Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece stands test of time 62 years on May 27, 2022 Some movies leave a lasting influence long after the creators have gone. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, a low budget movie shot in black and white with actors from his TV show, would go on to change not just the horror genre, but films in general. 62 years on from its release, the piece feels as vital [...]
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts review: the ultimate primer for Jubilee weekend May 27, 2022 As the bunting goes up and street parties creep closer, Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts seeks to capitalise on the hype surrounding The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, providing snapshot of the many facets of Her Majesty’s life. Composed entirely of archive footage, A Portrait in Parts looks at Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign and all the cultural [...]
Sink The Pink’s Glyn Fussell: ‘I feel very secure in my LGBTQ icon status’ May 27, 2022 For Sink the Pink’s Farewell Ball in April, Glyn Fussell filled one of London’s biggest nightclubs, Printworks, with 6,000 ravers. Jake Shears performed to the sold out crowd, who were replete with harnesses and ball gowns in a range of colours so diverse they made the Dulux mood board look beige. Big TV celebrities who [...]
Benediction film review: A smart portrait of the fascinating Sigfried Sassoon May 26, 2022 Author biopics can be terribly dull, but then few authors have lived a life quite like Sigfried Sassoon. The British poet’s words became a chilling epitaph for so many in the First World War, but Benediction by director Terence Davies (Distant Voices, Still Lives) shows an uncompromising picture of the real man. Jack Lowden plays the [...]
David Mitchell on acting, cancel culture and why the internet is evil May 25, 2022 On 15 March 2020, David Mitchell took a bow following what he reckoned was the best performance yet of The Upstart Crow, the West End version of Ben Elton’s sitcom about William Shakespeare. The next day the country went into lockdown. “I found the pandemic pretty bleak, really”, says the comedian and panel show host. [...]
A-Ha the Movie: A fascinating insight into the Norwegian pop giants May 25, 2022 Most people know a-ha from their toe-tapping pop tune Take On Me, but over the course of forty years the Norwegian trio have retained much of their fame and adulation. However, as this anniversary film proves, that same affection isn’t reserved for each other. Filmed over four years, Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy [...]
Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers is a meta barrel of laughs May 24, 2022 Nearly a year on from the disastrous Space Jam: A New Legacy, it’s Disney’s turn to mash a load of intellectual properties together in hopes of making a movie. This new spin on 80s cartoon Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers is avoiding cinemas, but might be one of the smarter straight-to-streaming options out there. The plot [...]
Top Gun: Maverick, a perfect blockbuster, is Tom Cruise at his finest May 23, 2022 Tom Cruise comes full circle, returning to the role that made him a megastar. While he had found success with Legend and Risky Business, it was 1986’s Top Gun that set the template for the biggest star in Hollywood. A couple of months shy of his 60th birthday, he feels the need for speed again [...]
Two Palestinians Go Dogging, review: Touching portrait of the tragedy of conflict May 23, 2022 Let’s be clear on this from the get-go: finding comedy in the Israel-Palestine crisis is an incredibly brave thing to do. Not only that, it requires incredibly astute writing. Sami Ibrahim has achieved both of these things with two Palestinians go dogging, a personal and political new play littered with thrillingly perverse laughs. If Ibrahim’s [...]
Anne-Marie Duff in fine form in The House of Shades at the Almeida May 23, 2022 Sometimes an ambitious failure is preferable to a safe success, but that’s sadly not the case with The House of Shades. Even the incredible Anne-Marie Duff – on fierce form – is unable to pull together the threads of a play that’s part state-of-the-nation polemic, part kitchen sink drama, part Greek tragedy and part surreal [...]