Chevalier review: A surprising and warm period biopic June 9, 2023 Biographies of famous faces are great, but some of the most affecting biopics in cinema have been about people who were not household names beforehand. After watching Chevalier, you may have a new name to research. The film is the true story of Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr), born in 1745 to an enslaved mother [...]
War Pony is a character-driven tale from the American Honey team June 9, 2023 A hit at last year’s Cannes, War Pony is set in the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota reservation in South Dakota, within the Indigenous community that lives there. It focuses on two loosely-connected stories: Bill (Jojo Bapteise Whiting), a young father trying to hustle his way into a better situation; and Matho (Ladainian Crazy Thunder), whose [...]
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a fun time for explosion fans June 8, 2023 Transformers: The Last Knight, released in 2017, was the depressing nadir of the Michael Bay Transformers movies, with even the master of explosions deciding it was time to step away from the franchise. In late 2018, however, a new hope emerged in the (comparatively) smaller, character-focused prequel Bumblebee. Its success was enough to get the [...]
Mad About The Boy charts 73 years of Noël Coward’s amazing life June 2, 2023 This new, bite-sized biography of the late playwright, actor, and raconteur Noël Coward squeezes a lot into just over ninety minutes, but while it rarely stops for breath, it paints an interesting portrait of a life of contradictions. Barnaby Thompson, director of the St Trinian’s reboot and likeable 2020 comedy Pixie, drags us through Coward’s [...]
Across The Spider-verse review: another hit animated romp June 2, 2023 It’s difficult to express just how impactful 2018’s Into The Spider-verse has been on Hollywood. Critically adored and a box office hit, it was a soft launch for the ‘multiverse’ concept in superhero movies. It played with possibilities safe in the knowledge that it didn’t need to be a part of any larger network of [...]
Ben Affleck goes back to basics in cop thriller Hypnotic May 26, 2023 Before he suits up as Batman for The Flash, Ben Affleck plays a cop on the trail of a killer in Hypnotic. His character, Danny Rourke, is tormented by the kidnapping of his daughter. His determination to continue with his job puts him on the trail of “Hypnotic” Dellrayne (William Fichtner), a person who uses [...]
Taxi Driver writer Paul Schrader returns with Master Gardener May 26, 2023 Paul Schrader, the writer of Martin Scorsese classics Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, has had a spotty history as a director. For every American Gigolo or Affliction there have been several The Canyons or Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcists. This seemed to be behind him following the success of 2017’s nail-biting First Reformed and 2021’s [...]
Sisu is a Finnish take on Rambo and it’s bloody brilliant May 25, 2023 A big success on its premiere at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, indie war movie Sisu arrives in cinemas with a lot of hype. Set in Finnish Lapland (with dialogue in English), the film is set towards the end of World War 2. A company of retreating Nazi soldiers cross paths with an unassuming old [...]
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is just as good as the brilliant book – film review May 22, 2023 The poster for this new coming-of-age drama boasts that it is “based on the book loved by millions.” For once, film publicity isn’t exaggerating. Judy Blume’s 1970 novel Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret became a popular choice for American adolescents in the era, and its adaptation comes with the seal of approval from [...]
Beau is Afraid is self-indulgent but visually stunning – review May 22, 2023 Ari Aster, the man behind the nightmarish horror films Hereditary and Midsommar, is back for his difficult third film. Some of his genre contemporaries have already experienced divisive third outings. Opinions were mixed about Jordan Peele’s Nope, while Robert Eggers had trouble with a bigger budget in The Northman. Can Aster succeed with Beau is [...]
