★★★☆☆ Davis Guggenheim opens his latest documentary, He Named Me Malala (2015), with its most essential element – the voice of Malala Yousafzai. Instantly recognisable, she narrates the animated story of an Afghan heroine who spoke out against the invasion of British forces at Maiwand in 1880. Leading the Pashtun Continue Reading
★★★★☆ In the opening moments of Karen Guthrie’s understated and extremely moving The Closer We Get (2015) her car glides along darkened roads at twilight, the way ahead lit only as far as low beams will permit. The notion of driving into the unknown and of unseen elements hidden in Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ A meticulously coiffed Bradley Cooper cruises around town on a superbike. Haute cuisine relies just as heavily on presentation as actual substance and Cooper still looks the part in John Wells’ Burnt (2015) – even as a recovering addict and bad boy superstar chef. Jon Favreau’s Chef (2014) provided welcome Continue Reading
★★★★☆ John Crowley’s Brooklyn (2015) is based on a novel of the same name by Colm Tóibín, a man considered by many to be the finest writer Ireland has produced since John Banville. His novel has, however, been digested by Nick Hornby, who produced the screenplay. In the process, it Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Back on the big screen across the UK in conjunction with the BFI’s ‘Love’ season is one of the most well-known cinematic contemplations on the consequences of a simple question; “What if?” Celebrating the seventieth anniversary of its initial release, Brief Encounter (1945) still holds a special allure, some Continue Reading