Less one big plot than a series of minor inconveniences dressed up as one (though you could argue that for the rich, a minor inconvenience is a great big plot), the only internationally important event that takes place in Downton Abbey is then treated as a minor inconvenience. Sumptuous though the film is to look at, Julian… Downton Abbey Read More
Podcast: me and my favourite movie
The man, the myth, the legend… Yes I’m talking about Tom Beasley: super-knowledgable film journalist and host of Flickering Myth‘s weekly podcast Pick of the Flicks, where critics and movie industry people discuss their favourite film. It was my first podcast guest spot and I won’t keep you in suspense any longer about which film… Podcast: me and my favourite movie Read More
“I’m not a career elf!” – the Last Christmas international trailer is here
*** Read my review of Last Christmas *** And this one goes in much more heavily on the dark side of the festive season. In this case it’s the illness Kate (Emilia Clarke) suffered the previous Christmas, which left her near death. 12 months on, the experience still has her in its grip and she… “I’m not a career elf!” – the Last Christmas international trailer is here Read More
Freaks 3.5 stars
Freaks is a neat little sci fi thriller, heavy on allegory but satisfyingly self-contained – answering all the questions it sets up. My life is a search for answers, though usually of the “is that chewed-up paper next to the dog my film notes or my son’s homework” variety, so it was gratifying to get… Freaks Read More
Shiny Shrimps 3.5 stars
The Shiny Shrimps, a comedy about a team of useless water polo players heading to the Gay Games, comes, um, warm on the heels of last year’s La Grand Bain (known as Sink Or Swim in the UK), about a useless men’s synchronised swimming team training for a championship, and Swimming With Men, a film about… Shiny Shrimps Read More
It Chapter Two 3 stars
A return to old haunts and a slaying of one’s demons; a fear that if they fail, heads will roll. It Chapter Two is one of the more obvious movie metaphors, though make your own minds up on the ongoing gag that the adult Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), a famous author, is terrible at endings…. It Chapter Two Read More
Rapid Response 3.5 stars
“When I was growing up I would get a favourite race driver and he might be killed two weeks later. So I’d get another favourite race driver. He’d get killed two or three weeks later.” In a film stuffed with “what?!” moments, medic and lifelong motor racing fan Dr Stephen Olvey’s comment really brings home… Rapid Response Read More
The Witches 4 stars
A young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse. Its nearly three decades since this film came out. Watching it now – and yes I know that viewing old films through modern eyes can be as problematic as the “issues” that have, in… The Witches Read More
“ANIARA” INTERVIEW: directors Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja on updating a Swedish sci fi classic for the 21st century
“What I never understood before meeting Hugo is that sci-fi, it’s a lot about philosophy.” Pella Kågerman Swedish sci fi film Aniara is based on a well-known poem written in the 1950s by Harry Martinson, who later went on to become Sweden’s poet laureate. Originally written as his response to the hydrogen bomb tests, directors Pella… “ANIARA” INTERVIEW: directors Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja on updating a Swedish sci fi classic for the 21st century Read More
“ANIARA” INTERVIEW: space captain Arvin Kananian
“The weight on his shoulders make him a little bit psycho after a while. But he’s doing it for you guys, he’s always doing it for you guys.” Arvin Kananian on the captain of a drifting spaceship. Arvin Kananian plays the Chefone, or Captain, of the Aniara – a shuttle spaceship taking passengers from an abandoned Earth… “ANIARA” INTERVIEW: space captain Arvin Kananian Read More
Director Mark Jenkin on Bait, his black and white Cornish classic-in-the-making
“There are shots in the film that I know were taken from rolls of film that I must have been processing when I was wearing a woolly jumper, because I can see the little bits of fibres.” Mark Jenkin on his film-making process. Bait, Jenkin’s beautiful and jolting film, looks at the gentrification of a… Director Mark Jenkin on Bait, his black and white Cornish classic-in-the-making Read More
Bait 4.5 stars
Martin is a fisherman without a boat, his brother Steven having re-purposed it as a tourist tripper. With their childhood home now a get-away for London money, Martin is displaced to the estate above the harbour. Despite its tough subject matter, there’s a magic saturating writer-director Mark Jenkin’s film, shot on a vintage 16mm camera… Bait Read More
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