Reviews | Little White Lies

Reviews

Young woman with dark hair wearing a white coat, looking thoughtful and resting her hand on her chin.
Review

Raw

by Anton Bitel

Can­ni­bal­ism goes to school in direc­tor Julia Ducournau’s extreme French fable.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
A man in a green jacket speaking with a woman in a floral dress, standing in an outdoor setting.
Review

Man Down

by Jack Godwin

A fired-up Shia LaBeouf tries and fails to sal­vage this mud­dled war drama.

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
1
In Retrospect
Two men in casual shirts and beards standing behind a woman facing away from the camera.
Review

Graduation

by Trevor Johnston

Romania’s Cris­t­ian Mungiu returns with anoth­er under­stat­ed (and excel­lent) social drama.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two people, a woman with short blonde hair and a man with a beard, sitting at a table with a vase of red flowers in the foreground. They appear to be engaged in conversation.
Review

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

by David Jenkins

Rain­er Wern­er Fassbinder’s sub­ver­sive roman­tic mas­ter­piece returns ahead of a full BFI retrospective.

5
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Three men sitting together on a wall, laughing and relaxed. Warm lighting and a gritty, aged setting suggest a casual, informal scene.
Review

Free Fire

by David Jenkins

The myth of diplo­ma­cy is the key ingre­di­ent of a hot lead sal­ad in Ben Wheatley’s wicked­ly fun­ny pis­tol opera.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A close-up of a person's face, partially obscured by swirling blue and purple lighting effects, creating a mysterious and ethereal atmosphere.
Review

Ghost in the Shell

by David Jenkins

All the slick CG in the galaxy can’t save this mind-numb­ing sci-fi noir star­ring Scar­lett Johans­son as a femme cyborg.

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
1
In Retrospect
Black silhouette of octopus-like creature emerging from a dark triangle against a plain cream background, with text "THERE IS A HELL, THIS IS WORSE" and "THE VOID".
Review

The Void

by Ian Mantgani

Jere­my Gille­spie and Steven Kostanski’s cos­mic hor­ror-thriller fails to live up to its ini­tial promise.

4
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Animated characters: a smiling man with wild hair giving a thumbs up, and an angry-looking cat.
Review

Smurfs: The Lost Village

by David Jenkins

Here we smurf­ing go again…

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
1
In Retrospect
Black and white portrait of a woman wearing an embroidered shirt, gazing intently at the camera.
Review

The Eyes of My Mother

by Dan Einav

There’s a twist­ed Freudi­an log­ic behind this mater­nal hor­ror from Nico­las Pesce.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A group of men in suits and coats having a discussion at a table in a dimly lit room.
Review

The Age of Shadows

by John Wadsworth

Wily resis­tance fight­ers take on wicked for­eign occu­piers in this breath­less peri­od thriller set in 1920s Korea.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect