If Garland’s Ex Machina was revisiting the claustrophobic sci fi horrors of the 70s such as Demon Seed and Silent Running, then Annihilation sees him taking on the more expansive, existentialist legacy of 2001, Solaris and Stalker. This is where a film that has many elements to recommend it, comes… Continue reading
There are some aspects of Del Toro’s monster love story that are nigh on perfect. At the top of this list is Michael Shannon’s portrayal of the malicious, deranged authoritarian Strickland who so easily could have been a two dimensional character. He adds the kind of depth and friction that… Continue reading
As with Wonder Woman, there is an unfair burden placed on Black Panther. It has to excel because it has the weight of representation on it. Justice League, Batman vs Superman, these can suck and that’s shrugged off. If either of these movies had sucked execs and white audiences would… Continue reading
Lady Bird is a gestalt film, in that it is greater than the sum of its parts. There is no stand out scene, moment of high drama, showy camera work or pivotal set piece, but at the end of it you find yourself missing its overall tone as if a… Continue reading
This JJ Abrams production was (apparently) released on Netflix unexpectedly after an ad at the Super Bowl. This has caused some musing about release schedules and campaigns in the digital age, but is really just an expensive version of ‘straight to video.’ Sadly this may be the most innovative thing… Continue reading
Fassbender used to be one of those actors you could rely on. His films might not always be great, but his presence was usually a benchmark of some quality, and he was always watchable. After the puzzlingly dull Assassin’s Creed and infuriatingly pointless Alien Covenant, he is on something of… Continue reading
White liberal America’s holy trinity of Spielberg, Hanks and Streep combine in this account of the Washington Post’s stand against Nixon over publication of Vietnam documentation. On the week after Trump’s election Hanks said on British radio that America tends to take two steps forward and one back. This is… Continue reading
Aaron Sorkin’s account of the extraordinary story of Molly Bloom, Olympic skier who goes on to run the biggest poker games in the US and becomes vicariously involved in Russian money laundering, is predictably sharp, witty and cool. This is Chastain’s movie through and through, in that it’s hard to… Continue reading
Martin McDonagh’s much praised take on small town Americana conflict commences with shots of the eponymous, dilapidated billboards in mist set to operatic aria. There’s enough pathos in that scene and & McDormand’s drawn features to justify the ticket price. McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, the grieving, angry mother of daughter… Continue reading
We all have our critical blindspots. Some people like films about flying men and people who dress up in bat outfits. I have one for Agatha Christie adaptations. They nearly always disappoint, because Christie novels have been designed with one instantiation in mind – reading them on a rainy afternoon… Continue reading
