When I heard Dogtooth & The Lobster’s director new film was a period piece about Queen Anne, my initial thought was ‘how will we get a typical Yorgos Lanthimos take on that?’ Within the opening few scenes, when the passenger on the coach opposite Emma Stone’s Abigail begins pleasuring himself… Continue reading
No, _this_ is my favourite film of the year. Boots Riley’s take on race and capitalism in America starts off like a surrealist version of The Office. It could have happily continued in this vein, but along its joyous, twisting route it takes in elements of Brazil, Robocop, Being John… Continue reading
I saw this despite it’s negative reaction and 33% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and while I wouldn’t urge you to see it (go and see Mandy instead), I find the hostility to it puzzling. The story centres on investigative reporter, Eddie Brock, with Tom Hardy in likeable mode, which is a… Continue reading
I’ll confess, sometimes I want to shake Wes Anderson and yell “Stop being so bloody Wes Anderson!” So twee and cool and hipster and symmetrically framed and deadpan. In the hipster bar of the boutique cinema after you seen Isle of Dogs you are likely to overhear some guy called… Continue reading
Let’s be honest, I was never going to be an advocate for this immature, male comedy. But the concept, and true(ish) life story of a group of friends playing a prolonged game of tag over 23 years appealed to my daughter, and I value any cinema trips together, so I… Continue reading
The first Deadpool marked my conversion to comic book movies. If not quite a road to Damascus moment, it was more of a motorway to Blackpool epiphany, but the meta jokes, bawdy humour and ironic winks were enough to indicate there was more to the genre than tedious CGI fights…. Continue reading
After a tough week at work (witnessing your university commit suicide publicly is never edifying) my daughter and I decided we wanted a “Friday night film”. Unfortunately Friday night films rarely manage to meet their meagre requirements (high on entertainment, medium of plot, mid to high chuckles, low on thought)…. 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
This film cropped up on a lot of my friends favourites from 2016, so I belatedly got around to watching it. I get why they liked it, but I loathed it. It’s one of those movies. Plot wise it centres on hopeless castaway Paul Dano discovering the corpse of Daniel… Continue reading
John Carney’s story of New Romantic coming of age in 80s Dublin is a sweet, charming treasure. The film follows Conor as the recession causes the break up of his parents marriage and his transfer from a private Jesuit school to the rough Catholic local one. Here the misfits form… Continue reading
