Cinema
Wikipedia does more justice to this fascinating story than this film: Chevalier reviewed
Chevalier is a biopic of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, whom you’ve probably never heard of, as I hadn’t. He…
I may never recover: Sisu reviewed
When I went into the Sisu screening I knew only that it was a Finnish film, so was expecting an…
Warm, charming and tender: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret reviewed
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is an adaptation of Judy Blume’s seminal young adult novel (1970) about an…
Deeply moving but bleak: Plan 75 reviewed
Plan 75 is a dystopian Japanese drama about a government-sponsored euthanasia programme introduced to address Japan’s ageing society. Aged 75…
I cried twice: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry reviewed
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is an excellent adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s bestselling novel (2012) about a retired old…
So tastelessly disturbing it forgets to say anything: Sick of Myself reviewed
Sick of Myself is a satire from Norway that skewers the ‘look at me, look at me’ generation addicted to…
Reframes Patricia Highsmith as a gay icon – and ignores her anti-Semitism: Loving Highsmith reviewed
I first discovered writer Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train, Carol, the five Ripley novels) as a young teenager working…
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Godland reviewed
Godland is a film to see on the big screen: not just for its awesome, immersive cinematography, but because it…
Emma Watson’s performance is extraordinary: God’s Creatures reviewed
There are some films that you know will be quality simply by the actors who have agreed to be in…
I never knew a game of dominoes could be so menacing: The Beasts reviewed
The Beasts is a rural psychological thriller from Spain that has won many awards across Europe and even though we…
Made me laugh for all the wrong reasons: Allelujah reviewed
Allelujah, based on the stage play by Alan Bennett, is set in a geriatric ward in a Yorkshire hospital and…
So formulaic I could have written it: Champions reviewed
Champions is an underdog sports movie starring Woody Harrelson as a baseball coach forced to take on a team with…
Devastating: Close reviewed
The Belgian film Close, written and directed by Lukas Dhont, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes and is up…
Bravely shows that depressed people can be quite annoying: The Son reviewed
For my money – and lots of other people’s – Florian Zeller’s 2020 film The Father was pretty much a…
Eight angry women
Women Talking, which has received Oscar nominations for best picture and adapted screenplay, is one of those films that, on…
Both compelling and repulsive: The Whale reviewed
I can’t work out if Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which stars Brendan Fraser as a man weighing 600lb – that’s…
Cheesy but full of love: The Fabelmans reviewed
There can’t be anyone anywhere who hasn’t somehow been touched by a Steven Spielberg film. Some of us, for example,…
Riveting: Tár reviewed
Todd Field’s Tár stars an insanely glorious Cate Blanchett – if she doesn’t win an Oscar I’ll eat my hat…
I beg Sam Mendes to stop writing his own scripts: Empire of Light reviewed
Sam Mendes’s Empire of Light, which he wrote as well as directed, is billed as a ‘love letter to cinema’…
Mesmerisingly sad: Corsage reviewed
Corsage is a biopic of Empress Elisabeth of Austria who was prized for her beauty and fashion sense and may…
Why bother calling it White Noise when it’s just another Noah Baumbach film? White Noise reviewed
These days, everyone who was knocking around a few decades ago predicted the internet. Marshall McLuhan famously predicted the internet…
Quiet yet beautiful – and there’s plenty of sex: Lady Chatterley’s Lover reviewed
If you’re of my generation, I expect your first encounter with D.H Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover was the (well-thumbed) book…
