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
The Shape Of Water 5 stars
This is an ode to gods and monsters, and fittingly it is set in the early 1960s – when America has become used to strange creatures on screen, warning us of our failings as a species, or terrifying us into submission. And with so many B-movies allegories for East-West relations, it’s also appropriate that The… The Shape Of Water Read More
Downsizing 3 stars
Downsizing could have been a burning satire on social save-the-planet activism being twisted to support the newly idle, newly rich. But instead it becomes an apocalyptic tale about the power of love. Which is all very well but has nothing to do with being small, apart from only needing an ark from Toys ‘R’ Us…. Downsizing Read More
All The Money In The World 4 stars
“A man who has children gives hostages to fortune” said billionaire miser J. Paul Getty’s own father to him, a maxim that is not about money but about saying or doing something that sets you up for trouble in the future. Though in this case it is both, as descendants of billionaires are obvious kidnap… All The Money In The World Read More
Justice League 4 stars
When it comes to superhero films I’ve ploughed a lonely furrow over the years, as try as I might, I can’t get my head round a grown man dressing up as a bat to fight crime. But thanks to Justice League I have finally found someone else like me. Step forward… Aquaman! The man from… Justice League Read More
Thor: Ragnarok 3D 4 stars
If, like me, you don’t know your avenger from your enemy, don’t worry. Thor: Ragnarok is full of useful exposition that’s wittily done. In fact the whole film is awash with gags. You could call its humour Shakespearean, as slapstick punctures the bumptuousness and self-aggrandisement of the film’s heroes and anti-heroes, and if that isn’t… Thor: Ragnarok 3D Read More