Jun 2019
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2019 Film Reviews – 37: Diego Maradona [dir. Asif Kapadia; 2019]
Asif Kapadia has a facility for showcasing and explaining the skills of talented individuals even to people who aren’t particularly interested in the individuals’ field of expertise, whether it’s Ayrton Senna’s Formula One racing or Amy Winehouse’s trademark modern soul singing. He displays it to full effect again in Diego Maradona, a documentary which makes… Continue reading
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Music review: Madame X by Madonna (2019)
There are several possible points of entry into the territory of Madonna’s Madame X. You could try the portentous, genre-shifting portal that is God Control. You could decide to delve in via the hip-swaying nostalgia of Medellin. Or you could go for the smoke-filled, strobe-lit, 90s club gateway signposted by I Don’t Search, I Find.… Continue reading
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2019 Film Reviews – 36: X-Men: Dark Phoenix [dir. Simon Kinberg; 2019]
I confess I don’t understand why the critical establishment hasn’t displayed the same warmth towards the X-Men franchise as they’ve lavished upon the Avengers. Both ‘worlds’ rely on predictable tropes, they present stories that are required to hit certain beats and they’re populated by characters whose development wouldn’t exactly cause Ibsen to raise his eyebrows… Continue reading
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2019 Film Reviews – 35: Rocketman [dir. Dexter Fletcher; 2019]
It isn’t anywhere near as gritty as its marketeers would have us believe, but Rocketman certainly offers a wider range of tones and moods than the sanitised Bohemian Rhapsody. Examining Elton John’s growing fame and eventual decision to take his many problems to a rehab clinic, the film adopts what is at times surreal imagery,… Continue reading
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2019 Film Reviews – 34: Elles [dir. Malgorzata Szumowska; 2011]
Although it doesn’t exactly make new observations about relations between the sexes, it cannot be denied that Szumowska’s Elles offers a succinct summary of themes that are always worthy of reappraisal: cycles of exploitation between men and women; gender-based hypocrisy in the sphere of work; sex as a form power. My objection is with the… Continue reading
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2019 Film Reviews – 33: Tell No One / Tylko Nie Mów Nikomu [dir. Tomasz Sekielski; 2019]
I struggle to understand why the makers of this film – and of several other modern documentaries – felt the need to dress up what is indisputably a serious, upsetting, far-reaching subject with melodramatic music, portentous drone shots and ‘edgy’ camera placements best left to hokey police procedurals. But that aside, this expose of the… 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.
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DARIUSH ALAVI 