Mind

  The film mixes testimony from surgeons, neurological scientists, patients and computer graphics to draw a complex, interesting layman study of the human mind as a physical entity.

  An insight into contemporary neuroscience and its applications in treating psychological disorders.
• 
  Rabies (2010)

  Review preview for Rabies

  The script is knowing, loving and amusingly toys with the genre.

  As a psycho killer lurks in the woods, a group of nervous people might represent a bigger threat to each other.
• 
  Photo Session (2010)

  Review preview for Photo Session

  If photographs are infinitesimally small slices of time captured, the movies give us that additional dimensionality that turns them into real, living and breathing people.

  The passion a couple reveal during a photo shoot is lost when they are captured in still images.
• 
  Heidi Kim at W Hong Kong Hotel (2010)

  Review preview for Heidi Kim at W Hong Kong Hotel

  The mysteries are infinite.

  A beautiful woman reclines mysteriously in an anonymous hotel. What is her secret?