Feb 2019
-
2019 Film Reviews – 14: RBG [dir. Julie Cohen & Betsy West; 2018]
In a documentary concerned with the power of laws to shape our lives, it’s appropriate that a great deal of screen time is devoted to words. On several occasions, they literally flash before our eyes, illustrating one development after another in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s tireless attempts to purge the USA’s statutes of their many… Continue reading
-
2019 Film Reviews – 12: Can You Ever Forgive Me? [dir. Marielle Heller; 2018]
While watching Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Marielle Heller’s touching, cigarette-and-booze infused account of writer Lee Israel’s initially successful attempts to earn a living by forging celebrity letters – it’s interesting to ask, “Why now?” Yes, the movie is well-paced (partly thanks to a spry jazz soundtrack), cleverly designed (there are several gorgeously detailed… Continue reading
-
2019 Film Reviews – 11: The Lego Movie 2 [dir. Mike Mitchell; 2019]
No sequel to 2014’s Lego Movie was ever going to match its inventiveness, its irrepressible visuals and its novelty value. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller packed so many details and ideas into the film – from the correctly-placed crack on the astronaut’s helmet to the bold twist towards the end – that trying to match… Continue reading
-
2019 Film Reviews – 10: Être Et Avoir [dir. Nicolas Philibert; 2002]
Coming back to Être Et Avoir – Nicolas Philibert’s deceptively gentle documentary about a year at a small school in an isolated corner of the Auvergne, complete with inspirational, Atticus-Finch-like teacher – what struck me most was the subjects’ awareness of the camera. Particularly in the film’s early segments, there are several moments when some… Continue reading
-
2019 Film Reviews – 9: Three Colours: White [dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski; 1994]
Forgive me, but this post is going to be a bit of a cheat. Instead of offering a new review of Three Colours: White, I’m going to direct you to the latest issue of Sight & Sound (digital version out now; print edition in shops from 7th Feb) which contains an article on Kieślowski‘s movie… Continue reading
-
2019 Film Reviews – 8: Tehran Taboo [dir. Ali Soozandeh; 2018]
When an Iranian movie starts with a prostitute performing oral sex on a man who’s driving his car in the middle of a busy street while her son is quietly perched on the back seat, you know you’re not in subtle Kiarostami territory any more. But that’s the very tone Soozandeh strikes at the beginning… Continue reading
-
2019 Film Reviews – 7: Strike A Pose [dir. Ester Gould & Reijer Zwaan; 2016]
The very premise of this documentary has ‘self-indulgent’ written all over it: find the dancers from Madonna’s game-changing 1990 Blond Ambition tour and see what they’ve been up to for the last twenty-five years. To put it bluntly: who cares? And I write this as someone with what could be called a more-than-passing interest in… Continue reading
About Me
I am a writer and award-winning perfume critic currently living in the south of England and working on a novel. For my perfume-related writing, please visit Persolaise.com.
SEARCH
Newsletter
ARCHIVE
- May 2023
- Jan 2023
- Jan 2022
- Dec 2021
- Nov 2021
- Oct 2021
- Sep 2021
- Jul 2021
- Jun 2021
- May 2021
- Apr 2021
- Mar 2021
- Feb 2021
- Jan 2021
- Nov 2020
- Jun 2020
- Feb 2020
- Jan 2020
- Dec 2019
- Nov 2019
- Oct 2019
- Sep 2019
- Jul 2019
- Jun 2019
- May 2019
- Apr 2019
- Mar 2019
- Feb 2019
- Jan 2019
- Dec 2017
- Oct 2012
- May 2012
- Jan 2012
- Dec 2011
- Nov 2011
- Oct 2011
- Sep 2011
- Jul 2011
- Jun 2011
- May 2011
- Apr 2011
- Mar 2011
- Feb 2011
- Jan 2011
- Nov 2010
- Oct 2010
- Sep 2010
- Aug 2010
- Jul 2010
- Jun 2010
- May 2010
- Apr 2010
- Mar 2010
- Jan 2010
- Dec 2009
- Nov 2009
- Oct 2009
- Sep 2009
- Jul 2009
- Jun 2009
- May 2009
- Apr 2009
- Mar 2009
- Feb 2009
- Jan 2009
- Dec 2008
- Nov 2008
- Oct 2008
- Sep 2008
- Jul 2008
- Jun 2008
- May 2008
- Apr 2008
- Mar 2008
- Feb 2008
- Jan 2008
- Dec 2007
- Nov 2007
- Oct 2007
- Sep 2007
- Jul 2007
- Jun 2007
- May 2007
- Apr 2007
- Mar 2007
- Feb 2007
- Jan 2007
- Dec 2006
- Nov 2006
- Oct 2006
- Sep 2006
- Aug 2006
- Jul 2006
- Jun 2006
- May 2006
- Apr 2006
- Mar 2006
- Feb 2006
- Jan 2006
- Dec 2005
- Nov 2005
- Oct 2005
- Sep 2005
- Aug 2005
- Jul 2005
DARIUSH ALAVI 