Reviews

Over-cooked debut from Robbie Robertson-discovered Southern belle

This full length debut of music box chimes ("Both Mirror And Armour"), sampled Japanese folk songs ("Sakura", "Takeda") and proggy Vangelis-inspired electronics (everything else) has a neo-pastoral charm which, at face value, would align it closely with the output of labels like Memphis Industries and Tummy Touch.

Intelligent heartbreak pop

Ill-advised dance overhauls of Sheffield's finest

Haines classics re-recorded, plus three new songs

Excellent introduction to gospel music

Nicholson and Brando face off in Arthur Penn's uneven western

South African director Oliver Schmitz revisits the same territory as his angry anti-apartheid classic from 1988, Mapantsula, delivering a wry but equally scathing account of his post-Mandela homeland. Researching a role as a street hoodlum, a middle-class black actor (Tony Kgoroge) returns to his childhood township near Johannesburg to learn street cred from his former friend, a car-jacking gangster (Rapulana Seiphemo). A gripping, funny, darkly satirical thriller.

Disturbing documentary rips open America's dark heart

Ken Loach at his best. First-time actor Martin Compston is outstanding in the role of Liam, a teenager growing up with a mother in jail, a drug-dealing stepfather and no future to speak of. But Liam is a bright kid who dreams of a normal family life. He's determined to make enough money to rent a home for his mother for when she gets out of jail. It's heartbreaking stuff that combines a political message with real humanity and a rich strand of black comedy. Highly recommended.