Several times during Rocketman young Reggie Dwight reappears in Elton John's life, even as the singer-songwriter is trying to escape him, before he realises that little Reggie is the anchor for everything. Elton's childhood was often bleak. Yet despite this film's honest depictions of loneliness, addiction and despair, Rocketman is a joyous and boisterous ... Rocketman Read More
Featured review
Sometimes Always Never (London Film Festival) 4 stars
*** Read my interview with director Carl Hunter *** Finally, a story about the beautiful game that isn't boring or dependent on stereotypical ideas of its ... Sometimes Always Never (London Film Festival) Read More
Featured review
Late Night (Sundance London) 3 stars
When late night chat show host Katherine Newbury is told she's being replaced, she finally has to face her writers' room. Literally, as most of the men in there have ... Late Night (Sundance London) Read More
Film Articles & News
COMPETITIONS! Your chance to win films…
I've got two great competition prizes for you – a blu-ray of super-tense (and super-chilly) Mads Mikkelsen survival thriller Arctic, and a DVD of Steven Spielberg classic Saving Private Ryan, which was re-released this month. Entering is easy; just email your ... COMPETITIONS! Your chance to win films… Read More
Kursk: The Last Mission trailer – Schoenaerts stars in tragic story of supposedly unsinkable sub
I'm expecting heroism but no happy ending with this one, as Kursk: The Last Mission is based on a true – and desperately sad – story from 19 years ago, when the Russian Kursk submarine ended up on the ocean floor after a terrible fire. All 118 of the crew ... Kursk: The Last Mission trailer – Schoenaerts stars in tragic story of supposedly unsinkable sub Read More
The “Bait” trailer is here, and I will be carping on about it all summer
Okay that's the only fish pun as I used them up in my review of Fisherman's Friends. I saw Bait last week and I can confirm it is just as extraordinary (in a good way) as the quotes on the trailer say it is. There's a magic to writer-director Mark ... The “Bait” trailer is here, and I will be carping on about it all summer Read More
Director-producer Rita Osei on her journey to bring Bliss! to the big screen
"A boy at the end of the Seville screening came up and said 'I want to be a dad now. A real dad'." Rita Osei is the director-producer of Bliss!, set in North East England and Norway. Bliss! follows Tasha, a 16 year old girl with a seemingly indifferent ... Director-producer Rita Osei on her journey to bring Bliss! to the big screen Read More
“Sometimes, Always, Never” director Carl Hunter on mods, muzjiks and his Merseyside movie
"Scrabble as a motif, order can be created, things can be put right. But you've just got to know the rules and be willing to play." Carl Hunter, director of Sometimes, Always, Never. Film director Carl Hunter used to play in Liverpool band The ... “Sometimes, Always, Never” director Carl Hunter on mods, muzjiks and his Merseyside movie Read More
Toy Story 4 premiere cast soundbites (Yes he is. Those who are tired of Keanu are tired of life)
The stars were out for the Toy Story 4 premiere in LA – check out their short interviews below and find out their thoughts on the film (clue: they like it) and Keanu Reeves' favourite Toy Story character (clue: it rhymes with Go Sheep. I mean Guzz Biteyer. I ... Toy Story 4 premiere cast soundbites (Yes he is. Those who are tired of Keanu are tired of life) Read More
Banning battles to clear his name in Angel Has Fallen’s NEW international trailer
"There are moments of struggle that define us" says President Allan Trumbull to Mike Banning, a bit like me trying to get some poor sucker to look after my unruly kids in August when this is released (bang in the middle of the school holidays!) This is the ... Banning battles to clear his name in Angel Has Fallen’s NEW international trailer Read More
24 years after Braveheart, Angus Macfadyen is back as Robert the Bruce
HISTORICAL EPIC: ✔️ BEARDS: ✔️ SWORDS: ✔️ SCOTLAND: ✔️ MUD: ✔️. EXCITEMENT RATING: ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️/5 Angus Macfadyen is back as Robert the Bruce, nearly a quarter of a century after playing the Scottish hero in Braveheart – though this new film is set in ... 24 years after Braveheart, Angus Macfadyen is back as Robert the Bruce Read More
INTERVIEW: Stephen Koepfer, Sambo expert on John Wick: Parabellum
"The notion that Wick is a Sambo guy is super cool. Sambo players around the globe should be jazzed about that!" Stephen Koepfer The John Wick franchise is known for its creation of an underground world of assassins and fighters, an off-kilter parallel ... INTERVIEW: Stephen Koepfer, Sambo expert on John Wick: Parabellum Read More
Director Matt Wells on Kubrick, comedy in catastrophe and bringing Dr Strangelove’s chilling absurdities to a new audience
"Kubrick says it in the film, it's an abstraction and people don't process it. How do you deal with the idea that the world could end?" Matt Wells has just made his second short film about Stanley Kubrick: Stanley Kubrick Considers The Bomb. You can see ... Director Matt Wells on Kubrick, comedy in catastrophe and bringing Dr Strangelove’s chilling absurdities to a new audience Read More
INTERVIEW: Oscar-winning costume director Michael O’Connor
"During the preparation of it I thought I'll never work again. This is never ever going to happen, this is never going to be ready..." Costume director Michael O'Connor on his Oscar-winning work for The Duchess. Hearing first-hand from award-winning costume ... INTERVIEW: Oscar-winning costume director Michael O’Connor Read More
Surfacing Now – Six Submarine Movies To Dive Into
The red posters. The blue boilersuits. A tagline with a water-related pun. The phrase "cat and mouse". The seawater squirting into the missile room when the boat suffers a mild tap. You can't beat a good submarine movie. I'll admit I'm conflicted now. On ... Surfacing Now – Six Submarine Movies To Dive Into Read More