Cinema
Downton Abbey on skis: Eddie the Eagle reviewed
I once forced some pals on a skiing holiday to spend an afternoon off the slopes watching Chalet Girl. Suffice…
Good clean fun
I once forced some pals on a skiing holiday to spend an afternoon off the slopes watching Chalet Girl. Suffice…
A devastating critique of the Indian justice system: Court reviewed
The big hitter this week is, of course, Batman v Superman, but if you want to learn something new, and…
Slow burn
The big hitter this week is, of course, Batman v Superman, but if you want to learn something new, and…
Incoherent and misogynistic: High-Rise reviewed
High-Rise is Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s novel, and it is deeply unpleasant, if not deeply, deeply unpleasant. (Ideally,…
Building block
High-Rise is Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s novel, and it is deeply unpleasant, if not deeply, deeply unpleasant. (Ideally,…
Anomalisa makes me wish all my sex was puppet sex
Anomalisa is an animated film written by Charlie Kaufman, and while the temptation is to label it a midlife crisis…
The human factor
Anomalisa is an animated film written by Charlie Kaufman, and while the temptation is to label it a midlife crisis…
Are the Coen Brothers taking us for a ride? Hail, Caesar! reviewed
The latest film from the Coen brothers is a comedy set during the ‘golden age’ of Hollywood and in some…
Ticket to ride
The latest film from the Coen brothers is a comedy set during the ‘golden age’ of Hollywood and in some…
What were they thinking? The Benefactor reviewed
The Benefactor is both a bad film and a thoroughly inexplicable one. It’s one of those what-were-they-thinking projects that wastes…
Bottom Gere
The Benefactor is both a bad film and a thoroughly inexplicable one. It’s one of those what-were-they-thinking projects that wastes…
Cinema needs films like Chronic – just not a lot of them
Scholarly filmgoers may recall a movement that sprouted from Danish soil called Dogme 95. It worked to a Spartan set…
Touching the void
Scholarly filmgoers may recall a movement that sprouted from Danish soil called Dogme 95. It worked to a Spartan set…
What on earth was Ben Stiller thinking? Zoolander 2 reviewed
‘I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking,’ said a pouty Derek Zoolander…
Fashion faux pas
‘I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking,’ said a pouty Derek Zoolander…
Watch it backwards – and then don’t stay for long: Dad’s Army reviewed
The TV sitcom Dad’s Army ran on the BBC from 1968 to 1977 (nine series, 80 episodes) with repeats still…
It’s doomed!
The TV sitcom Dad’s Army ran on the BBC from 1968 to 1977 (nine series, 80 episodes) with repeats still…
A worthy film that just doesn't fly: Spotlight reviewed
Like The Revenant and The Big Short, Spotlight is yet another Oscar contender ‘based on true events’ — although it…
Doing the wrong thing
Like The Revenant and The Big Short, Spotlight is yet another Oscar contender ‘based on true events’ — although it…
Fascinating, sexy, improbably compelling and scathingly funny: The Big Short reviewed
The Big Short is a drama about the American financial collapse of 2008. It talks you through sub-prime mortgages, tranches,…
On the money
The Big Short is a drama about the American financial collapse of 2008. It talks you through sub-prime mortgages, tranches,…
I admired it - but also desperately wanted it to end: The Revenant reviewed
The Revenant is a survival-against-the-odds film that so puts Leonardo DiCaprio through it I bet he was thinking, ‘I wish…
Endurance test
The Revenant is a survival-against-the-odds film that so puts Leonardo DiCaprio through it I bet he was thinking, ‘I wish…
Not as good as the book, but good enough: Room reviewed
This is the week of The Hateful Eight, the latest Quentin Tarantino film, but Tarantino being Tarantino, there were no…
