The joy when writing about Shaun the Sheep movies partly comes from not having to spend time afterwards trying to decipher key quotes that I’ve written down in the dark. No one actually speaks, except to utter the occasional “arghhh!” and “ugh”, and though I’ve often scribbled those exact words in response to other, lesser films,… Shaun The Sheep: Farmageddon Read More
Abominable 4 stars
This is the third family film about mythical apes in a year, after Smallfoot and the sadly underseen Missing Link. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing though – even the most cynical child (they do exist, I used to be one) will be delighted by Everest the yeti, who when rolled up resembles a giant fluffy snowball…. Abominable Read More
Joker 4 stars
Gritty and grubby, garish and loud, violent and depressing, Joker is a blunt instrument of a movie – though it is a good movie. Joaquin Phoenix, as Batman’s future nemesis, is superb, his downward spiral inverted into an ascent to antihero status as Gotham seethes and then explodes. Joker has already got its own discourse…. Joker Read More
Don’t Let Go 2.5 stars
I’m sure most of us would like to alter our past to improve on our present. If I could, you’d be reading this in The Guardian, a paper that would no longer, once I’d gone back far enough with my red pen, be susceptible to typos. That’s assuming it all went to plan and my… Don’t Let Go Read More
Angel Has Fallen 4 stars
American movie presidents can only make us wistful nowadays, and in Angel Has Fallen the White House is graced by Morgan Freeman himself, as President Allan Trumbull. Yes there is a god, probably also played by Morgan Freeman. Trumbull has been promoted since London Has Fallen, Mike Banning’s last batshit outing, when taking on hundreds… Angel Has Fallen Read More
Hail Satan? 4.5 stars
Stirring in both senses, Penny Lane’s documentary is an authentic and witty call to arms against an increasingly corrupt and oppressive State. The Salem-based Satanic Temple’s publicity stunts have the power to shock the Religious Right while leaving the rest of us giggling silently. “How do you fuck with Fred Phelps”, asks co-founder Malcolm Jarry. You… Hail Satan? Read More
Notorious (4k re-release) 4.5 stars
Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious (rereleased by the BFI in a stunning 4K restoration) pairs Cary Grant with Ingrid Bergman in a nail-biting thriller where an investigation into South American Nazi enclaves becomes entangled with the messiness of human relationships – as both the chilly Devlin and urbane Nazi Alex Sebastian fall in love with Alicia, the German-American daughter of… Notorious (4k re-release) Read More
Charlie Says 3 stars
Charlie says a lot in this film, most of it absolute rubbish. Mary Harron’s movie isn’t about Charles Manson though, but about three women, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins, imprisoned for horrific murders committed at his behest: their reactions to him, and to each other. There’s almost a love triangle going on… Charlie Says Read More
The Dead Don’t Die 3.5 stars
The Dead Don’t Die is allegory with the occasional big dose of very pleasing karma thrown in, along with some intestines. And a lot of dry humour, as otherworldly yet Scottish undertaker Zelda (Tilda Swinton), making up two dead golfers with day-glow eye make up, spits out an accusatory “are you in this together?” at… The Dead Don’t Die Read More
Toy Story 4 4.5 stars
Homemade toy Forky, unable to comprehend that he is alive, and then unwilling to accept his new role as a plaything, is desperate to be disposed of as a used spork should be. For him trash means warm and safe, and his constant attempts to throw himself in the rubbish basket (with “get in… Toy Story 4 Read More
Solo: A Star Wars Story (Cannes 2018) 3.5 stars
Solo is terrific fun, a blast, a movie that never feels too long. But also doesn’t quite reach the heights it aspires to. WARNING – this is slightly spoilery, including Han and Chewy, so if you want to go into the cinema in blissful ignorance about this and some other plot points, leave now, with… Solo: A Star Wars Story (Cannes 2018) Read More
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 3.5 stars
There’s a cosiness to the word-count guzzling Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, in a lie-back-and-think-of-postwar-England kind of way. We know what we’re going to get: fabulous 1940s fashions (wide-leg high waisted jeans, here I come); clattering typewriters; bosom-hoiking landladies; beautiful views. Plus love, loss, and employment for several British national treasures. But it… The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Read More