Call Girl
Vintage thrills.
Call Girl arrives on our shores not only trailing festival success but also a surprising link to our own film industry having received co-funding from our Film Board and visual effects courtesy…
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A life in
the pictures.
Films that stay with you.
Writing that looks a little closer.
Explore the collected reviews of Linda O’Brien.
397 REVIEWS · ONE CRITIC’S PERSPECTIVE
Cane Toads: The Conquest
Hop to it.
Cane Toads: The Conquest is writer/director Mark Lewis’s follow up to his 1988 documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. Yes, this guy really can’t get enough of toads! And it turns out…
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Captain America: The First Avenger
God bless America!
So The Dark Knight Rises (AKA Inception with capes) recently managed to set the internet alight with a mere teaser trailer. One can only imagine the hysteria that will accompany its release…
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Captain Fantastic
A necessary illusion.
There's bound to be confusion at box offices up and down the land as superhero fans throw down their money for Captain Fantastic. They may be expecting another summer blockbuster but what…
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Carlos
Politically unmotivated.
I’m a little tired of the ‘70s. I’ll be honest and say I never want to see another glamorous but dangerous criminal dressed in a slim-cut leather jacket and big shades ever…
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Carol
Women in love.
Throughout his deliciously diverse output, director Todd Haynes has always been acknowledged as a master stylist. Nowhere is this more evident than in the films that have taken their cues from the…
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Carrie
Growing pains.
The new film version of Stephen King’s novel Carrie reminds me a little of Alexandra Burke’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s 'Hallelujah'. A classic, sparse song given slick production treatment, tackled by a…
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Chernobyl Diaries
Radioactive waste.
Travel, as the old maxim goes, is supposed to broaden the mind. True for the most part but there are exceptions. The six utterly hateful characters we meet in Chernobyl Diaries are…
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CHIPS
Highway to hell.
Before seeing Chips I was only vaguely aware of Dax Shepard's existence and that was only because he has the weathered look of Zach Braff after a particularly gruelling gap year holiday.…
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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Going back for seconds.
One of the oddest and most original animated films of the past few years has just spawned a sequel and thankfully, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is as riotously silly…
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Cold Fish
Monsters of the deep.
Cold Fish opens with a soundtrack of pounding, rhythmic drums and slashed titles proclaiming that what we are about to see is based on true events- a red herring (if you’ll pardon…
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Compliance
Only following orders.
Craig Zobel’s Compliance has divided audiences since its dramatic screening at last year's Sundance Festival where a Q&A was met with jeers and boos as well as applause. The film takes place…
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Contraband
Damaged goods.
At the beginning of Contraband, ex smugglers Chris Farraday and Sebastian Abney (Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster) spend a little time reminiscing about when they were the best in the business. They…
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Conviction
An unconvincing testimony.
It’s all too easy for a dramatic real life story to turn from Oscar bait to TV Movie of the Week. On paper, Conviction treads a fine line between the two; the…
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Country Strong
All American soap opera.
Here’s an interesting exercise: without the benefit of Wikipedia, see how many of Gwyneth Paltrow’s many film roles you can call to mind. My grand total was two- the bafflingly Oscar winning…
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Cub
Campfire carnage.
Directing a horror film can be a tricky process if you’re a horror fan. Intimate knowledge of the genre can lead to amazing creativity (subverting cliches and reinventing stereotypes) but can also…
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Cutie and the Boxer
Knock out.
At the age of eighty, artist Ushio Shinohara cuts a diminutive figure. In the first scene of Zachary Heinzerling’s documentary, we see this small and seemingly frail man being awoken on the…
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Dallas Buyers Club
Bucking the system.
As the specter of mediocrity fades further and further into the distance, it’s now hard to believe that Matthew McConaughey was once the go-to guy for romantic comedy dross. After a run…
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