My series review is here. Or read my episode recaps: episode 1 (Gold Stick), episode 2 (The Balmoral Test), episode 3 (Fairytale), episode 4 (Favourites), episode 5 (Fagan), episode 6 (Terra Nullius), episode 7 (The Hereditary Principle), episode 8 (48:1), and episode 9 (Avalanche). “A spoilt, immature man endlessly complaining unnecessarily, married to a spoilt, immature woman endlessly complaining unnecessarily…. War: Episode 10 (The Crown season 4 recaps) Read More
An American Pickle 4 stars
An immigrant worker at a pickle factory is accidentally preserved for 100 years and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn. An absurdist and enormously entertaining takedown of both cancel culture and cancel “cancel culture” culture, An American Pickle is about reconnecting with one’s history in a world that hasn’t really changed as much as we… An American Pickle Read More
Uncut Gems 4.5 stars
“They say you can see the whole universe in opals” says New York jeweller and gambler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler). Look closely at the start of the film and that universe turns before our eyes from the sparkling multicolours of the gemstone into Howard’s colon as he undergoes a medical procedure; and throughout the film… Uncut Gems Read More
Greta 3 stars
WARNING: Spoilery if you haven’t seen the trailer I’ve categorised this as a comedy thriller, as aspects of it – Isabelle Huppert’s lusciously frenzied performance, a gleefully hideous injury (in close-up!), the shriekingly signalling music – position it like that, though the rest of the cast play it straight and there aren’t any jokes as… Greta Read More
Stuck 3 stars
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
Isn’t It Romantic – 1 Minute Video Review Includes Video 4 stars
Read the full Isn’t It Romantic review and watch the trailer
Isn’t It Romantic 4 stars
I’m delighted to say that Isn’t It Romantic doesn’t have one original idea in it. You’ll have seen them all before, in a thousand romcoms – but director Todd Strauss-Schulson has taken those ideas, chucked them into the air then watched them fall to the ground in perfect order, a bit like if Rebel Wilson did… Isn’t It Romantic 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
Puzzle 3.5 stars
It turns out there’s more than one way to complete a jigsaw, and my own tried and tested technique – corners then edges then screaming in frustration – won’t win you a Best Puzzler cup. Initially Agnes (Kelly Macdonald) just turns over the pieces and dives in. Her new and experienced champion puzzler partner Robert… Puzzle Read More
Ekaj 3.5 stars
The relationship between the young Ekaj (Jake Mestre) and the older Mecca (Badd Idea) is central to writer-director Cati Gonzalez’s movie. It gives warmth and structure to this story about two young gay Puerto Rican men, struggling to survive in that harshest of environments, New York City. But it’s also one that threatens to become… Ekaj Read More
New York Film Festival Round-Up & Tips
I’m back from a week at NYFF. I hadn’t been to Manhattan since the mid-90s, when I lived in London and was used to people thinking I was going to murder them if I made eye contact. Now I live in a small town where even if not everybody knows my name (“that blonde one”… New York Film Festival Round-Up & Tips Read More
Meyerowitz Stories (New & Selected) (New York Film Festival 2017) 4.5 stars
“Maybe he’s undiscovered for a reason,” says Matt (Ben Stiller) about his sculptor father Harold. But for his half-brother Danny taking away the myth of their dad’s undiscovered greatness will destroy their excuses for Harold’s terrible parenting and four marriages: “if he isn’t a great artist that means he was just a prick.” This is a… Meyerowitz Stories (New & Selected) (New York Film Festival 2017) Read More