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 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
The Endless Summer 3.5 stars
Australia may have turned out to be a disappointment wave-wise, and a worry shark-wise for Mike and Robert, but though Endless Summer came out nearly a decade before Jaws, I had to laugh at the locals’ comment: “Jeez Mike, you should’ve been here yesterday. We had a bigger boat!” This is a movie that exists… The Endless Summer Read More
Myths, Melodrama & Swedish Meatballs – Q&A With Love Witch Director Anna Biller
“The style that a lot of people attribute to B-movies and melodramas is just classical, theatrical acting… and all of my actors were classically trained. So they have strong voices, they speak clearly and enunciate. I have a musical ear, so I like to listen to actors with beautiful voices” Anna Biller After watching writer/director Anna Biller’s 2016… Myths, Melodrama & Swedish Meatballs – Q&A With Love Witch Director Anna Biller Read More
Love Witch 5 stars
Check out my interview with Love Witch director Anna Biller here. “Who ARE you?” asks Richard, married to Trish but besotted with Elaine who is lying semi-naked beneath him. “I’m the Love Witch!” she exclaims, “I’m your ultimate fantasy!” Women have long been lusted after and feared in equal measure by men, for their feminine wiles that seem… Love Witch Read More
Hidden Figures 4 stars
Space travel is almost a religion in 1960s America, with NASA its church and the clever, brave and handsome astronauts its would-be Messiahs. To the extent that for three black women, informing an aggressively racist white cop who has appeared by their broken down vehicle that they actually work for the space programme results in an admiring escort to their… Hidden Figures Read More