Reviews | Little White Lies

Reviews

Lush overgrown garden with person tending to the plants, surrounded by trees and vegetation.
Review

Taming the Garden

by Emily Maskell

This obser­va­tion­al doc­u­men­tary is an ethe­re­al ode to nature and its fight to sur­vive in the hands of human greed.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two women, one wearing a nun's habit, the other in a brown coat, facing each other in a room with stained glass windows.
Review

Amulet

by David Jenkins

Romo­la Garai’s fea­ture direc­to­r­i­al debut is a haunt­ing fem­i­nist revenge hor­ror that upturns genre tropes and flouts convention.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A young woman with curly dark hair looking concerned, sitting at a desk with books and stationery in a colourful, cosy room.
Review

Memory Box

by Steph Green

Joana Had­jithomas and Khalil Jor­eige craft a thought­ful col­lage that blends per­son­al archives with inter­gen­er­a­tional traumas.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Three young people, two girls and a boy, posing for a photograph outdoors. The boy holds a sword and a large circular object, while the girls hold smaller, decorated umbrellas.
Review

Belfast

by Hannah Strong

Ken­neth Branagh’s semi-auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal dra­ma about The Trou­bles is under­mined by its depth­less and apo­lit­i­cal tone.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Man playing piano on stage, with drums and other musical equipment in the background.
Review

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

by Charles Bramesco

Rolling Stone edi­tor Jason Fine poo­tles around Cal­i­for­nia with the Beach Boys leg­end in Brent Wilson’s lack­lus­tre documentary.

3
Anticipation
1
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two people, a man in a grey top and a woman in a yellow top, interacting outdoors in front of a building with columns.
Review

A Journal for Jordan

by Marina Ashioti

Den­zel Washington’s fourth direc­to­r­i­al effort is a sto­ry of love, loss and sac­ri­fice told through the jour­nal of Charles Mon­roe King.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two men sitting on a sofa, one with darker skin and the other with lighter skin.
Review

Cicada

by Marina Ashioti

A book­store meet-cute leads to a trans­for­ma­tive rela­tion­ship for two gay men in Matthew Fifer and Kier­an Mulcare’s drama.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A woman in a black dress sitting on a chaise lounge, while a man in a dark coat stands nearby in a dimly lit room.
Review

Nightmare Alley

by Leila Latif

The great Guiller­mo del Toro returns with this deli­cious­ly-dark tale of a cir­cus huck­ster who takes things too far.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Monochrome portrait of a mature man with a long beard in a pensive gaze, set against a dark background.
Review

The Tragedy of Macbeth

by Charles Bramesco

Den­zel Wash­ing­ton and Frances McDor­mand take on the most infa­mous pow­er cou­ple in lit­er­ary his­to­ry, care of Joel Coen.

5
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Cow in dark, muddy barn aisle between wooden beams and metal walls.
Review

Cow

by Marina Ashioti

Andrea Arnold’s long-await­ed fifth fea­ture is a remark­able and vis­cer­al assault on the senses.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect