Darren

Review: Green Zone

Before the dust has even settled on the Iraq war, several filmmakers have cast their lens in the direction of the conflict and raised pertinent questions about what is essentially an ongoing crisis. That is unprecedented, considering war movies of the past are typically made a considerable period after the conflict has been done and dusted. No film this year will be as politically charged as Paul Greengrass' stirring and unflinching war movie.

Review: Exit Through The Gift Shop

Art isn't dead - but that's only because of the lifeline it has been given by the phenomenon of graffiti and street art, pioneered by the renegade trail-blazer with a spray can: Banksy.

Review: Crazy Heart

"I used to be somebody, now I am somebody else" sings Bad Blake, Jeff Bridges' veteran country singer, through liquor-hardened vocals. He used to be a highly regarded country star, but his crumbling career has turned him into a hard luck story more akin to blues music than country: he's tired, broke, an alcoholic and down on his luck. Blake's star has dimmed to a status that his agent can only use to illuminate such small-time venues as bowling alleys, where he reluctantly plays to a handful of loyal fans.

Review: Ponyo

Spirited Away introduced a larger audience to the majestic works of Japanese anime genius Hayao Miyazaki, lifting the profile of the studio he founded, Studio Ghibli. Since then, the many magical yet ecologically conscious animated features within Miyazaki's impressive back catalogue - like Pom Poko and Nausicaa Valley Of The Wind - have been redistributed and are now readily available in high street stores.

Review: Youth In Revolt

If the movies have taught us anything about true love it's that the path to it never runs smoothly.  Quite whether anyone has been on as arduous a journey in the name of love as Michael Cera's character Nick Twisp in Youth In Revolt is unlikely.

Dances With Films: 10 Sundance movies to look out for

The 40,000 discerning cinema fans lucky enough to be in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival during the last ten days of January, would have become privy to the films that will keep the art-house cinematic subculture alive in the forthcoming year. So without further ado, here are some of the films that gained exposure at Sundance 2010.

Review: The Book Of Eli

Perhaps it's a reflection on the slightly darker times we live in, but cinema has come over all post-apocalyptic as we enter 2010: vampires preying on the few remaining living in Daybreakers; Viggo Mortensen battling for survival in a grim new world in The Road; and the forthcoming Legion will feature a retelling of the end of days. So much for entering the New year with a sense of optimism. The Book Of Eli furrows all too familiar post-apocalyptic territory with a grim vision of the future that is entirely bland and rather phoney.