Geek of Oz

Gavin Hood’s Eye in the Sky is about a moral quandary in wartime. The film serves as an autopsy for our current love affair with drone technology, carefully dismantling a routine drone strike in order to evaluate each stakeholder in the decision making process. It craftily weighs up the loss of human life against political gain; resulting in a taut thriller, that’s constantly morphing as fresh perspectives are added to the mix. Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) has spent years tracking some unsavoury terrorist types across the globe. Through hard work she’s finally corralled her targets under the one roof in an African hideout. So time to pull the trigger, right?! Not so fast there Quickdraw! Colonel Powell must now liaise with the wet-blanket Political-types to get final clearance. It’s here where the film truly shines; as contentious moral and strategic points are debated between various bureaucratic combatants, amidst the real-time drama unfolding on the ground in ...

I’ve always loved films which are set upon the high seas. There’s an ever-present danger and unpredictability to the ocean which adds weight to the drama and reminds us of how small we are in comparison to the vast foreboding landscape. With that in mind, Captain Phillips is a perfectly-executed tension-filled tort hostage film. Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) the film is based upon the 2008 kidnapping of American Captain Richard Phillips by Somali Pirates. I was concerned that knowing the outcome of the story would have an adverse effect on my experience; however it seemed to raise the stakes for me. The film superbly blends elements of heist, hostage and action films with a bleak cynical look at world economics.