Rivetingly moving: Can You Ever Forgive Me? reviewed
Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a true story based on the 2008 memoir of Lee Israel, the writer who…
Boy, does Nicole Kidman look terrible: Destroyer reviewed
Destroyer is an LA noir starring Nicole Kidman ‘as you have never seen her before’. Her hair is terrible. Her…
A slog – and why does Elizabeth look like Ronald McDonald? Mary Queen of Scots reviewed
Mary Queen of Scots is a historical costume drama that, unlike The Favourite, does not breathe new life into the…
I don’t just recommend you see The Favourite. I command it
The Favourite is a period romp set during the reign of Queen Anne, but it’s not your average period romp.…
There’s something about Mary
So, Mary Poppins returns, and I was, of course, primed to be spiteful, as is my nature. Not a patch…
![Nothing much happens, yet there is so much to watch: Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma. [Photograph: Carlos Somonte/Netflix]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/8Decfilm.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Nothing much happens, yet there’s so much to watch: Roma reviewed
Roma is the latest film from Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity,Y Tu Mama Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and…
A major missed opportunity: Disobedience reviewed
Disobedience is an adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel about forbidden, lesbian love in orthodox Jewish north London, starring Rachel Weisz…
Forget Robin Hood and Girl in the Spider’s Web – Shoplifters is the film to see this week
The major releases this week are Robin Hood, as a big Hollywood retelling, and The Girl in the Spider’s Web,…
A mess: Fantastic Beasts reviewed
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the sequel to the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find…
Exquisite and riveting: Wildlife reviewed
Wildlife is an adaptation of the 1990 novel by Richard Ford about a family coming apart at the seams, and…
It’s like being trapped in an episode of Poldark: Peterloo reviewed
Mike Leigh’s Peterloo is one of those films where you keep waiting for it to get good, and waiting and…
Bleak, unflinching, oppressive, violent – and magical: Dogman reviewed
Matteo Garrone’s Dogman, which is Italy’s entry for the foreign language Oscar next year, is bleak, unflinching, oppressive, masculine (very),…
What was Neil Armstrong like? A complete bore if First Man is anything to go by
Damien Chazelle’s First Man is a biographical drama that follows Neil Armstrong in the decade leading up to the Apollo…
Lady Gaga is a revelation: A Star is Born reviewed
This version of A Star Is Born, starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is the fourth iteration (Janet Gaynor and…
Glenn Close rescues this clumsy new adaptation: The Wife reviewed
The Wife is an adaptation of the Meg Wolitzer novel (2003) and stars Glenn Close. Her performance is better than…
The invisible woman of French cinema: Faces Places reviewed
Faces Places is a documentary directed by Agnès Varda in collaboration with JR, the famous Parisian photographer and muralist (although,…
Just an average romcom – or am I being too old-trouty?: Crazy Rich Asians reviewed
The cast and producer of Crazy Rich Asians were present at the screening I attended and said a few words…
Sensation seeking
This adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play is handsomely mounted, as they say, and features a stellar cast (including Annette Bening,…
Oh dear: Yardie reviewed
Yardie is Idris Elba’s first film as a director and what I have to say isn’t what I wanted to…
If you think you can’t have too much Ian McEwan, then you are wrong
The Children Act is the third Ian McEwan film adaptation in 18 months (after The Child in Time and On…
Fascinating, powerful and brilliantly done: Apostasy reviewed
For many years I would chat genially with our local Jehovah, Stephen, who came door-to-door every few months or so,…
Dreary, familiar, empty watch – until Streep appears: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again reviewed
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again aims to do what it says on the can. That is, be Mamma Mia,…
Shamelessly derivative and, worse, asks us to root for asshats: Swimming with Men reviewed
Swimming with Men is a British drama-comedy starring Rob Brydon as a disaffected middle-aged accountant who joins his local male…
Leave No Trace is inaction-packed – yet it pulls you in and keeps you pulled in
Debra Granik, the writer-director who made quite a splash with Winter’s Bone (which launched the career of Jennifer Lawrence in…
No fear
Hereditary is the horror film that has been described as a ‘ride of pure terror’ and likened to The Exorcist…
