After IT last year I’ve avoided films involving colourful balloons and adorable small boys called Georgie, but this one rather took me by surprise. Luckily Mary Poppins Returns is not a horror in any sense but a beautiful fantasy, especially when little Annabel Banks calls a plumber for their flooded kitchen and he’s able to come… Mary Poppins Returns Read More
Holmes And Watson 1.5 stars
Terrible jokes, having to listen to the ageing Queen of England, coke for breakfast – if you’re desperate to escape a family Christmas and think a trip to the cinema is a good idea, just be warned that Holmes & Watson will give you more of the same. Covering onanism, breakfast drugs, a lactating Dr… Holmes And Watson Read More
Bird Box 3 stars
A stern and cold-voiced woman tells two 5 year olds named Boy and Girl that they’re going on a dangerous journey and if they don’t do what she says she will hurt them. It’s a frightening opening to this film about motherhood, not just because of the calamity it hints at but also because this… Bird Box Read More
Sometimes Always Never (London Film Festival) 4 stars
*** Read my interview with director Carl Hunter *** Finally, a story about the beautiful game that isn’t boring or dependent on stereotypical ideas of its players. Yes, I’m talking about Scrabble. Set near Liverpool in the North West, director Carl Hunter’s delightful film is witty and moving – and beautifully written by Frank Cottrell Boyce… Sometimes Always Never (London Film Festival) Read More
Aquaman 4 stars
Jason Momoa is a triumph as the sodden superhero, his Arthur Curry initially suffering that paradoxical yet all too familiar mixture of self-doubt and self-belief – before accepting that his place in Atlantean history is a role he was born to inhabit. Gritty and grubby, genial and eager, clever yet sometimes a bit clueless, Arthur… Aquaman Read More
The Old Man And The Gun 3 stars
“This story, also, is mostly true”, says the title card at the beginning of David Lowery’s stylish and witty film, presumably referring not just to facts but also because it is clearly Forrest’s truth, that myth of a smart and courteous gentleman thief who still threatens his victims, terribly politely, with a gun. The Old Man… The Old Man And The Gun Read More
Tulip Fever 2 stars
*** Read my interview with Tulip Fever’s Oscar-winning costume designer Michael O’Connor *** Around the turn of the 21st century we suffered the first dotcom crash, and new media employees like me went from working for start-up companies worth millions to unemployment and wondering why we had thought any of it was sustainable. Using our… Tulip Fever Read More
The Mercy 4 stars
The Mercy is based on a true story. If you don’t know the outcome, and don’t want to before you see the film, bookmark and come back later! Amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst’s emotional collapse, as he tries to non-stop circumnavigate the globe in his trimaran Teignmouth Electron, seems, in hindsight, inevitable. It’s clear from his… The Mercy Read More
Ralph Breaks The Internet 3.5 stars
It’s the city that never sleeps. An always-on, flashing lights-filled, metropolis with a dark underbelly. No not Swindon. This is the Internet, and whereas many of us find it intermittently breaks us, here it’s Ralph himself doing some serious damage – first when his videos go viral, and then when he lets loose a destructive… Ralph Breaks The Internet Read More
You Have Been Chosen (Short Film) Short Film 4 stars
Imagine an app that makes all your decisions for you, and you don’t even have to ask it anything. It just… knows. The best sci fi is tantalisingly close to a sort of reality, and You Have Been Chosen certainly fits the bill. It’s both frightening and highly desirable. It’s a very meta proposition, a… You Have Been Chosen (Short Film) Read More
Ian (Short Film) Short Film 4 stars
Ian is a beautifully animated short film about a lonely little boy with cerebral palsy. He’s desperate to enjoy the local playground, but his physical difficulties are made worse by other barriers: the other children don’t understand why he seems different, and keep away from him; some of them laugh at him or are simply… Ian (Short Film) Read More
Shoplifters 4.5 stars
According to Osamu shoplifting is morally acceptable as “whatever’s in a store doesn’t belong to anyone yet”. Though it turns out that this family takes the “not belonging to anyone” reasoning into other areas too – decisions which actually seem in some ways less morally dubious, when they find themselves taking home a little girl… Shoplifters Read More
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