Every scene Sophia Loren isn’t in feels like a wasted one: The Life Ahead reviewed
The Life Ahead stars Sophia Loren, and if there is one reason to see The Life Ahead it is this:…
You won’t be able to look away: Shirley reviewed
This week, two electrifying performances in two excellent films rather than two mediocre performances in the one mediocre film —…
You're not going to get a better spin on bromance – brobably: The Climb reviewed
The Climb is, essentially, a bickering bromance as two longtime pals bicker bromantically down the years, and it doesn’t sound…
Like a weird episode of Downton – with less sexual chemistry: Rebecca reviewed
Rebecca is a new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic, twisted, never-out-of-print tale of sexual jealousy. It’s directed by Ben…
Gripping high gothic psychological horror: Saint Maud reviewed
Saint Maud is a first feature from writer-director Rose Glass and it’s being billed as a horror film. But it’s…
One zinger after another – but it’ll leave you cold: Trial of the Chicago 7 reviewed
Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 — don’t worry, you haven’t missed six earlier films — is a…
Horrifyingly beautiful – but I will never watch it again: Painted Bird review
The Painted Bird opens with a young boy (Jewish) running through a forest and clutching his pet ferret. He is…
Half the fun of the animation – and much longer: Mulan reviewed
Mulan is Disney’s latest live-action remake, coming in at 120 minutes, compared with the 1998 animation, which ran to 80.…
A James Bond film with added physics no one understands: Tenet reviewed
Tenet is the latest high-concept, time-bending blockbuster from Christopher Nolan and it’s the film that (unofficially) reopens cinemas in the…
Why have they made Pinocchio look like Freddy Krueger?
Matteo Garrone’s live-action version of Pinocchio is visually sumptuous and there are some enchanting characters (my favourite: Snail). And unlike…
Heavy-handed satire and schmaltz: American Pickle reviewed
American Pickle is a comedy based on a short story by Simon Rich, originally published in the New Yorker, and…
An extraordinary debut: Make Up reviewed
Make Up is the first full-length film from writer–director Claire Oakley, set in an out-of-season holiday park on the Cornish…
Worth catching the virus for: Saint Frances reviewed
Two films about young women this week, one at the cinema, if you dare, and one to stream, if you…
Held me so fast I was outbid on eBay: Clemency reviewed
Clemency stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden on death row whose job is beginning to take its toll, and…
I want to support cinema but I have my work cut out with Love Sarah
Some cinemas have reopened, with the rest to follow by the end of the month, thankfully. But the big, hotly…
Fascinatingly weird – but not satisfyingly weird: Herzog’s Family Romance LLC reviewed
In the past Werner Herzog has given us a man pushing a ship up a mountain, a 16th-century conquistador going…
Not nul points but it’s no Spinal Tap: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga reviewed
This comedy stars Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as an Icelandic duo whose biggest dream is to represent their country…
A true story that never feels true: Resistance reviewed
Resistance stars Jesse Eisenberg and tells the true story of how mime artist Marcel Marceau helped orphaned Jewish children to…
Messy but absolutely necessary: Da 5 Bloods reviewed
Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is about four African-American vets who return to Vietnam to locate the body of their…
Why, Woody, why? A Rainy Day in New York reviewed
A Rainy Day in New York is Woody Allen’s 49th film and it’s not been without its troubles. When accusations…
Top of my must-watch mustn't-watch: Cats revisited
At the outset of lockdown I gave you my list of top mustn’t-watch films — that is, the ones that…
I have never cared more about the price of milk in Iceland: The County reviewed
You may be asking yourself: have I reached that point in lockdown where I’m watching Icelandic dramas about the price…
Why does anyone still rate Vertigo and its creepy, wonky plot?
Here’s something that may interest you. Or not. (Could go either way.) I was looking over Sight & Sound’s ‘100…
Riveting – and disgusting: BFI's 'Dogs v Cats' and 'Eating In' collections reviewed
This week I’d like to point you in the direction of the British Film Institute and its free online archive…
Too much photocopying but stick with it: The Assistant reviewed
First, the latest digital film release: The Assistant, starring Julia Garner in a slowly, slowly, catchy, catchy tale that won’t…
