Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

Eastwood may waste the opportunity to create a modern transcendental classic, but he has fashioned a highly entertaining thriller. Review

There are brief digressions when Time Cut becomes downright melancholy as it wrestles with such weighty ideas, but it's too concerned with neatly wrapping everything up to really dive into any deep philosophical waters. Review

Christmas Eve in Miller's Point is like the best sort of Christmas present, one you didn't know you needed, wrapped with tender care in traditional tones of red and green. Review

By the end of Armand we've been subjected to so many showy distractions that we've lost sight of the central drama, and as the closing credits unspool we're left wondering what the point of it all was beyond providing a showcase for the formidable talents of rising star Reinsve. Review

The conceit is a microcosm of Universal Language, which attempts, and largely succeeds, in its sideways look at human beings and the strange world they interact within. Review

Once the details are spilled, it descends into scene after scene of characters explaining how this all works, and yet it's still never entirely convincing. Review

A film whose laidback rhythm means its ostensibly low key drama hangs in the air for so long that you're taken aback when it eventually hits you in the gut. Review

Don't Move is most effective when it focusses on the body-horror element of its premise, often resembling a thriller reworking of the scene in The Wolf of Wall Street where Dicaprio struggles to crawl to his car while paralysed by quaaludes. Review

The biggest problem with The Front Room is that it doesn't know whether it's a supernatural thriller or a glorified '70s sitcom. Review

Windless may not be a documentary but it is a document of a corner of Eastern Europe so desperate to put its past behind it that it's willing to bulldoze its heritage. Review

The movie is absolutely terrifying. Never have camera movement, framing, lighting and editing been combined in such a chilling manner. Review

Scott's powerhouse performance is so compelling and energised that you won't have time to question what you're watching in the moment. Review

When Woman of the Hour gets away from the bright lights of the Dating Game studio it really comes alive. Review

The Apprentice sometimes struggles with its difficult task of finding the "real" Donald Trump when at this point Trump probably doesn't even know himself, but Stan and Strong keep us compelled by finding the human hearts of these monsters. Review

I even like the fact that The Crime is Mine didn't tickle my particular fancy (which, I think, is what this bubbly number sets out to do), because it proves his idiosyncrasy: great artists should always be divisive. Alas, The Crime is Mine wasn't for me, but maybe it will be for you. Review

Ghost Game isn't one of the year's worst horror movies, but considering the talent previously displayed by its director and the potential of its premise, it's certainly one of the most disappointing. Review

Some bleak comedy is mined from said teens trying to figure out if the world is really collapsing or they're simply having a very bad trip, but for the most part MadS plays out its apocalyptic drama with a straight face, and with violence that recalls the New French Extremity movement that peaked two decades ago. Review

For all its many flaws, there is some fun to be had here. As a Salem's Lot adaptation it's a stinker, but as a throwback to '70s and '80s horror, it provides some entertainment for genre fans who will recognise its nods to the likes of John Carpenter's The Fog, Gary Sherman's Dead & Buried and Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy. Review

It's the central performance of Brown that really makes Daddy's Head work. The Scottish actress bears an uncanny resemblance to Isabelle Adjani, possessing the same big expressive blue eyes, which work overtime here to convey Laura's increasingly troubled and paranoid state of mind. Review

There's enough here to superficially appease an audience thirsty for sweaty SouthWest road thrillers, but Blood Star pales in comparison to its predecessors like The Hitcher, Duel and Breakdown. Review

Along with tackling society's obsession with looks, A Different Man raises other interesting questions. Review

While it may cloud the ambiguous nature of the story, Wenham's addition is also the film's greatest asset. Review

Jarvi and cinematographer Alexander Lakin take advantage of their location's neon, candy coloured funfair aesthetic, and it's a refreshing change from the grimy, squint inducing visuals of many of today's indie horrors. Review

This is a movie Phillips actually wanted to make, so why does it play like it's made by someone who has no interest in either a Joker sequel or a musical? Review