Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

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

Pesce's film ends with a punchline of sorts, which has the effect of making you feel somewhat short-changed, as though you've watched a very long short rather than a very short feature. Review

If the film within a film is intended as a parody, it's ironic that it gifts The Other Side of the Wind with its two greatest sequences. Review

It's a rare complaint in this era of bloated running times, but Nancy ends in a manner I found frustratingly abrupt. I was fully invested in the dynamic between Nancy and her potential parents, and I could have gladly watched another hour of their tense but tender interactions. Review

If you lay out Wildlife's plot it doesn't offer much that we haven't seen before in such stories of domestic strife behind the picket fences of suburbia, but it boasts a couple of the year's most compelling performances from Oxenbould and Mulligan, and Dano is canny enough to let his camera focus on capturing their quiet brand of magic. Review

This is an interesting reworking of the original's central premise, and I appreciate Guadagnino's refusal to simply fawn over a beloved classic, but along with screenwriter David Kajganich, he pads his film out with unnecessary subplots that seem like cynical attempts to place Suspiria into that category of genre cinema that's become known by the eye-rolling label of 'elevated horror'. Review

Juliet, Naked could be remade as a more profound, but probably more depressing examination of how misguided and undeserved our love of artists can be, but as it is, it's a light piece of entertainment that won't make you think too much but should keep a smile on your face for 105 minutes. Review

As the scenario escalates, there comes a point where things get a little silly, and I stopped believing in the over the top actions of characters I had been invested in up to that point. Review

Framed may well be my least favourite movie of 2018, but your Joker obsessed kid brother will love it. Review

If you fancy a great but brief family drama, check it out up until a certain twist. You'll know it when you see it. Review

If you're a horror fan, you know what you're getting with an anthology movie. There's usually a couple of standout stories, a couple of mediocre segments, and one genuine stinker. Nightmare Cinema continues the trend. Review

The Devil's Doorway is strongest in its opening half when we're getting to know the two priests and their disparate attitudes to their chosen profession, and when the supernatural nature of the institution is kept ambiguous. In the movie's back end things take a turn toward Conjuring/Insidious style histrionics, and it becomes indistinguishable from its rivals in the crowded found footage horror market. Review

To the film's benefit, things take a twist and What Keeps You Alive becomes more of a psychological game of cat and mouse between the two women, with Sarah and her husband also finding themselves unwittingly drawn into this fraught domestic drama during a decidedly awkward dinner party in the film's standout sequence. Review

Avery's direction is muscular and keeps things moving at a rapid pace, though he never again replicates the thrills of the opening sequence, which captures the chaos of parachuting through a barrage of ground to air fire in intense fashion. Review