Spoilers, and hankies, a go-go. (My four-star review is here.) When I said in my review that there’s a “happy” ending, I meant as happy as it can be, which means the audience too achieving some acceptance of the inevitability of John’s death. But it is happy, because John can now die safe in the… Nowhere Special – the ending Read More
Nowhere Special 4 stars
A dying father seeks a new family for his young son. There are times when I want to have my heart broken at the movies and times when I most definitely don’t. I’m currently in a “definitely don’t” phase, and had been deliberately avoiding Nowhere Special, but the recent heatwave sent me to the local… Nowhere Special Read More
Three Identical Strangers 4 stars
Warning: spoilers, though the story will be well known to many people. One of the downsides of growing older is realising that there are few real miracles; and those fairy stories that used to appear weekly in the press and now appear hourly on social media, are usually just that. Three Identical Strangers – about triplets adopted… Three Identical Strangers Read More
Lion 4.5 stars
“Did you REALLY look for my mum?” asks little Saroo, in an orphanage in Calcutta, sitting opposite Mrs Sood, a kind but firm woman charged with finding new homes overseas for unclaimed children. “I looked everywhere”, she replies. And with that, Saroo has to move on to a new family far away in Tasmania, while acknowledging that his mum… Lion Read More
Grimsby 3.5 stars
The US title is The Brothers Grimsby, though the brothers’ surname is not Grimsby. For the record, their surnames are Butcher and Graves, which sounds like a pair of 18th century serial killers. Or a modern day undertaker and abattoir worker who team up to fight crime in their spare time. (I would definitely watch… Grimsby Read More