To Olivia review – Roald Dahl biopic is a little bit too cosy February 18, 2021 Despite the number of adaptations of his work, To Olivia is the first major portrayal of author Roald Dahl on screen. Hugh Bonneville plays Dahl in the period after the death of his daughter Olivia, and the growing divide between he and his wife, American movie star Patricia Neal (Keeley Hawes). Battling through mental health [...]
Angels in America, now on-demand, is more relevant than ever February 13, 2021 In the same month Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin has become the most talked-about TV show in the world, the National Theatre has made its own dramatisation of the AIDS crisis, Angels in America, available to watch on-demand for the first time. Both begin in the 1980s, just as the virus is taking hold [...]
WandaVision Episode 6 review – a spooky special February 12, 2021 *** WARNING: This review contains spoilers for all current episodes of WandaVision *** Episode 5 of WandaVision was a huge info dump, as events both sides of The Hex began to run parallel to each other. Episode 6 has its own share of explainers, but we do get a big departure in terms of aesthetic. [...]
The TV shows that kept us sane through lockdown February 12, 2021 As we approach the anniversary of the first lockdown, it’s becoming hard to remember a time when we did anything besides working all day in our pyjamas and settling down for yet another evening of TV. More than ever, the things that we have watched have helped to define and reflect the public mood, either [...]
The Medium review: A middling next gen horror February 12, 2021 Between Covid delays and a slow start to the new console generation, true next-gen games have been thin on the ground. One of the first titles to debut on Microsoft’s new hardware is The Medium, a dark, bloated and occasionally inspired horror story about a troubled spiritualist, produced by Polish developer Bloober Team. With a [...]
St Patrick’s Day celebrations in London move online February 11, 2021 London mayor Sadiq Khan said today a virtual St Patrick’s Day celebration will be held on 17 March, which will showcase London-based Irish talent. The celebration will be hosted by London Irish Centre ambassador Angela Scanlon. “The sight of Londoners and visitors of all backgrounds uniting in our capital for St Patrick’s day is a [...]
PVT Chat review – a murky story of online obsession February 11, 2021 Subcultures and obsession are explored in PVT Chat, starring Peter Vack as Jack, a lonely New Yorker living in a crumbling studio apartment. He spends his nights frittering money on online Blackjack, then spunking more on sexual encounters with Cam Girls. He becomes particularly enamoured with one West Coast dominatrix named Scarlet (Uncut Gems’ Julia [...]
Dragon Rider review – familiar animated family fun February 11, 2021 While most of the industry has scrambled to find a release strategy during the pandemic, animated family films have thrived thanks to captive audiences and a need for home-based entertainment. According to rating compiler Neilsen, Pixar’s Soul was the most watched content over the Christmas period, while films like Trolls World Tour and Scoob benefitted [...]
The Little Things – Washington can’t save detective yarn February 10, 2021 Director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr Banks) brings a long gestating project to the big screen. The Little Things was written by the filmmaker in 1993, originally intended for Steven Spielberg to direct. Nearly three decades later, the story sees the light of day with Denzel Washington and Remi Malek on the [...]
Paul Greengrass’ News of The World is a warm-hearted Western February 10, 2021 The publicity for western News of The World has been relatively subdued – while the film had a modest cinema release in The States, it comes straight to Netflix internationally. As such, many people might see the film in their streaming queues and wonder if there’s an old Tom Hanks movie that passed them by. [...]