Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

How much you appreciate music will likely be the deciding factor when it comes to your enjoyment of Begin Again, as it's a romantic drama whose protagonists are in love, not with each other, but with the music they make together. Review

For roughly three quarters of its running time, Miss Violence draws us into its Dogtooth type family dynamic, and Panou is outstanding as Father, but the film is ultimately let down by a final act that enters A Serbian Film territory and treats its subject matter with exceedingly bad taste. Review

Eastwood does nothing to get us excited about Valli's music, and I doubt too many copies of his Greatest Hits will be sold off the back of this turgid slog. Review

You might well have a good cry during TFIOS, but the film never directly tugs at the heartstrings, preferring to celebrate strength rather than beg for sympathy, and that's "okay" with me. Review

Devil’s Knot plays out in uninspired fashion and never sucks you into its story. Several documentaries have been made on this subject (Paradise Lost, West of Memphis) and I’d suggest checking them out over this. Review

And so we get Heaven is for Real, as cynical an exercise in film-making as you're likely to see. Review

It's unlikely a young audience will accept Jeunet's hyper-real notion of a children's fable, but there's enough to keep fans of the director, and of the rugged American landscape, content. Review

A closing title card tells us that no horses were harmed in the film's production and that the cast and crew are all horse owners themselves. We're left knowing who Of Horses & Men was made by, but clueless as to who it was made for. Review

At its heart, Belle is a fascinating period legal drama, with a cast of quality British thesps, though a lack of visual storytelling makes it more suited to a small screen viewing. Review

With the tone shifting awkwardly between morose and blackly comic, Love Eternal is an exasperating watch for much of its running time. Review

He images he presents may not be scary, and certainly add nothing towards creating the required atmosphere of dread, but he valiantly allows them to fail on their own merits. If only more horror film-makers were so brave. Review

Ultimately, any request for laughter is met with stony silence; this is the least funny comedy you'll endure all year. Review

Both movies relied heavily on a self awareness of the reasons behind their existence, but Lord and Miller made this work in their favour. With 22 Jump Street, however, the well of self-referential gags has run dry. Review

Despite its cliched and nuance free script, Fruitvale Station ultimately succeeds due to a trio of central performances from Jordan, Diaz and Spencer that are anything but cliched. Review

The film never quite settles on what story it wants to spin. Review

If this is indeed to be Loach's final film, lacking the courage of his socialist convictions means he'll go out with a whimper rather than the bang we might have expected from such a confrontational film-maker. Review

This is the sort of comedy even Adam Sandler would be embarrassed to put his name to. Review

Jolie gives the performance of her career, ranging from malevolent but melancholy rage to hilariously deadpan comic timing. Review

Though it lacks that extra touch of invention that might have elevated Cheap Thrills to a future cult classic, the script is tightly wound and allows its plot to uncoil in a clever manner. Review

As filmed plays go, this is one of the laziest. Review

Turkeys like Mr and Mrs Smith and Jumper have badly damaged Liman's reputation; a shame, as with early gems like Swingers, Go and The Bourne Identity he proved himself skilled at delivering on the dual fronts of comedy and action. Here he combines both disciplines to wonderful effect, and the result is the most enjoyable blockbuster to come out of Hollywood in quite some time. Credit must also go to McQuarrie and the Butterworth... Review

Only the presence of Allen springs the movie into life but he seems uncomfortably out of place here, despite Turturro’s insistence on scoring his scenes with trad jazz, a move that only makes you wish all the more that you were watching Allen in one of his own movies. Review

Not just the worst film of the year so far but also the most offensive... Review

The Canyons is an uncomfortable watch thanks to the portrayal of its industry protagonists, but as the pained outcry of a film-maker who both lived through and contributed to cinema's most fertile period, it can't be dismissed. Review