Jonathan Andrews
13 articles written by Jonathan Andrews
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Honour
Honour, the 2014 British thriller and directorial debut of Shan Khan, tells the story of Anglo-Pakistani woman Mona (played by Aiysha Hart), who becomes the target of a family honor killing after backing out of an arranged marriage. When...
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Dom Hemingway
No one likes a comedy that isn’t funny. There is some unspoken law, an unwritten edict, that it is better to make a terrible drama than it is to make a terrible comedy. In the former, you can appreciate...
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Breathe In
Breathe In, Drake Doremus’s second indie romance since Like Crazy (2011), follows the story of disaffected high school music teacher and part-time concert cellist Keith Reynolds (Guy Pearce) and his family. Keith finds himself increasingly attracted to the talented...
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For No Good Reason
For No Good Reason (2012), released by Sony Pictures Classics, is a unique documentary on the life and work of Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman. Framed as an extended interview conducted by Johnny Depp, the film features an impressive roster...
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Grand Piano
Every once in a while, we all see one of those special films – something that pushes the boundaries, defies expectations, breaks down the walls and makes us reconsider what is possible in the world of film making. Eugino...
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My Brother the Devil
My Brother the Devil, director Sally El Hosaini’s first feature length film, takes us deep into the heart of London’s housing projects. We follow the story of two brothers, Rashid and Mo (played by James Floyd and Fady Elsayed,...
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Dawn (Sundance Review)
Rose McGowan’s debut short film, Dawn, is a surprisingly original and well-executed revision of a 1950’s teenage romance gone terribly awry. The film opens with our quiet protagonist Dawn sitting in the back seat of a car, getting hassled...
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Generation War
As a four-hour German epic depicting the lives of five friends before, during and after the Second World War, Generation War must be appreciated as an ambitious enterprise. Compared by critics to Band of Brothers, the film covers a tremendous amount...
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South Asian International Film Festival: Ankhon Dekhi and More
Coverage from the South Asian International Film Festival Good Morning, Karachi Good Morning, Karachi, directed by Sabiha Sumar and staring actress and model Amna Ilyas, is a tale of a young woman named Rafina who is forced to confront...
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South Asian International Film Festival Coverage Introduction
Coming up this week is HBO’s tenth annual South Asian International Film Festival, featuring a diverse blend of some of the finest contemporary filmmakers South Asia has to offer. With several world premieres, exclusive interviews, (and what look like...
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Faust
Aleksandr Sokurov’s 2011 film Faust, screening now at New York City’s Film Forum, is essentially a story of striving and corruption. Drawing from Goethe’s famous play (which is based on an even older legend), the film begins with our...
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Cut To Black
Cut to Black, Dan Eberle’s fourth feature length film, charts the well-travelled waters of a 1940’s film noir style with (despite a few divergences,) surprising freshness. Staring Eberle himself as the hard-boiled, hard-drinking ex-detective Bill Ivers, the story follows...
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Abracadabra
Lucile Desamory’s Abracadabra as a film seems to evade simple classification. To call it art house meets surrealist mystery thriller might overstate the latter, but it comes close. Try to imagine blending Robert Bresson’s austere dialogue and visually compelling...