Latest Staff Picks
The films listed below are Alice's Latest Staff Picks, finding their way into this category generally as a result of agreement between staff that they have real merit for one reason or another. Most titles represent a safe choice for those that find choosing a film difficult or are bewildered by Alice's depth and breadth...
For personal Staff Picks, you are cordially invited to take a journey into the mind's eye of Alice's movie mavens by clicking on the 'Staff Favourites' link (stage left). Click on the Alice Guide of your choice, and take an ushered journey through the looking glass and into their personal cinematic wonderland.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
7.3/10
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Go...
Internationally famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew - Team Zissou - set sail on an expedition to hunt down the mysterious, el... Read more
The Lobster (2015)
7.1/10
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: John C Reilly, Rachel Weisz, Colin Farrell, Olivia Colman, Ben Whishaw, Ashley J...
In the world of Yorgos Lanthimos wily jet black satire of socially enforced coupledom, single adults are required to find a partner within 45 days or... Read more
Submarine (2010)
7.3/10
Director: Richard Ayoade
Starring: Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige
Young Oliver Tate's coming of age is coming even sooner than expected. Prone to daydreaming, listening to French crooners, and indulging other self-ab... Read more
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
9.3/10
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, Tim Robbins, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bello...
Director Frank Darabont's powerful adaptation of the novella by Stephen King stars Tim Robbins as a man serving two life sentences in New England's Sh... Read more
The Birdcage (1996)
7/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Christine Baranski, Dianne Wiest, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, Cal...
This American version of 'La Cage Aux Folles' features the performances of Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and Gene Hackman. About a gay couple who must '... Read more
Calvary (2014)
7.4/10
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Starring: Aidan Gillen, Brendan Gleeson, M Emmet Walsh, Dylan Moran, Marie-Josee Croze, Ch...
One Sunday morning, like any other Sunday morning, in a sleepy western Irish coastal town, Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) is taking confession... Read more
The Thing (1982)
8.1/10
Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat
John Carpenter's under-rated remake of the 1951 classic actually follows the original source material (John W Campbell, Jr.s 'Who Goes There?') more c... Read more
Black Mirror: The Collection (2011)
8.9/10
"Black Mirror" is Charlie Brooker's biting satire on technology and modern media. Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every asp... Read more
Paradise Now (2005)
7.5/10
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Lubna Azabal, Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Amer Hlehel
Golden Globe's Best Foreign Film is this taut drama concerning two Palestinian friends who have signed up to become suicide bombers. They are assigne... Read more
Matchstick Men (2003)
7.3/10
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Bruce McGill, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman
Obsessive-compulsive con artist Nicolas Cage and partner Sam Rockwell make good livings with slick scams in the Los Angeles area. Cage believes he has... Read more