Cinema
Should beautiful actors be allowed to play those with plain faces?
Sometimes I Think About Dying is one of those titles you want to shout back at – what? Only sometimes?…
Better than expected (but my expectations were low): Back to Black reviewed
When the trailer for Sam Taylor-Johnson’s biopic of Amy Winehouse, Back to Black, first landed, her fans were gracious. ‘This,’…
Why intellectuals love Disney
This month marks the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney’s company. The first cartoons it was founded to produce – the…
Has VR finally come of age?
VR ‘immersion’ is everywhere in London this autumn, but is it of any value? Stuart Jeffries takes the plunge
The dazzling classic The Red Shoes has several unfashionable lessons for us today
Seventy-five years after its release, Powell and Pressburger’s dazzling, much-loved classic is more timely than ever, says Robin Ashenden
You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how unpleasant this is: Strays reviewed
Based on the poster showing two cute dogs – a border terrier and a Boston terrier – I had assumed…
Why Barbie deserves the backlash
Being the CEO of a massive corporation isn’t easy. You’re expected to grow the company, increase profits and boost the…
I'm too tired for Lena Dunham: Catherine Called Birdy reviewed
Catherine Called Birdy is written and directed by Lena Dunham and it’s a medieval comedy about a 14-year-old girl resisting…
A compelling, if pitiless, journey: The Forgiven reviewed
The Forgiven is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne and stars Ralph Fiennes (terrific) and Jessica Chastain (ditto) as…
Schlocky and silly but fun: Beast reviewed
Beast is, the blurb tells us, a ‘pulse-pounding thriller about a father and his daughters who find themselves hunted by…
The joy of volcano-chasing
Mary Wakefield on Katia and Maurice Krafft, who loved volcanoes and each other
Schlock: Everything Everywhere All At Once reviewed
We’re doing multiverses now. Last weekend, a friend dragged me to see Marvel’s latest product, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse…
Film's most unforgettable scene
Fifty years since The Godfather’s release, Thomas W. Hodgkinson revisits the film’s most unforgettable scene
My clash with Maureen Lipman
After my Unapologetic Diaries were published recently, I was apparently accused of offending several people. At a lavish Christmas lunch…
‘I am not able to answer your question’: an irascible Paolo Sorrentino interviewed
Hermione Eyre talks to an irascible Paolo Sorrentino about therapy, Vesuvius and why he kept things simple and easy for his latest film
What James Bond and Aristophanes have in common
So James Bond is back, doing exactly what he always does, inviting the audience into a fantasy world for the…
Has Covid killed criticism?
A world without criticism is just advertising
In defence of Marvel
A global pandemic is no match for the Marvel multiverse, says Rosie Millard
The time is up for long films
Why do films have to go on for so long?
Awards season loses its shine when no one can go to the cinema
The inevitable listlessness of this year’s awards season
How Korean cinema mastered the art of horror
The triumph of Korean cinema
The only man who didn’t want to be Cary Grant was Cary Grant himself
Cary Grant was a hoax so sublime his creator struggled to escape him. He was a metaphor, too, for the…
Why I won't mourn the death of the cinema
You could smell the stale popcorn and rancid carpet from the other end of the high street but that unmistakable…
