Spencer film review: Kristen Stewart shines in tough Diana biopic October 29, 2021 Princess Diana hasn’t always been the easiest subject to cover. Prior to the disastrous 2013 drama Diana, the 1997 accident that took her life was seen as too fresh in the public’s memory to make a biopic viable. Now, nearly 25 years on, enough time has passed for screenwriters to delve into her fascinating story. [...]
Last Night in Soho review: A film of two halves October 28, 2021 After a long wait, Edgar Wright returns with a time-hopping horror/thriller that has been ear-marked as a movie to look out for by his many loyal fans. The West Country filmmaker hasn’t disappointed in the last few years, getting over his split from Marvel by making a car chase classic in Baby Driver, and telling [...]
Marvel’s big budget Eternals is a missed opportunity October 28, 2021 After a farewell to Black Widow, and a triumphant debut for Shang-Chi, Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe forges ahead with Eternals. The MCU’s trickiest proposition yet has the task of introducing a new team and a new world to the established order. At least with Nomadland’s Chloe Zhao behind the camera, this new [...]
The French Dispatch, review: A playful homage to journalism October 22, 2021 Twenty five years and ten films since his feature debut, Wes Anderson can be considered one of the few remaining superstar directors. Like Nolan, Tarantino, The Coens, and (Paul Thomas) Anderson, he exists outside of the studio franchise churn, making films in which he is the primary selling point. It’s likely many fans will forgo [...]
Dear Evan Hansen, Review: A crushing failure October 22, 2021 Big West End and Broadway shows often take a while to get big screen adaptations, partly because producers are reluctant to offer a home alternative to what they hope you’ll pay a lot of money to see live. Also, because when it goes wrong, it goes really, really wrong. Before December 2019, Cats was a [...]
Ron’s Gone Wrong, review: A family film with a tech twist October 18, 2021 It’s a sign of the times that an increasing number of family films are focusing on technology. The Jumanji movies moved from a boardgame to a video game console; Space Jam’s villain was a rogue AI; and one of the best family movies of this year, The Mitchells Vs The Machines, had our reliance on [...]
Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Review October 18, 2021 Despite being a patchy mess, 2018’s Venom rose to surprise box office success thanks to a charming star in Tom Hardy, and an audience that was growing weary of sombre superheroes (Aquaman succeeded in the same year for similar reasons). A sequel was inevitable, but has it done enough to flesh out the cult anti-hero? [...]
The Velvet Underground: An enjoyable rockumentary October 18, 2021 It’s becoming something of a rite of passage for successful directors to make documentaries about their favourite bands. Ron Howard covered The Beatles (with Peter Jackson’s Get Back series on the way), Shane Meadows explored The Stone Roses, and this year Edgar Wright shared his love for Sparks. This week director Todd Haynes (Carol, Dark [...]
Dexter, Directors, and Dirt – an interview with Michael C Hall October 13, 2021 Michael C Hall is a busy man. Next month, he returns to his most famous role, serial killer Dexter, in a reboot of the award-winning drama. Before that he stars in John and The Hole, an indie thriller about a family held captive in a bunker by their teenage son. Hall talks getting his hands [...]
John and the Hole: A surreal family drama designed to confuse October 8, 2021 Some films signal their intentions from the beginning: good vs evil, a love story, or a hero out to save the world. Then there are films like indie thriller John and The Hole, which leave almost every frame open to interpretation. Having just starred in Sean Durkin’s drama The Nest, Charlie Shotwell once again explores [...]
