Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

Winocour's disdain for plot in favour of tension (much of it sexual) and atmosphere building is refreshing, particularly when so deftly handled. This is a filmmaker of abundant potential. If Disney paid attention to world cinema, Winocour would no doubt find herself offered a Marvel movie. Review

Larrain keeps us at a distance, rarely judging his characters; let's face it, enough judgement will come from the viewer.Do we need yet another movie demonising the Catholic Church? Well until the church is willing to exorcise its own demons, the answer is sadly a resounding yes. Review

While the script's lack of focus proves irksome, Bryn's direction keeps his film just about ticking over, along with three great performances, made all the more impressive when you consider Jones, Elwy and Dwyfor are performing in what is presumably a second language for them. Richard Stoddard's cinematography combines with the misty Welsh landscape to create images of stark beauty. Review

10 Cloverfield Lane is far too well made to be ruined by its title, but it's a shame viewers are denied the chance to experience the film as a completely blind watch and enjoy it as the expertly constructed adult genre thriller it is. Review

On the surface, Nichols has fashioned a flawless imitation of an early '80s Spielberg/Carpenter sci-fi outing, but scratch beneath its polished and textured facade and there's little holding Midnight Special together. Just as Starman was lesser Carpenter, this is lesser Nichols, but it's still the work of a highly accomplished filmmaker, with enough surface sheen to keep nostalgic cinephiles engaged. Review

Whether you take the events presented in Risen as 'gospel' fact or merely a compelling story plucked from a book best regarded as no more than a great piece of historical fiction, Reynolds' film is arguably the best example of its type since the days when Hollywood studios poured their full resources into 'tales of the Christ'. Review

Von Horn is largely ambiguous with regards to where he stands on the liberal nature of the Swedish justice system, shooting his film largely in a detached, voyeuristic fashion, but a scene in which John's father breaks down and admits he was all too naive in believing his son could adjust back into his village suggests a wry commentary. Review

Mammal unspools in a naturalistic and organic fashion, and though it's not above a cliche or two - a character's attempt to escape their ennui by holding their breath underwater is one that's particularly tiresome - it's a largely gripping work that adds Daly to the growing list of women directors to keep an eye on. Review

The series clearly has its fans, given the healthy box office returns on each installment, but for the rest of us, this third movie plays like three back to back episodes of a TV show that knows it's been cancelled. Review

A puppet performer is capable of giving an expressionless performance, which makes it perfect for a portrayal of a man suffering the sort of ennui portrayed here. They may be a foot tall and made of rubber, but Anomalisa features two of the most human characters you'll see on screen this year. Review

Amazingly, its unabashed bigotry isn't actually the most offensive aspect of London Has Fallen - that lies with its half-finished CG effects. It's not a word of a fib when I say you could create more convincing explosions on an iPhone app, and a sequence involving helicopters resembles a cut scene from a '90s Nintendo game. Review

Made with no apparent love or understanding of the horror genre, The Other Side of the Door may well be the worst example of its kind so far. This is mainstream studio horror at its lowest ebb - lazy, derivative, inept and xenophobic. Review

Like any good punk gig, Green Room is best experienced with an audience, as Saulnier manipulates us into pogo-ing out of our seats in terror. Whether punk is dead or not is an ongoing debate, but on the evidence of Green Room, down and dirty genre cinema is alive and gobbing in our faces. Review

Hitchcock/Truffaut purports to give us an examination of the series of interviews French director/critic Francois Truffaut conducted with the master of suspense in 1962, and the resulting book. Yet after a brief introduction, Kent Jones' film morphs into yet another run of the mill Hitch doc, recounting anecdotes all too familiar to even the most casual of Hitchcock fans. Review

As a piece of entertainment, Hail, Caesar! performs the function a night at the movies once did, providing a little bit of song and dance, a little bit of mystery, and a little bit of sex. Review

That a key sequence takes place at the stadium of the LA Dodgers - a club that infamously uprooted itself from Brooklyn in 1957 in what most fans saw as a soulless, money-making move - is particularly fitting for a remake inspired by purely financial motivations. Review

At one point the girls escape their uncle's house to attend a football match where all male supporters have been banned for previously causing violence. The image of Lale crowd-surfing over waves of jubilant women, rejoicing at being free of a male influence for a couple of hours, speaks a thousand unsilenced words. Review

White is a highly complicated and nuanced figure. We're torn between contempt for his narcissistic ways and sympathy for his genuine love and affection for his mother. Life has dealt him a cruel hand, and he's looking for an antagonist to strike out against, but the film never conveniently gives him one, just as life rarely does. Review

Using a location synonymous with real life suffering for a horror movie is the height of bad taste. Hollywood seems to think tragedy is fine once it doesn't effect Americans. Try pitching a horror movie featuring the ghosts of those who died in the Twin Towers or Hurricane Katrina and see how far it gets you. Review

If you close your eyes and think of the words 'American indie cinema', the images your imagination conjures probably won't veer too far from those found in writer-director Felix Thompson's feature debut. It's a familiar package, but peel back the wrapping and it presents a few surprises. Review

In what era should a movie version of Ballard's novel be set? Is it still relevant? Ben Wheatley has answered the former question by resolutely setting his adaptation in 1975, but his film leaves the latter question unanswered. Review

It may feature a very traditional presentation of its titular antagonist, but The Witch is more psychological period drama than Saturday night horror flick, more Bergman, less Blumhouse. Review

Sing Street is a reminder of what a truly creative moment in pop culture the '80s was, with music and fashion trends evolving on a month to month basis. In this age of movies loaded with nostalgia for other movies, it's refreshing to indulge in a form of nostalgia grounded in an actual lived past. Review

Following on from Eli Roth's Knock Knock, this is the second time in a row we've witnessed Reeves and de Armas deliver impressive performances in an otherwise awful movie. Exposed really shouldn't be. To anyone. Review