Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

If Beale Street Could Talk is about people stuck in a horrific situation, but never feeling sorry for themselves, carrying hope in their hearts and finding beauty wherever they can. That's the essence of Jazz. It's dark now, but brightness is never far away. Review

The Favourite certainly isn't a case of Lanthimos becoming a director for hire, but it's lacking his indefinable presence to a noticeable degree. Review

The miscasting of McAdams means the rekindled romance never shines as brightly as Lelio would like it to, but it is sensitively handled, and a final moment of reconciliation between the three leads is authentic and affecting. Review

Most of the running time however is devoted to Amin, who simply drifts through his own story like a zombie, focussed on keeping his head down and putting away cash for an uncertain future. Perhaps this is the point of Faucon's film, to highlight the dull grind of the lives of men like Amin, but it doesn't make for a particularly involving viewing experience. Review

Madeline's Madeline may well prove a frustrating watch for many casual viewers, but for anyone with an interest in the creative process and the narcissism that often goes along with that process, it's a fascinating and rewarding experience. Review

But I Feel Good isn't simply a socialist message delivery system, it's a hilarious series of comic vignettes that will have you regularly doubled over in your seat. Review

The Trouble With You is an ambitious mess with all too intermittent flashes of sophistication. Review

Life, Cuarón seems to suggest, can be beautiful, but it can turn nasty at any moment, so savour the moments of beauty where you can. There's much to savour in Roma. Review

I'm delighted to say my fears were unfounded, as Creed II is a worthy continuation of what might be Hollywood's greatest franchise. Review

While both Omar and Sofia are victims here, the film doesn't simply ask us to sympathise with them, as they are both getting something out of their respective situations - Omar lands a job he would previously have been rejected from, while Sofia bags a husband and father for her child, convinced he will come around in time. Review

Gonzalez is so committed to evoking a lost age of operatic, melodramatic European genre cinema here that it will likely turn off many modern viewers unaccustomed to the acquired taste of Giallo, but fans of the unique cinematic delights of that movement will find much to adore in Knife + Heart. Review

With a title like Our Struggles, you might expect Senez's film to be an exercise in doom and gloom, but it wisely interjects light moments, many courtesy of the fabulous Laetitia Dosch, who plays Olivier's sister... Review

The plot is refreshingly simple to follow, though as is now the norm, it outstays its welcome with an overlong climax rendered in bland fashion by Bathurst, whose direction is merely serviceable if commendably coherent, and the set-pieces suffer from what looks like half-finished CG effects. Review

Focussing rigidly on the political scenario above any character drama, Brizé's film resembles a cross between Ken Loach's more politicised offerings and The Battle of Algiers, alternating between heated debates, which see the workers gradually turn on one another the longer their standoff stretches out, and scenes of demonstrations that regularly turn violent. Backed by Bertrand Blessing's propulsive score, the scenes of stando... Review

There's enough here to suggest that Alvarez and Foy could take this character and series to some interesting places, but they'll need to find a story with more nuance than the tired old riff on every other Cold War era spy movie that they find themselves straddled with here. Review

Like so many British historical dramas, anything of visual interest comes not from the cinematography or direction, but from the sumptuous locations, sets and costumes. Mary Queen of Scots is no more cinematic than the average BBC production of its ilk. Review

While The Wild Pear Tree is the most dialogue heavy movie you're likely to see in 2018, it's ultimately a film about unspoken truths between a father and son, neither of whom truly understand the other, but whose bond proves stronger than the ropes that continually fail to haul buckets from wells and couches up stairs. Review

Shoplifters plays like a greatest hits of Kore-eda's career, developing and deconstructing themes he's explored before, and for most of its running time it's right up there with the best of his work. Review

If you appreciate the sort of laser-focussed storytelling that's all too rare in mainstream American filmmaking today, Elizabeth Harvest makes for a satisfying thriller. Review

Even the beasts aren't so fantastic here, and the generic digital creatures on display forced me to wonder what Jim Henson might have done with this concept back in the day. Two movies in and Rowling's new series has already lost its magic. Review

Blue My Mind will likely play best to a female audience in the age group of its protagonist, or to those who can still recall treading the teenage tightrope. It displays an honest understanding of the contradictory nature of teen life... Review

Everything here is just about 'fine'. The movie looks relatively slick for its budget, and Kern and Hennessy throw themselves into their roles of sympathetic prisoner and cruel captor. But it never quite hooks us enough to fully invest in Mary's plight... Review

Nilsson delivers a very sympathetic performance and Söderström portrays her alcoholism in a far more realistic and relatable fashion than most movies tend to. Review

While Neville's doc is quite comprehensive on the making of The Other Side, it's a surprise to find that it doesn't cover the restoration process, which Welles fans would find equally fascinating. Netflix have released a couple of short featurettes on the process, which you can find on YouTube, but I feel Neville has missed a trick by not detailing the mammoth task in his otherwise largely satisfying documentary. Review