Cinema
Backing stars
Have you ever looked at backing singers and thought: what is their story? Do they or have they ever prayed…
Height but no depth
A Long Way Down is about four would-be suicides who meet for the first time on the top of a…
Going nowhere
OK, Need for Speed, if we must, and we must because I sat through it (running time: 130 minutes) and…
For your eyes only
The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest Wes Anderson film and it is beautiful to look at, scrumptious, luscious, such…
Keep on running
The Book Thief is based on Markus Zusak’s novel of the same name which, although written for young adults, appears…
Blood lovers
Jim Jarmusch is the noted American ‘cult director’, and if you were to judge him solely on the basis of…
Clooney’s tale
You know that old quip ‘I’m not just a pretty face’? I always thought it was meant to be said…
Sympathy vote
Although you’ll have heard that Dallas Buyers Club is fantastic and Matthew McConaughey gives the performance of his career, I…
Lies, damned lies
Alex Gibney’s The Armstrong Lies is fascinating as far as it goes but it may not go as far as…
War of the divas
If you and your family are bored — if, for example, it’s one of those dull Sunday afternoons that seem…
Fortune’s fool
Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street will set the cat among the pigeons as a number of films do.…
Brace yourself
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave goes directly to the heart of American slavery without any shilly-shallying — unlike The…
Uphill struggle
The biopic Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom is a timely tribute, and an earnest and respectful and well-meaning one,…
Saint and sinner
Will Gore talks to Naomie Harris about playing Winnie Mandela
Women only
Powder Room is a small British film all about women and starring only women — boo-hoo, men; my heart bleeds…
The odd couple
Saving Mr Banks tells ‘the untold true story’ of the making of the Disney classic Mary Poppins via the stand-offs…
Cultural touchstone
Next month marks the 30th anniversary of the release of what is, in my opinion, one of the funniest films…
The killing fields
In the future, everyone will have silly names. Some people will be called Haymitch Abernathy. Others will be Effie Trinket…
Poor service
The Butler tells the story of an African–American butler at the White House who served eight American presidents over three…
Money and movies
Seduced and Abandoned is both a satire on film-making and a love letter to film-making and a joy. A documentary…
Mother courage
Philomena is based on the true story of an Irish woman searching for the son stolen from her by the…
Two little boys
The Selfish Giant is a British social-realism film in the tradition of all such films from Kes onwards, so it…
Through the wringer
The main thing you should know about Captain Phillips is that it really puts you through the wringer. It’s based…
Going nowhere
Just how interesting you find The Fifth Estate may entirely depend on how interested you are in the whistle-blowing site…
Dirty work
People are generally saying Filth fully fulfils the promise of its title and is not for the faint of heart…
