I’m trying to keep to the resolution that I’m not going to over-think these non-film-related blog posts and just write the first thing that comes to my mind as and when I get a chance to sit in front of a keyboard… but the trouble is that when I do find a moment to myself, my brain is absolutely and utterly overwhelmed by responses to and views on the many, many things happening around me at the moment.
Continue reading “Unsigned”
Returning after a few years to a film with which you were originally impressed is always an interesting experience, not least because it gives you a chance to test your memory of it. In the case of Embrace Of The Serpent – Ciro Guerra’s account of a couple of explorers undertaking a dangerous journey along the Amazon in different time periods – I found myself … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 51: Embrace Of The Serpent [dir. Ciro Guerra; 2015]
I don’t normally insist that films must possess a degree of contemporary relevance, but it’s hard to watch Judy without wondering why its creators felt this particular story had to be told now, and in this way. Yes, there are attempts to link Hollywood’s oppressive treatment of Judy Garland with current fears about movie moghuls’ abusive exploitation of women, but they frequently comes across as … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 50: Judy [dir. Rupert Goold; 2019]
I realise that various news sources have already covered the information this documentary presents about the activities of Cambridge Analytica (and if you’re not aware of the organisation, I suggest you look it up with delay), but Amer and Noujaim’s documentary encapsulates and presents it all in frighteningly compelling fashion. From the work of The Guardian’s Carole Cadwalladr, to the not-unproblematic involvement of Christopher Wylie, … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 49: The Great Hack [dir. Karim Amer & Jehane Noujaim; 2019]
Call me alarmist, but one of the main thoughts floating around in my mind at the moment is that Boris Johnson, in his great and unmatched wisdom (wait, no, that was the other guy) keeps implying that he may choose not to obey the laws that have been created to protect Britain from the idiocy of a no-deal Brexit. It’s an attitude that has frightened me more than I can say, because it feels like the epitome of a general trend towards ridiculing rules and structures. Yes, I understand – and I usually support the idea – that real change can rarely come about unless something is broken. But this feels like egotism: a sense that some people are more equal than others, and so don’t need to think that certain laws apply to them.
Continue reading “No Need To Get Worked Up”
Although I tend to gravitate towards the less popcorn-strewn screens at my local multiplex, I adore the fact that cinema can embrace an almost endless range of styles. And I’ve always believed that all stories – no matter what genre they’re in – can be told well. The Man From UNCLE – throwaway froth though it is – could have been charming. It could have … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 48: The Man From UNCLE [dir. Guy Ritchie; 2015]
My capacity for self-censorship knows no limits. Every time I think of something I could potentially write here, I am immediately paralysed by the notion that it might upset someone, or it might not cover all the possible angles of the subject in question, or it might break a confidence, or it might be misinterpreted, and so on.
Continue reading “The Approaching Process”
