Film reviews and more
★★★★★ Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) has intellect, charm, and elegant diplomacy. Her husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce), meanwhile, is the personification of a ditzy writer: flyaway hair, scraggly beard, incapable of having any structure to his life – whether that’s remembering to take daily medication, or marital fidelity – and entirely dependent on his wife to support him. Joan fulfils this […]
★★★☆☆ Samantha Morton stars as a mother sinking deeper into a harrowing depression and struggling to care for her two kids in Two for Joy, Tom Beard’s feature debut. Aisha’s (Morton) daughter, Violet (Emilia Jones), just wants to revise for her GCSEs but devotes most of her time to being her mum’s carer. Little brother Troy (Badger Skelton), so angry […]
★★★☆☆ A British war-time thriller with a difference, Eye of the Needle is played out as far removed from those war-torn battlefields as you could get. Instead, director Richard Marquand opts largely for more intimate surrounding and manages to squeeze out some memorable moments of Hitchcockian suspense and tension. On the strength of his self-assured work here, Marquand subsequently landed […]
Rumours surrounding who will play the next James Bond have been circulating since before Daniel Craig had even made Spectre. Many big names have been linked to the British spy, who has been played by seven actors thus far. It’s a coveted role for any British actor, but only the best have been linked to the role. Speculation that […]
Like many industries, film is one of patterns, of ebbs and flows. This makes sense, as mass media tends to reflect current social climate. Our fears, our hopes, and our dreams for the future, all of these help shape which topics and genres are at the forefront of entertainment at any given time. While we can see this take […]
Following the announcement earlier this week that American director Cary Joji Fukunaga has replaced Danny Boyle as director of Bond 25, along with a new release date of Valentine’s Day 2020, MI6’s top man has been on the name on everyone’s lips. But how much do we really know about 007? Have you ever wondered which Bond has had […]
★★★★★ Gaspar Noé’s Climax is arguably the French provocateur at his most subdued, but it still manages to be a rollicking thrill ride of sweat, drugs and pounding disco music. The Noé trademarks are all there: MDMA, neon visuals and an atmosphere that ascends from zero to 100 MPH at frightening, lightning speed. On the surface, this is a horror story […]
★★★★☆ Steve Loveridge’s documentary on Mathangi Arulpragasam (aka M.I.A.) is the story of a young girl’s creative coming-of-age as an immigrant in 1990s Britain, dealing with the dichotomy of her council estate home in Hounslow, West London, and her ties to Tamil life in Sri Lanka. Matangi / Maya / M.I.A. explores how Maya ended up becoming M.I.A. (a […]
After garnering rave reviews at Venice, Alfonso Cuarón’s luminously beautiful Roma arrived at the Toronto Film Festival to equal acclaim, but it was Barry Jenkins’ world premiere of If Beale Street Could Talk that garnered the most buzz on the ground. Widely considered the front-runner for the festival’s People’s Choice Award, If Beale Street Could Talk was ultimately pipped […]
The focus of the Toronto Film Festival might be on the hundreds of features that grace the screens of the 10-day cinematic celebration, but the many shorts that are showcased at TIFF are also always worth checking out. Take a look at our round-up of the some of the best in show. The festival’s Wavelengths programme, with its focus […]
As any fan of 007 will know, the casino scene is as integral a part of any Bond movie as the car chase and the rooftop pursuit. Similarly, the typical image that most of us have of the long-serving British super-spy is seeing him dressed in an immaculate white tuxedo keeping his cool as he plays for the highest […]
★★★★☆ Who would have thought that the foul-mouthed kid from Superbad would go on to direct one of the year’s best comedy-dramas? Yet here we are with Mid90s, Jonah Hill’s paean to youth, friendship and nostalgia. Shot in 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio and on super 16mm film, Hill faithfully replicates the look of the 90s – as much […]