It is a stain on our collective conscience that there is still a need for us to tell stories about the current migrant crisis. So large is the problem that it has almost become the stuff of ‘news wallpaper’. So perhaps Mati Diop intended to jolt us out of complacency with her decision to approach the issue in an unusual way: by examining it through … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 69: Atlantics [dir. Mati Diop; 2019]
I’d like to update this blog more frequently. Truly, I would. And yes, it’s often time (ie a lack of it) that prevents me from putting finger to keyboard. But it’s also a certain resistance. An unwillingness to be what I suspect would be cruel. I don’t understand the (modern?) need to share the details of one’s woes and insecurities and anxieties to all and … Continue reading Cruel
No-one reading a review of the new Star Wars film actually needs any help deciding whether they want to watch it. They’ll leap towards it or avoid it regardless of what anyone else says. For what it’s worth, I found its conclusion of the saga – which sees Rey and Kylo Ren circling ever closer to each other while dealing with the growing power of … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 68: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker [dir. J J Abrams; 2019]
I must have a very perverse take on super-hero films: I didn’t think Dark Phoenix was anywhere near as awful as most people seemed to, and I wasn’t sent into ecstasies by Avengers: Endgame. So perhaps it was inevitable that I’d find myself giving Far From Home a friendly thumbs up. Yes, its high school comedy tone is frothy, but at least it never takes … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 67: Spider-Man: Far From Home [dir. Jon Watts; 2019]
There’s no doubt that much of Marriage Story is touching and memorable. As it crosses over from America’s east coast to its west, this story of a couple handling the realities of a break-up – and its effects on their child – impresses with its honesty and its refusal to descend into mawkishness. But I’d suggest that its one-sidedness is a serious and fundamental flaw. … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 66: Marriage Story [dir. Noah Baumbach; 2019]
In 1982, Marcus Lewis was injured in a horrific accident. When he emerged from a coma, he could recognise no-one but his twin brother. All other memories of his life prior to the accident had vanished. He was effectively a blank slate, with no knowledge of his parents or his childhood. His twin took it upon himself to ‘reeducate’ Marcus, giving him a crash course … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 65: Tell Me Who I Am [dir. Ed Perkins; 2019]
The teams behind the Toy Story films have always displayed a commendable talent for telling relatively simple, focussed stories with terrific attention to detail, neat characterisation and an insistence on intelligent, convincing plotting. However, I’d argue that this precision-led approach has resulted in sequels that have been satisfying, but haven’t quite managed to linger in one’s memory. Toy Story 4 is very much in this … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 64: Toy Story 4 [dir. Josh Cooley; 2019]
It may not be remarkable in terms of cinematic flair or technical originality, but the story it tells makes Official Secrets worthy of your attention. Focussing on Katharine Gun’s decision to expose the UK intelligence agencies’ dubious dealings in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq War, it offers a carefully-delineated picture of how the story ended up on the front page of the national press … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 63: Official Secrets [dir. Gavin Hood; 2019]
What a curious little film. First, Antonio Banderas and Gary Oldman appear – playing two lawyers at the centre of 2016’s Panama Papers scandal – and proceed to give us a direct-to-camera lesson in the development of the barter system and the creation of money. Then Meryl Streep pops up, trying to navigate the treacherous world of fake insurance policies following the death of her … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 62: The Laundromat [dir. Steven Soderbergh; 2019]
Several critics have declared The Irishman to be Martin Scorsese’s finest film of the last decade, and whilst I agree that it is superb, I think I’d qualify the praise slightly by saying that it’s probably his most fan-pleasing film of recent years. This epic – but never baggy – story of a low-grade criminal getting caught up with the mob and possibly playing a … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 61: The Irishman [dir. Martin Scorsese; 2019]
