Film
A James Bond film with added physics no one understands: Tenet reviewed
Tenet is the latest high-concept, time-bending blockbuster from Christopher Nolan and it’s the film that (unofficially) reopens cinemas in the…
Why have they made Pinocchio look like Freddy Krueger?
Matteo Garrone’s live-action version of Pinocchio is visually sumptuous and there are some enchanting characters (my favourite: Snail). And unlike…
Heavy-handed satire and schmaltz: American Pickle reviewed
American Pickle is a comedy based on a short story by Simon Rich, originally published in the New Yorker, and…
Cancelling Kindergarten Cop is a step too far
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s late-Eighties to early-Nineties comedies have not gone down in history as great triumphs. Films like Junior and Twins…
An extraordinary debut: Make Up reviewed
Make Up is the first full-length film from writer–director Claire Oakley, set in an out-of-season holiday park on the Cornish…
Worth catching the virus for: Saint Frances reviewed
Two films about young women this week, one at the cinema, if you dare, and one to stream, if you…
Held me so fast I was outbid on eBay: Clemency reviewed
Clemency stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden on death row whose job is beginning to take its toll, and…
Drive-in cinemas are back – but for how long?
Tanya Gold on the rise and fall of drive-in cinema
I want to support cinema but I have my work cut out with Love Sarah
Some cinemas have reopened, with the rest to follow by the end of the month, thankfully. But the big, hotly…
Dysfunctional music for dysfunctional people: The Public Image is Rotten reviewed
A star is born, but instead of emerging into the world beaming for the cameras, he spits and snarls and…
Fascinatingly weird – but not satisfyingly weird: Herzog’s Family Romance LLC reviewed
In the past Werner Herzog has given us a man pushing a ship up a mountain, a 16th-century conquistador going…
A true story that never feels true: Resistance reviewed
Resistance stars Jesse Eisenberg and tells the true story of how mime artist Marcel Marceau helped orphaned Jewish children to…
Messy but absolutely necessary: Da 5 Bloods reviewed
Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is about four African-American vets who return to Vietnam to locate the body of their…
The art of the incel
The roots of incel subculture – and its magnificent memes – stretch back to Goethe’s Werther and beyond, says Nina Power
Why, Woody, why? A Rainy Day in New York reviewed
A Rainy Day in New York is Woody Allen’s 49th film and it’s not been without its troubles. When accusations…
Top of my must-watch mustn't-watch: Cats revisited
At the outset of lockdown I gave you my list of top mustn’t-watch films — that is, the ones that…
I have never cared more about the price of milk in Iceland: The County reviewed
You may be asking yourself: have I reached that point in lockdown where I’m watching Icelandic dramas about the price…
The best Macbeths to watch online
The world’s greatest playwright ought to be dynamite at the movies. But it’s notoriously hard to turn a profit from…
Who can still make a Sunday joint last a week?
Sunday lunch was always roast beef and, in the traditional way, the Yorkshire pudding was served first with gravy, supposedly…
Why does anyone still rate Vertigo and its creepy, wonky plot?
Here’s something that may interest you. Or not. (Could go either way.) I was looking over Sight & Sound’s ‘100…
Riveting – and disgusting: BFI's 'Dogs v Cats' and 'Eating In' collections reviewed
This week I’d like to point you in the direction of the British Film Institute and its free online archive…
Not merely funny but somehow also joyous: Sky One's Brassic reviewed
Danny Brocklehurst, the scriptwriter for Sky One’s Brassic, used to work for Shameless in its glory days — although if…
The importance of sadism in writing a great screenplay
How do you tell a great story? According to Craig Mazin, you have to be a sadist. ‘As a writer,…
Too much photocopying but stick with it: The Assistant reviewed
First, the latest digital film release: The Assistant, starring Julia Garner in a slowly, slowly, catchy, catchy tale that won’t…
From Middlemarch to Mickey Mouse: a short history of The Spectator’s books and arts pages
The Spectator arts and books pages have spent 10,000 issues identifying the dominant cultural phenomena of the day and being difficult about them, says Richard Bratby
