nostalgia
I Am Mother
Until a recent general improvement in story output, the problem with many Netflix productions seemed to be an eschewing of rigorous script assessment, likely attributable to the subscription model prioritising quantity over quality. I Am Mother, a Netflix production from 2018,
I Am Mother
Until a recent general improvement in story output, the problem with many Netflix productions seemed to be an eschewing of rigorous script assessment, likely attributable to the subscription model prioritising quantity over quality. I Am Mother, a Netflix production from 2018,
The Shape of Water
Some strong elements combine to achieve less than their sum. A fine cast acts out some hot topics and at the helm is the director possibly trying harder than anyone else today to make movies that look good. It does
The Shape of Water
Some strong elements combine to achieve less than their sum. A fine cast acts out some hot topics and at the helm is the director possibly trying harder than anyone else today to make movies that look good. It does
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
For the first ten minutes or so there is nagging despair, even mourning. It feels like an awkward Star Wars themed high school reunion in a room littered with lifeless artefacts, with Disney and JJ Abrams strutting around bragging “lookit all
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
For the first ten minutes or so there is nagging despair, even mourning. It feels like an awkward Star Wars themed high school reunion in a room littered with lifeless artefacts, with Disney and JJ Abrams strutting around bragging “lookit all
The Big Sleep (1946)
Forty-something private detective Humphrey Bogart finds himself on the case in the City of Available Young Women, chasing tails and kicking arses. The biggest mistake you could make with this putative noir classic is rewinding to try and work out
The Big Sleep (1946)
Forty-something private detective Humphrey Bogart finds himself on the case in the City of Available Young Women, chasing tails and kicking arses. The biggest mistake you could make with this putative noir classic is rewinding to try and work out
Birdman
The power of the superhero, like any hero, is also a weakness, a shadow. So the hero rejects his special powers in a quest to be human, But he fails because it means he rejects part of himself and leaves his world
Birdman
The power of the superhero, like any hero, is also a weakness, a shadow. So the hero rejects his special powers in a quest to be human, But he fails because it means he rejects part of himself and leaves his world
Only Lovers Left Alive
The perenniality of the vampire genre derives from its capacity for reinvention. Its form mimics its content in similar fashion to the zombie genre, each transcending death. In Only Lovers Left Alive, the immortality of Jarmusch’s vampire couple is a perfect foil
Only Lovers Left Alive
The perenniality of the vampire genre derives from its capacity for reinvention. Its form mimics its content in similar fashion to the zombie genre, each transcending death. In Only Lovers Left Alive, the immortality of Jarmusch’s vampire couple is a perfect foil
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coens tell a story of the man who would not be Bob Dylan with such relentless unapologetic deflation that it actually feels like something out of the end of the sixties, like Midnight Cowboy or Medium Cool or Easy Rider (all
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coens tell a story of the man who would not be Bob Dylan with such relentless unapologetic deflation that it actually feels like something out of the end of the sixties, like Midnight Cowboy or Medium Cool or Easy Rider (all
Man Of Steel
This latest reboot posits a moral conflict over Superman’s earthly versus Kryptonian loyalties, yet it manages to extract little from them but a lot of brawling, and does nothing new with the character. The invading Krypto-fascists seem like a broad church.
Man Of Steel
This latest reboot posits a moral conflict over Superman’s earthly versus Kryptonian loyalties, yet it manages to extract little from them but a lot of brawling, and does nothing new with the character. The invading Krypto-fascists seem like a broad church.
On The Road
Kerouac’s tale of his friendship with Neil Cassady (nee Dean Moriarty) plays like a journey of the apostles, as a lost tribe of disaffected youths pursue this charismatic narcissist back and forth across America. Rarely does a film let you
On The Road
Kerouac’s tale of his friendship with Neil Cassady (nee Dean Moriarty) plays like a journey of the apostles, as a lost tribe of disaffected youths pursue this charismatic narcissist back and forth across America. Rarely does a film let you
The Artist
Despite Jean Dujardin being a virtuoso charmer and perfectly cast, the falling star of the silent screen he plays here is a disagreeable prima donna – ungrateful, self pitying and sinfully proud. There are inspired strokes of visual invention, but
The Artist
Despite Jean Dujardin being a virtuoso charmer and perfectly cast, the falling star of the silent screen he plays here is a disagreeable prima donna – ungrateful, self pitying and sinfully proud. There are inspired strokes of visual invention, but
A Dangerous Method
A fine production of a story that seems like it should have had far more to say. A great deal is touched upon but little is explored beyond Sabina Spielrein’s interest in spanking. Spielrein is Jung’s first patient and it’s
A Dangerous Method
A fine production of a story that seems like it should have had far more to say. A great deal is touched upon but little is explored beyond Sabina Spielrein’s interest in spanking. Spielrein is Jung’s first patient and it’s
I Melt with You
A suicidally downbeat Big Chill for men, exploring the disappointment inherent to middle age. You grow up expecting the world but in the end you only get a life, and these forty-something school buddies on a vacation bender are grief
I Melt with You
A suicidally downbeat Big Chill for men, exploring the disappointment inherent to middle age. You grow up expecting the world but in the end you only get a life, and these forty-something school buddies on a vacation bender are grief
The Adventures of Tintin
This one divides the room, leaving me on the side that was waiting for the frenetic more is less dynamism to finally exhaust itself and allow me to leave the cinema. There was a hero’s journey in here somewhere, with
The Adventures of Tintin
This one divides the room, leaving me on the side that was waiting for the frenetic more is less dynamism to finally exhaust itself and allow me to leave the cinema. There was a hero’s journey in here somewhere, with
The Iron Lady
Thatcher without the thatcherism? It’s been described thus but the thatcherism is actually right there in the opening scene as a pinstriped yuppie queue-jumps doddering Maggie at the corner shop. Meryl earns her oscar and maintains a tradition of wins
The Iron Lady
Thatcher without the thatcherism? It’s been described thus but the thatcherism is actually right there in the opening scene as a pinstriped yuppie queue-jumps doddering Maggie at the corner shop. Meryl earns her oscar and maintains a tradition of wins
Midnight in Paris
Owen Wilson is the 10th Woody, you know like David Tennant is the 10th Doctor. The first Woody began deploying effigies of himself when they started to say he had grown too old too disgracefully. Hell, he even married Rosemary’s
Midnight in Paris
Owen Wilson is the 10th Woody, you know like David Tennant is the 10th Doctor. The first Woody began deploying effigies of himself when they started to say he had grown too old too disgracefully. Hell, he even married Rosemary’s
Hugo
Marty seems out of his element in so many ways here – probably roughly equal to the number of ways in which this highly polished turd is… just that. Moretz and Kingsley bring enough charm to the table to make
Hugo
Marty seems out of his element in so many ways here – probably roughly equal to the number of ways in which this highly polished turd is… just that. Moretz and Kingsley bring enough charm to the table to make