Author Archives: Niki Alexandrou

FILM: Pixels

Rating: The concept of Pixels – that aliens are sending 80’s arcade games to attack earth – is a pretty solid and interesting idea. Unfortunately, the film itself is neither solid nor interesting. We begin in the 1980s (cue nostalgia) with…

FILM: Everly

Rating: HE SAID Salma Hayek plays a prostitute going up against the Yakuza in this ridiculous, excessively violent exploitation flick from director Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, Knights of Badassdom). Originally intended as a starring vehicle for Kate…

FILM: Fantastic Four

Rating: Fantastic Four? More like Fantastic Snore! (I’m sure I won’t be the first or last to use such cheap word play with the title) but unfortunately this remake is a dull attempt to reboot this Marvel comic. The beginning…

FILM: Rick and The Flash

Rating: HE SAID In Ricki and The Flash, Meryl Streep plays ageing rocker Ricki Rendazzo, a woman who abandoned her husband and three kids years ago to pursue a career as musician.  Now in her 60s, Ricki’s dream of making…

FILM: INSIDE OUT

Rating: Inside Out is the latest release from Disney Pixar, directed by Pete Doctor, the man who brought us Up, Toy Story and Monsters Inc. Inside Out follows the characters of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, all of whom…

FILM: Magic Mike XXL

HE SAID The sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 smash hit male stripper dramedy is that rare beast, a follow up that is almost completely different in tone to it’s predecessor. Much more lightweight and frothy, this road movie caper is actually…

FILM: The New Boy @ East London Film Festival

The film begins as a new boy (Rollo Skinner) and his parents move in next door to Dani (Evie Playfoot-Orme) and Louisa (Joanne Gale). The girls soon become obsessed with this boy despite only catching glimpses of his arms through…

FILM: East End Film Festival Opening Night

The East End Film Festival opened earlier this week and just happened to take place at one of my favourite cinemas in London: The Genesis, situated on Mile End Road. The public and press turned out in droves to attend what…

FILM: Amy

Amy is a documentary about the life of the late Amy Winehouse, directed by Asif Kapadia (the BAFTA award winning filmmaker behind the incredible Senna). What Kapadia and the creators of Amy do, much like they did in Senna, is…