Ammonite – Francis Lee period romance has nothing new to say March 25, 2021 British filmmaker Francis Lee follows up the award-winning God’s Own Country with another story of secret romance, albeit with a higher profile cast. Kate Winslet plays Mary Anning, a celebrated palaeontologist living a quiet life on the coast of 19th Century England, away from the male-dominated scientific community which acknowledges her findings but gives her [...]
Is Now A Good Time? is a brilliant phone play that will make you pine for office life March 22, 2021 It’s less than two months until theatres are tentatively slated to reopen, which will be a huge milestone for a London cultural scene that’s been brought to its knees over the last year. During that time we’ve seen innovative ways of overcoming social distancing, from entire theatres booked out for micro-performances for one to six [...]
Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 1 review March 19, 2021 *** WARNING: this review contains spoilers for Falcon and The Winter Soldier *** Just a couple of weeks since we said goodbye to Westview, Marvel is back with another series to follow up WandaVision’s success. Falcon and The Winter Soldier puts Captain America’s (Chris Evans) best buddies in the spotlight – Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), [...]
Justice League review: The Snyder Cut is a cut above March 18, 2021 There have been many ways in which films have found a new audience over the years. We’ve had director’s ruts, R-rated cuts, special editions with updated effects, all of which take the theatrical release and shake it up, adding bits and perhaps re-ordering in a way that fits the original creator’s vision. However, none of those [...]
Creation Stories review: A familiar, nostalgic Britpop biopic March 18, 2021 Modern movies have a habit of romanticising the generations before it. The 80s pined for the 50s with Back To The Future, Diner, and Stand By Me, while the 90s longed for the 60s with My Girl, Forrest Gump, and Austin Powers. As we venture into the 2020s, it’s the turn of the 90s to [...]
Assassins film review – N Korea murder doc is an unbelievable hit March 18, 2021 A controversial hit at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Assassins has had a bumpy road to the screen, but those who seek it out will discover an unbelievable tale. Assassins follows the trial of Vietnamese citizen Đoàn Thị Hương and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, for the 2017 murder of Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North [...]
Diverse Oscar noms drag 90-year-old awards into 21st century March 15, 2021 In recent years, the nominations for the Academy Awards have often drawn anger and frustration. #OscarsSoWhite became a regular trend for past ceremonies as actors of colour were ignored, while there was ongoing criticism at the absence of female behind the scenes nominees, and LGBTQ+ artists. Today, observers held their breath as this year’s nominations [...]
Best of travel: The world’s most exclusive nightclub is in a jungle March 15, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Siobhan Grogan’s expedition through a jungle in Thailand in search of… a nightclub? ••• Clinging to the Cape Panwa peninsula on the very tip of south eastern Phuket, Sri Panwa is buried deep within [...]
Locked Down is the pandemic heist movie we didn’t need March 12, 2021 While some TV shows and awards ceremonies have made magic out of the limitations of the pandemic, movies haven’t fared as well. Michael Bay’s Songbird was a misfire, while Netflix’s Malcolm and Marie wasted talented actors on a self-indulgent script. Locked Down was conceived, written, filmed, and edited in around four months from the start [...]
SAS: Red Notice is Outlander star Sam Heughan’s Bond audition March 11, 2021 With Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie on the horizon, it’s that time again where every British leading man fields questions about whether they would like to take over. This week it’s the turn of Outlander star Sam Heughan, who raised the issue in an interview with Esquire Magazine. He’s the right age, has a strong [...]