Cinema
Touching the void
Scholarly filmgoers may recall a movement that sprouted from Danish soil called Dogme 95. It worked to a Spartan set…
What on earth was Ben Stiller thinking? Zoolander 2 reviewed
‘I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking,’ said a pouty Derek Zoolander…
Fashion faux pas
‘I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking,’ said a pouty Derek Zoolander…
Watch it backwards – and then don’t stay for long: Dad’s Army reviewed
The TV sitcom Dad’s Army ran on the BBC from 1968 to 1977 (nine series, 80 episodes) with repeats still…
It’s doomed!
The TV sitcom Dad’s Army ran on the BBC from 1968 to 1977 (nine series, 80 episodes) with repeats still…
A worthy film that just doesn't fly: Spotlight reviewed
Like The Revenant and The Big Short, Spotlight is yet another Oscar contender ‘based on true events’ — although it…
Doing the wrong thing
Like The Revenant and The Big Short, Spotlight is yet another Oscar contender ‘based on true events’ — although it…
Fascinating, sexy, improbably compelling and scathingly funny: The Big Short reviewed
The Big Short is a drama about the American financial collapse of 2008. It talks you through sub-prime mortgages, tranches,…
On the money
The Big Short is a drama about the American financial collapse of 2008. It talks you through sub-prime mortgages, tranches,…
I admired it - but also desperately wanted it to end: The Revenant reviewed
The Revenant is a survival-against-the-odds film that so puts Leonardo DiCaprio through it I bet he was thinking, ‘I wish…
Endurance test
The Revenant is a survival-against-the-odds film that so puts Leonardo DiCaprio through it I bet he was thinking, ‘I wish…
Not as good as the book, but good enough: Room reviewed
This is the week of The Hateful Eight, the latest Quentin Tarantino film, but Tarantino being Tarantino, there were no…
Mad about the boy
This is the week of The Hateful Eight, the latest Quentin Tarantino film, but Tarantino being Tarantino, there were no…
The Danish Girl is a film that is killed by good taste
The Danish Girl is based on the true (if heavily revised and simplified) story of Lili Elbe, one of the…
Bad manners
The Danish Girl is based on the true (if heavily revised and simplified) story of Lili Elbe, one of the…
Grandma: a feminist comedy that punches magnificently above its weight
Apologies if you were expecting a review of Star Wars here, but Disney is not allowing critics access prior to…
Grandma: a feminist comedy that punches magnificently above its weight
Apologies if you were expecting a review of Star Wars here, but Disney is not allowing critics access prior to…
Sunset Song is close to masterly
Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song is the best-remembered title of a short career. Born in 1901, he was dead by…
The still point
Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song is the best-remembered title of a short career. Born in 1901, he was dead by…
I wanted to beat it with a stick and cry, ‘Get on with it!’: Carol reviewed
Carol is an easy film to admire — so beautiful to look at; entirely exquisite — but such a hard…
I wanted to beat it with a stick and cry, ‘Get on with it!’: Carol reviewed
Carol is an easy film to admire — so beautiful to look at; entirely exquisite — but such a hard…
What’s it like to have a Nazi for a father?
This is a documentary in which three men travel across Europe together, but they’re not pleasurably interrailing, even though there…
Sins of the fathers
This is a documentary in which three men travel across Europe together, but they’re not pleasurably interrailing, even though there…
Was Steve Jobs really a genius?
Steve Jobs is a film about a man in whom I have little interest, but for 120 minutes I was…
Was Steve Jobs really a genius?
Steve Jobs is a film about a man in whom I have little interest, but for 120 minutes I was…