Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

It's all too easy to groan at the idea of a remake, especially one that dares to take on material covered by an auteur like Bava, but this Rabid Dogs is a worthwhile reboot, one that establishes its director as a filmmaker we'll be keeping a close eye on. Review

The middle section, during which Bolger and Rush excel in their characters' psychological game of cat and mouse, elevates Emelie above Lifetime movie of the week territory, but it's ultimately a frustrating movie that could have greatly benefitted from another couple of passes at the script. Review

Like most of Roth's films, The Green Inferno is devoid of tension or suspense, its narrative simply taking the form of a series of gruesome deaths of protagonists we couldn't care less about, all blood and no build-up. Review

Spectre is like one of those boutique magazines you find in hotel rooms and on passenger planes. It's printed on glossy paper, immaculately designed and packed with appealing products, but devoid of engaging content. Review

The dinner party has proven a fertile setting for a host of great movies. Karyn Kusama's engrossing new psycho-drama, The Invitation, is in heady company, but holds its own at the table. If you're offered a chance to see it, accept that invite. Review

Stylistically, Kill Your Friends resembles a product of the era it's aping, all smartass voiceovers and redundant flashy visuals; make of that what you will, but I grew tired of this post-Trainspotting style of storytelling two decades ago. Review

Vin Diesel is a self-confessed Dungeons and Dragons fan, which may explain why he took on this role, as his character is a glorified Dungeon Master, making up rules and inventing his own mythology as the movie progresses through a series of tedious exposition dumps. Review

There's no doubt Beasts of No Nation would be improved with an increased budget and a more cinematic approach to its storytelling, but only the most stubborn cinephiles could dismiss it, as it's arguably the best war movie since Full Metal Jacket. Review

As gothic melodramas go, Crimson Peak is fine, but what mars the movie is its ghost story element, an unnecessary subplot that adds nothing and feels a bit too close to M Night Shyamalan at his most mediocre. Review

An awful lot of continental male filmmakers seem to have had their hearts broken while in college and hold the mistaken belief that torturing themselves over this makes for good cinema. All I can say to them is, "Get over it!"... Review

The scariest part of The Vatican Tapes is its ending, which threatens a sequel. But at a mere 80 minutes when you cut the credits off, the filmmakers have clearly struggled to find enough material for one movie, so I wouldn't lose any sleep over that terrifying possibility. Review

Pan mixes late 20th century popular music with early 20th century bigotry, and most of the movie consists of the sort of spectacle-as-sleep-inducer set-pieces you find tacked onto the end of Marvel superhero movies. Review

The first two acts are riveting, thanks mainly to the stellar performances from Tao and Jingdong, but the movie capsizes under the weight of their absence from the final act. Review

This brand of humour will prove impenetrable to some, and those lured in from the mainstream by the presence of household names like Farrell and Weisz will likely recoil at the darkness on display, but if you can tune into Lanthimos's nihilistic wavelength, this is a comic treat like few others in recent memory. Review

The Hallow bravely puts its monsters front and centre, but does an effective job of building up to their appearance to a degree sufficient enough for us to accept them without unintentional laughter. The old-school effects bring these fanged fairy folk to life in a way CG simply can't. Review

If you're looking for an involving narrative, you're better off sticking with Man on Wire, but as a cinematic experience, The Walk is a visual treat. Shame then that it's such an aural travesty. Review

Writer-director Ramin Bahrani is one of American cinema's best kept secrets. With Spiderman and General Zod headlining his latest, maybe Bahrani will finally take his place at the head table of adult American drama. Review

Panahi packs an awful lot into his movie - satire, pathos, charm, discontent and bubbling rage. If it means we get more movies like Taxi Tehran, perhaps more filmmakers should have such restrictions placed upon their craft. Keep the meter running Jafar! Review

The verisimilitude of this world is convincing enough as to be thoroughly immersive and engaging. The film and Labed's performance leave us wanting to follow Alice on further journeys. You could do worse than stowing away on the Fidelio for its 97 minute trip. Review

The question of whether or not this is a price worth paying to maintain the integrity of a sport is never addressed here, presumably because such a debate would add a layer of nuance that might detract from the sub-standard thriller Frears and Hodge have fashioned, one that ultimately fails because it can't decide who, between Armstrong and Walsh, is the film's hero. Review

There are few things more compelling than watching someone who is really good at their job, and seeing Watney apply scientific ingenuity to every problem posed by a planet whose dirt was never meant to be trod on by human feet is genuinely awe inspiring. Review

Anyone who has ever experienced the stress of maintaining a full-time job while dealing with personal issues will sympathise with the plight of Mia Madre's protagonist. As with life itself, Mia Madre doesn’t climax with a happy ending, but its final image is one of comfort. Review

Suffragette follows the template of the many quasi-feminist exploitation movies released by American International in the early '70s. Add a bluegrass score and Pam Grier, and this could have been directed by Jonathan Demme in 1971; and it's all the better for it. Review

Once you accept that Mississippi Grind doesn't have an original thought in its head, you can settle back and enjoy it as a somewhat superior buddy movie, albeit a highly derivative one. The opportunity to see Mendelsohn stretch himself, playing a character more pathetic than petrifying, justifies the admission price alone. Review