The Farewell is writer-director Lulu Wang’s second feature, and it’s a funny, bracing, tender and profoundly moving film. “Sexy but poor” is how Billi (Awkwafina) describes herself half-jokingly to her mother, visiting her parents while trying to avoid the apartment she always owes rent on. Her parents also live in New York, the whole family… The Farewell (Sundance London) Read More
Playmobil: The Movie 3 stars
I have a soft spot for Playmobil, and not only because it’s easier on parental feet when you tread on it in the dark than arch-nemesis Lego, which like its tie-in films is considerably sharper-edged than this smooth German rival. But while Playmobil:The Movie lacks the bite of the Lego films, this is still a colourful,… Playmobil: The Movie Read More
I Love My Mum 3 stars
Bickering – so easy to do in real life – is a vastly underrated acting skill. I Love my Mum, the new comedy from writer-director Alberto Sciamma, is soundtracked to the constant hum of tiny aggressions and endless reproaches, a stuck record that needs a kick in order to jump forward. Olga (Kierston Wareing) and… I Love My Mum Read More
Always Be My Maybe 3.5 stars
Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) is magazine cover-famous. She’s a top chef with a successful LA restaurant, another about to open in San Francisco, and a New York venue coming later. Her childhood friend friend Marcus Kim (Randall Park) is lamppost-famous. His flyers for his 15-year-old band Hello Peril have finally reached the other side of San Francisco,… Always Be My Maybe Read More
INTERVIEW: Eaten By Lions director Jason Wingard: “comedy thrives when the performers are taking chances”
Jason Wingard’s British comedy Eaten By Lions follows teenage brothers Omar and Pete as they head to Blackpool in search of Omar’s absent father. Starring Antonio Aakeel as Omar and comedian Jack Carroll as Pete, the supporting cast includes comic greats Johnny Vegas, Asim Chaudhry and Tom Binns. A hilarious and sharp take on family in modern Britain,… INTERVIEW: Eaten By Lions director Jason Wingard: “comedy thrives when the performers are taking chances” Read More
Fighting With My Family – 1 Minute Video Review Includes Video 4 stars
Read the full Fighting With My Family review Cast / director interviews, film clips and images
Hereditary 4 stars
A creaky floorboard and a clicking tongue. Two sounds you don’t want to hear when you’re alone in the house and the only tongue clicker you know of is your dead sister. “I never wanted to be your mother” Annie says to her teenage son Peter (Alex Wolff), “it wasn’t my fault and I tried… Hereditary 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
Jessica Hynes On Freedom In Filmmaking & Her “Kurosawa Scene”
Jessica Hynes, writer and star of Channel 4 comedy Spaced and star of W1A and The Royle Family (among many, many other shows and movies), has recently directed her first feature film, the micro budget seaside-set family drama The Fight. The movie follows frazzled mum Tina who takes up boxing when she’s forced to find ways to acknowledge… Jessica Hynes On Freedom In Filmmaking & Her “Kurosawa Scene” Read More
The Fight (London Film Festival) 3.5 stars
*** I chatted to Jessica Hynes at the London Film Festival – check it out here *** There are plenty of altercations in Jessica Hynes’ directorial debut, both internal and physical; as mum Tina fights her past and her resultant self-worth to stand up and take control, by climbing through the ropes into the boxing ring. Boxing is… The Fight (London Film Festival) Read More
Etruscan Smile (Boston Film Festival) 3.5 stars
Most of the characters in The Etruscan Smile are stuck in their ways, though Emily (Thora Birch) – who could easily be the most caricatured of all, with her diarised mothering, “autonomous baby”, and cry-it-out sleep training – is actually the one most prepared to accept she might have made a mistake. Her husband Ian (JJ… Etruscan Smile (Boston Film Festival) Read More