Author Archives: Amos Lamb

Kenneth Branagh is a prolific, if not always successful, director who has a valid claim of elevating modern adaptations of Shakespeare due to his early self-directed work (alongside his theatrical career). But in recent years Branagh has been spotty at best with his directorial efforts, ranging from the solid albeit nothing special adaptation of AgathaContinue reading “Belfast (2021), A Nostalgic & Personal Drama”

One common recurrence you see on Twitter is people being shocked to learn that Wes Anderson was born and raised in Houston, Texas. This, no doubt, is because of the very European aesthetic that he conjures in his films, while this has certainly become more pronounced with his more recent films like The Grand BudapestContinue reading “The French Dispatch (2021), A Love-Letter to Journalism”

Warning: Spoilers for The Sopranos TV show ahead The Many Saints of Newark has been marketed with posters saying “Who Made Tony Soprano”, on one hand it’s a clear way to establish the connection between the new film and the classic TV series, but for many, myself included, it gives the impression that this isContinue reading “The Many Saints of Newark (2021), A Tale as Old as Time”

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which is based on the broadway musical of the same name, which in turn is based on a documentary called Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, owes a debt to some of the best British films ever released; Kes, Billy Elliot & The Full Monty. It follows the same elements of workingContinue reading “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021), a Return to British Tradition…With Music This Time!”

On the eve of his 40th directorial effort, Cry Macho, making its debut, we at A Fistful of Film pay tribute to a living legend, Clint Eastwood. A Western star turned filmic Renaissance man, Eastwood has become known for more than just kicking ass and taking names on the big screen. We’ve picked four ofContinue reading “Staff Picks: The Captivating Clint Eastwood”

David Bruckner’s The Night House was a real sleeper hit for me, having first played in January 2020 at Sundance I heard nothing about this film until only a few weeks ago when I saw the trailer at the cinema. But the trailer alone was enough to entice me, so when it came out IContinue reading “The Night House (2021), the Sleeper Hit of the Year”

Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, and it very much is DaCosta’s film rather than producer Jordan Peele’s film despite some people trying to label it as such, is a direct sequel and spiritual successor to Bernard Rose’s 1992 film of the same name. Taking the widely acclaimed classic, that in it’s own right tackled issues of raceContinue reading “Candyman (2021), A Revamped Take on a Classic”

Back in 2016, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad was one of my most anticipated films of the year, I remember going to see it with a group of friends in the cinema and hyping up how great it was going to be, until it started. Now I do feel somewhat sorry for David Ayer with theContinue reading “The Suicide Squad (2021), a Unique, Cartoonish, & Fun Comic Book Movie Unlike Any We’ve Seen Before.”

Content Warning: Discussion of rape & incest in this review and within the film. I wish I had watched this film because I’d heard a lot about it, and wanted to experience a film I’d heard a tremendous amount of praise and acclaim for. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case, until I saw it while scrollingContinue reading “The War Zone (1999), Yet Another underrated British Gem”