Author: Gabriella Incalza Kaplanova

Described as a Romantic Christmas Comedy starring Kris Marshall and Annelise Hesme, Sparks & Embers centres around old flames and lost love.

Tom and Ellie meet up for a final goodbye on London’s picturesque Southbank. They haven’t seen each other for a while and we are not sure why they are meeting up now. Ellie has a new partner but Tom is clearly still in love with her.

The whole film’s storyline focuses on Tom’s attempt to win her over before she gets on a train with her new partner to go and live in Paris. The clock is ticking and, with 45 minutes to go before boarding, Tom is desperate to rekindle the love they once shared, and so they dwell on their past relationship, how they met, the memories they shared.

Naturally, old memories evoke feelings that both have been trying to suppress. But will Tom win his girl back? As a rom com, you kind of know the answer already. But the film’s intention seems to make it as frustrating and as hard as possible.

Overall, Gavin Boyter’s Sparks & Embers is a rollercoaster of flashbacks between two scenes, as we see nothing else but their first and last meeting. We presume they may at some point have been happy together, as they spent 4 years in each other’s company, but we don’t really see that.

I praise the idea of the movie, exploring the end and the beginning of a relationship, delving into how perceptions and feelings change over time.

However, I feel the overall objective is not fully met. I found it very hard to follow and felt that the chemistry between the two characters seemed somewhat off, and not intentionally.

The static lift scene versus the walking along the Southbank works in principle, but dragged over the whole feature film feels way too long. Marshall’s performance as a juvenile, immature thirty-something is coherent all throughout, whereas Hesme’s performance is often inconsistent. We have all experienced at some point a break up and should be familiar with the challenges posed, yet I feel no sympathy or interest for the characters at all.

I enjoyed the setting and the Christmas spirit but as romantic comedies go, I wouldn’t rush to see it again.

Sparks & Embers is out December 18^th.

A darkish comedy directed by Jamie Babbit, Addicted to Fresno combines laugh out loud moments while trying to push comedy cliques to the limit.

Martha (Natasha Lyonne) and Shannon (Judy Greer) are two sisters with a difficult relationship; typically, they couldn’t be more different. Martha is a hard working, selfless and optimistic hotel maid, whereas Shannon is a selfish, sex addict fresh out of rehab and always in trouble.

Martha is determined to keep her sister on the straight and narrow and gets her a job working with her at the same hotel in Fresno. But, naturally, Shannon lands the pair in serious trouble when she accidentally kills a hotel guest.

A hilarious plot develops as the two embark on an eventful journey to cover their tracks and dispose of the body, deal with blackmail and break a couple of hearts along the way.

Addicted To Fresno ultimately is a film that focuses on the complicated relationship of the two siblings and the great length Martha will go to help her sister while sabotaging her own life. Until,  eventually, enough will be enough and Shannon will be forced to take responsibility for her own actions.

All in all, Addicted to Fresno is a light-hearted, humorous comedy with brilliant performances by Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne. It does at times feel like the plot is trying too hard to be funny and different, but it’s definitely worth a watch.

Addicted to Fresno has been released on video on demand and will hit UK cinemas on the 9^th of October.

When it comes to organised crime in the Fifties and the Sixties, no other criminals have aroused the sort of fascination in the British media as the Kray twins. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were infamously known for equally hanging out with celebrities like Frank Sinatra, mingling with prominent politicians of their time, as well as amassing an astonishing amount of armed robberies, assaults, protection rackets and even murders.

They terrorised the east of London first, before controlling most of the city. They got away with it for an astounding amount of time, and they became celebrities in their own right; the brothers’ faces appeared on the nation’s TV screens and iconic photographer David Bailey captured their terrorising expression.

The fascination with these sick individuals lives on despite their passing, at least on screen. The very first feature film solely dedicated to the twins’ gruesome career dates back to 1990, when Peter Medak’s award winning film The Krays was first released.

Intriguingly, two new films are tackling the brothers’ story this year. Legend, starring Tom Hardy, is a blockbuster film focusing on the life of Reggie Kray as he seeks to control the psychotic tendencies of his twin, and The Rise of the Krays, an independent production directed by Zackary Adler, which illustrates the formative years of these criminals.

The Rise of the Krays, premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, is a frighteningly accurate account of the amateur boxers’ rise to power made up of extremely graphic fights, bullying tactics and horrendous assaults. Word has it that filming was interrupted by local residents, as they felt the movie would unnecessarily glamorize criminals. They needn’t be less worried, as there is absolutely nothing glamorous about this feature film.

The film is not exactly my cup of tea, to put it mildly. I struggled to cope with the movie’s constant scenes of violence. All in all, I felt it lacked a strong direction in several scenes. The best part? Simon Cotton’s portrayal of Ronnie Kray, outstanding and haunting.

If British gangster movies are what you’re into, give it a go, but be prepared for an unsettling amount of crude violence.

The Rise of the Krays is out on DVD and Blu-Ray on Monday.

Kevin Pollack’s feature movie directorial debut, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, is a documentary exploring the comedy underbelly.

Over 50 worldwide comedy legends are ultimately asked whether to be funny one needs to be miserable and whether there is any truth in the fact that comedy often comes from a place of pain. First, there are 90 minutes of face to camera interviews with the likes of Tom Hanks, Matthew Perry, Jon Favreau, Whoopi Goldberg, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan, Jimmy Fallon bluntly and openly exploring every aspect of their career, and pivotal topics like life, death, money, childhood and what drives them to choose a career dedicated to making people laugh.

Connecting with the audience and an inner desire to be seen and take centre stage are just some of the common threads shared by the comedy royalty of our times. Pollack explores the psyche and digs very deep, at times almost too deep.

Misery Loves Comedy is a very insightful documentary aiming to make you understand the behind the scenes of the art of humour and it certainly does achieves that. It shows our comedy heroes in a completely different light, which at times I couldn’t help but feel they were a bit overexposed.

Darker rather than lighter, Misery Loves Comedy does have some funny moments in it, but if you are planning on watching it to have a laugh, be warned, as that is not its aim. It can be brutally honest and at times even painful, not to mention way too long.

The non-fiction film, dedicated to Robin Williams, is out in UK cinemas from today.