Elysium (2013)

Kinda like District 9, only kinda like not quite as good. Neill Blomkamp STOP WAVING THE FUCKING CAMERA AROUND!

Rating: 3/5

Side By Side (2012)

This feature length documentary tackling the subject of the move from film to digital in the movie world has been made with supremely auspicious timing, arriving at what may well prove to have been the pivotal moment in cinema history when the momentum of change tipped the balance away from essentially a century old format and into a digital world new and uncharted. Made even a year earlier or a year later, this may have been a very different beast.

Presented largely as a talking heads style debate with some of cinema's leading directors and cinematographers, Side By Side gathers the thoughts and feelings of those, old and new to the industry, who are living and working inside the guts of the machine and seeing their world changing irrevocably with every passing day. It's a dry and somewhat specialised topic to be sure, but for anyone interested in the history, future, technology and aesthetics of cinema, I highly recommend it.

Also features host Keanu Reeves essentially sitting in a chair and listening. I could be tempted to say it's his finest performance... but that would be childish.

Rating: 3/5