Elvis & Nixon
A little more action please.
The term “icon” is flung around perhaps too much in popular culture. In the case of Elvis Presley though, the term is perfect. Despite the scores of people who make a living…
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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
Enough Said
Something to talk about.
Enough Said, from writer/director Nicole Holofcener, arrives onto cinema screens under a bittersweet fog. While not quite James Gandolfini’s screen swan song (his last film, Animal Rescue is still to come), it…
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Entourage
Bad bromance.
If you’re a little concerned that you won’t be able to follow the nuanced relationships that play out in Entourage without having seen the TV series then you can put your mind…
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Equity
Greed is good.
The films that have emerged over the past few years that tackle the world of high finance have had the nasty smell of the frat house about them. Women have been all…
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Everybody Has a Plan
Plan B minus.
Viggo Mortensen is an interesting chap. Not only is he in possession of one of the most recognisable grunts in cinema (or am I the only one to notice that?), he is…
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Everybody Wants Some!!
Living for the weekend.
Never one to be predictable, Richard Linklater has followed up a film which takes place over the course of twelve years (Boyhood), with one that takes place over the course of one…
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Eye in the Sky
The drone wars.
Since the beginning of the digital age, the portrayal of warfare on screen has become more and more irrelevant. When one can watch actual footage from drone missile strikes on YouTube, the…
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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Spellbinding.
I first became aware of Eddie Redmayne back in 2007, when he played opposite Julianne Moore in Savage Grace. With his ethereal paleness and high cheekbones, Redmayne was a striking screen presence…
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Fast & Furious 5
Battle of the beefcakes.
I’m not entirely sure what Fast & Furious 5 (or “Fast Five” as no-one is calling it despite the re-branding) was about. There’s a sinister Brazilian drug lord, some on the run…
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Fast & Furious 6
London stalling.
There were several points during Fast & Furious 6 when I thought to myself, “Well that would never happen in the real world!” This, I understand, is a ludicrous complaint to make.…
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Faster
Fasten your seatbelts.
Faster is a revenge flick starring the preposterously muscled Dwayne Johnson as a man known only as Driver. Recently released from prison, he is out to exterminate the group of ne’er do…
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Fathers and Daughters
Break up the family.
Fathers and Daughters reminds me of that old thought experiment about the tree falling in the woods; certainly nobody will be around to witness this wannabe weepie, so it may as well…
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Filth
Dishing the dirt.
In a genius stroke of Scottish themed counterprogramming, we find two very different Edinburgh based films to choose between at the box office this week. One, Sunshine on Leith, is a musical…
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Footloose
Remakin’ Bacon.
And so another remake limps down the red carpet to be met at first with tuts of disapproval then, inevitably, with sighs of boredom. This time it’s Kevin Bacon’s ‘80s dance rebellion…
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Frances Ha
A New York state of mind.
In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, actress Greta Gerwig voiced disappointment that her critically acclaimed turn in Greenberg opposite Ben Stiller, was not the big break everyone expected it to…
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Free State of Jones
Guerrilla tactics.
Free State of Jones is an illuminating, well-intentioned look at a shameful period of the history of the United States – a period that may have been glossed over in many accounts…
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Friend Request
Computer says no.
Hollywood cinema has never had a great reputation for representing those people in society who are a little different. One such unfairly maligned group are the Goths. Rather than being portrayed as…
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Friends With Benefits
The best of friends.
This one may sound a little familiar. In Will Gluck’s Friends With Benefits, two attractive friends tire of the dating world and decide to throw sex into their relationship under the misguided…
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