I am the real Claudine, the young women of Paris all cry, as Colette’s series of novels about a young French woman hit a nerve. Born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (she shortens her name later as she starts to create a new identity for herself as the author of her books), she is a woman ahead of… Colette (London Film Festival) Read More
Border (London Film Festival) 4 stars
Border is a grown-up fairytale and a love story, and while it’s certainly not for children it has that mix of light and the darkness that traditional fairy tales used to have, making them both beautiful and unnerving. Myths and legends – those stories we really want to be true – entwine with an age-old… Border (London Film Festival) Read More
Suspiria (1977) 3.5 stars
Dario Argento’s 1977 classic is alternately a feast for the senses and an assault on them. Lurid, stylised, and inescapable, if it feels like that for us watching, imagine what it’s like for poor Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper), new student at the famous German dance academy in Freiberg and gradually realising that her new home… Suspiria (1977) Read More
Johnny English Strikes Again 2.5 stars
Johnny English isn’t the only relic in MI7, brought in when a cyber attack on British Intelligence outs all serving agents and the floundering Prime Minister has to find someone to take on the case. His methods and props are just as retro: a red Aston Martin that does about 15 miles to the gallon,… Johnny English Strikes Again Read More
Mandy (London Film Festival) 4 stars
“Weird shit” says Caruthers, who lives in an isolated forest caravan, of the activities of a terrifying near-demonic biker gang that his friend Red is planning to track down and kill. It’s a good description of both the gang and gleefully bloodthirsty action-horror Mandy, though it doesn’t go far enough. To be honest I had no… Mandy (London Film Festival) Read More
A Star Is Born (2018) 4 stars
A Star Is Born isn’t a comedy but there are moments when hollow laughter is the only correct response. The downward-spiralling rock legend Jackson Maine, snorting coke before going on stage at a pharmacology industry event, is one such moment. We love stories in balance, so a simultaneous rags to riches / riches to rags… A Star Is Born (2018) Read More
A Star Is Born (1976) 3 stars
*** Looking for the 2018 version? Check out my review here *** The 1976 version of A Star Is Born is gloriously over the top, lurid, and both self-obsessed and superficial in its obsessions. But so am I, so it’s no surprise I am now developing rather a liking for it. This is the third movie… A Star Is Born (1976) Read More
The Guilty (London Film Festival) 4.5 stars
“I have blood on my hands” says a character in the taut and dread-filled Danish thriller The Guilty over the phone, and it’s a chilling moment. We don’t see any of the fear or horrors that unfold in the movie, as all the dialogue – bar the odd office chat – is via phone conversations…. The Guilty (London Film Festival) Read More
Assassination Nation (London Film Festival) 3.5 stars
Assassination Nation – a noisy, bloody allegory for modern society – may feel like being whacked over the head by a righteously raging My Little Pony, but it’s also hugely entertaining. One of the problems with fighting back against a resurgence like Trump’s is that eventually people just get bored. They know he’s awful already. You… Assassination Nation (London Film Festival) Read More
Rocketman Teaser: More Spangles Than A Misremembered ’70s Sweetshop
And rejoice (while singing Tiny Dancer) as for once a movie life story doesn’t have to lead to a Twitter pile-on about how to pronounce biopic. (Bio-pic? By-OHH-pic?) Because the upcoming Elton John film is being billed as a “true fantasy”. So instead let’s argue over our favourite Elton John song, which is of course… Rocketman Teaser: More Spangles Than A Misremembered ’70s Sweetshop Read More
Holmes & Watson Trailer Is Certainly Elementary
Our queens have to put up with a lot when meeting the Great British Public, but Victoria’s audience with Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson at Buckingham Palace must stretch even her reserves of decorum to breaking point. She’s probably the only person who could maintain that blank expression, even more than me and I have… Holmes & Watson Trailer Is Certainly Elementary Read More
“Dusty & Me” Star Luke Newberry On Fitting In, Flares & “In The Flesh”
“Someone told me a quote about ‘being comfortable being uncomfortable’ and I think that was the best little nugget of advice I got” says Luke Newberry, about coping with the insecurity of an actor’s life. Though he went straight from drama school to filming Quartet, directed by Dustin Hoffman, then had a real introduction to… “Dusty & Me” Star Luke Newberry On Fitting In, Flares & “In The Flesh” Read More
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