Author: David G. Hughes

David G. Hughes is the Northern-born, London-based Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Electric Ghost Magazine. He graduated in Film Studies (BA) from King's College London and Film Aesthetics (Mst) from The University of Oxford.

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Review

ELLE

Elle (Paul Verhoeven, 2016), Picturehouse Entertainment, France & Germany, DCP, 130 minutes, Michèle (Isabelle Huppert)
Elle (Paul Verhoeven, 2016), Picturehouse Entertainment, France & Germany, DCP, 130 minutes, Michèle (Isabelle Huppert)

Dutch enfant terrible Paul Verhoeven has delivered a post-feminist cluster bomb

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Review

SWEET DREAMS

Sweet Dreams / Fai bei sogni (Marco Bellocchio, 2016), Soda Pictures, Italy, D-Cinema, 128 minutes, Massimo (Valerio Mastandrea)
Sweet Dreams / Fai bei sogni (Marco Bellocchio, 2016), Soda Pictures, Italy, D-Cinema, 128 minutes, Massimo (Valerio Mastandrea)

Sad-eyed Oedipal melodrama from Italy barely registers

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Review

THE GREAT WALL

The Great Wall / 长城 (Zhang Yimou, 2016), Universal Pictures International , China & USA, D-Cinema, 103 minutes, William (Matt Damon)
The Great Wall / 长城 (Zhang Yimou, 2016), Universal Pictures International , China & USA, D-Cinema, 103 minutes, William (Matt Damon)

US and China come together in troublesome and cynically-calibrated cultural amalgamation

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Review

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2

John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski, 2017), Warner Bros., USA, DCP, colour, sound, 122 minutes, John Wick (Keanu Reeves)
John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski, 2017), Warner Bros., USA, DCP, colour, sound, 122 minutes, John Wick (Keanu Reeves)

Photogenic Keanu Reeves is paraded with pride in action film about asserting individuality against rigid rules

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Review

T2: TRAINSPOTTING

T2: Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 2017), Sony Pictures Releasing, UK, D-Cinema, 117 minutes, Renton (Ewan McGregor), Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner)
T2: Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 2017), Sony Pictures Releasing, UK, D-Cinema, 117 minutes, Renton (Ewan McGregor), Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner)

Boyle continues to explore dysfunctional men in poignant and funny sequel to a classic

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Review

HACKSAW RIDGE

Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson, 2016), Lionsgate, USA & Australia, D-Cinema, 136 minutes, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield)
Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson, 2016), Lionsgate, USA & Australia, D-Cinema, 136 minutes, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield)

Paradoxical and unsubtle war movie with confused morality

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Review

LA LA LAND

La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016), Lionsgate, USA, 35 mm / D-Cinema, 128 minutes, Mia (Emma Stone), Sebastian (Ryan Gosling)
La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016), Lionsgate, USA, 35 mm / D-Cinema, 128 minutes, Mia (Emma Stone), Sebastian (Ryan Gosling)

A sweeping musical ode to dreamers and romantics

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Review

PATERSON

Paterson (Jim Jarmsuch, 2016), Soda Pictures, France / Germany / USA, colour, sound, 118 minutes
Paterson (Jim Jarmsuch, 2016), Soda Pictures, France / Germany / USA, colour, sound, 118 minutes

Jim Jarmusch channels Ozu in his poetic meditation on quotidian life

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Review

DOG EAT DOG

Dog Eat Dog (Paul Schrader, 2016), Signature Entertainment, USA, DCP, 91 minutes, Troy (Nicolas Cage), Mad Dog (Willem Dafoe)
Dog Eat Dog (Paul Schrader, 2016), Signature Entertainment, USA, DCP, 91 minutes, Troy (Nicolas Cage), Mad Dog (Willem Dafoe)

Cage and Dafoe are let loose in Paul Schrader’s degenerate, post-moral crime caper

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Review

BLOOD FATHER

Blood Father (Jean-François Richet, 2016), Warner Bros., France, DCP, 88 minutes, Link (Mel Gibson)
Blood Father (Jean-François Richet, 2016), Warner Bros., France, DCP, 88 minutes, Link (Mel Gibson)

Mel Gibson resurrects himself in engaging pulp thriller