A musical set in a stranded New York subway car? Where three women and three men, from very different backgrounds, finally start talking? It’s not the breaking into song which seems unbelievable – I’ve seen that several times on the Tube in London (when I say seen, it’s been through half-closed eyelids, pretending to be… Stuck Read More
Her Smell 3.5 stars
For a film about music and musicians, the soundtrack to Her Smell is less about the songs, and more about the chanting, stomping fans out in front of the stage – in love with Becky Something, and furious with her at the same time. Becky (a riveting Elisabeth Moss), lead singer with punk rock band Something… Her Smell Read More
Missing Link 4 stars
“These are dark days. Electricity. Suffrage. Evolution!” So says Lord Piggot-Dunceby, head of the Optimates Club – a London home-from-home for posh, white, male 19th century explorers (is that description tautological?) It’s a club which wealthy explorer Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) is desperate to join, though Piggot-Dunceby has no intention of allowing anyone who believes… Missing Link Read More
30 Miles From Nowhere 3 stars
After so many horror films about teens and college kids facing their doom, their friendships unravelling in the face of danger, it’s refreshing that this time it’s the older but not wiser getting their comeuppance. With the youngsters I tend to bear in mind how much of an annoying, supercilious whiner I was at that age… 30 Miles From Nowhere Read More
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote 3.5 stars
“This is a marvellous day for adventures!” says film director Toby as Gilliam’s highly enjoyable film meanders to a close, by which point Toby has finally found a rarely-reached freedom. A hot, sweaty buddy movie, both dreamy and nightmarish, little is as it seems in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Gilliam’s film is based… The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Read More
Pet Sematary (2019) 3 stars
Nothing sums up the difference between city and country in Pet Sematary better than the story of the reanimated prize bull. The people of Ludlow in rural Maine combine practicality and belief in old legends, encapsulated by the tale of a local farmer who used a supernatural burial ground to bring back his most valuable animal…. Pet Sematary (2019) Read More
Valley Of The Dolls 2 stars
I knew the clothes would be terrific when I spotted Handbags by… in the opening credits. And it’s the outfits (along with the unintentionally fevered atmosphere) which stretches this film up to two stars. Small town girl turned New York secretary turned Hollywood model Anne Welles is elegant in a yellow maxi dress, a tight… Valley Of The Dolls Read More
The Vanishing 4 stars
There’s a brutal scene half-way through The Vanishing, director Kristoffer Nyholm’s “what if?” take on the Flannan Isle mystery. It’s a fight between lighthouse keepers James Ducat (Gerard Butler) and Thomas Marshall (Peter Mullan), and two violent Scandinavian men who’ve appeared looking for their missing chest of gold. James, dark-haired and bearded, big and brawny, takes… The Vanishing Read More
Cotton Wool (Short Film) Short Film 3.5 stars
There are a couple of statistics that pop up at the end of Nicholas Connor’s short film Cotton Wool. The first, on the number of young carers in England and Wales (243,000) is shocking enough. The second is heartbreaking: that 22,000 of those young carers are under the age of 9. And his film shows just… Cotton Wool (Short Film) Read More
Dumbo (2D) 2.5 stars
Never let a mother hear you call her baby ugly. Like elephants, we never forget. Poor Dumbo (though at this point he’s just known as Baby Jumbo) is a disappointment when he’s born, looks-wise. Maximilian Medici, owner-ringmaster of the Medici Brothers Circus, is expecting the little elephant to make him a fortune, but those enormous… Dumbo (2D) Read More
Wild Rose 4 stars
Wild Rose is about realising that to find your own dream you first have to find your own voice. Director Tom Harper gets us to that dream via a cracking script from Nicole Taylor and a barnstorming and profoundly moving performance from Jessie Buckley as the fresh-out-of-jail country singer Rose-Lynn. With two children by the time… Wild Rose Read More
Wonder Park 3 stars
If you’re watching the British version of Wonder Park you’re in for a treat, as the legendary Tom Baker is playing Boomer the blue bear. It’s a perfect nod to nostalgic parents of a certain age (ie my age), and he certainly adds a (sorry) booming warmth to proceedings. “Use it or lose it” could… Wonder Park Read More
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