Film Reviews

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Saturday, April 26th, 2014 Film Reviews,

To go from the cultish Only Lovers Left Alive to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is to leave the would-be sublime for the out-and-out ridiculous. The latest blockbuster is always referred to as “eagerly-awaited”, but at last week’s preview, audiences had to wait more than an hour and a half because of problems with a digital […]

Film Reviews

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Monday, January 6th, 2014 Film Reviews,

J.R.R.Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings is reputedly the second bestselling novel of all time – after A Tale of Two Cities! A trilogy of some 1,800 pages, it is the sequel to The Hobbit, the fourth bestseller of all time, which clocks in at a mere 270 pages. Yet both stories have been turned […]

Film Reviews

Blue Jasmine & Mood Indigo

Saturday, September 14th, 2013 Film Reviews, Uncategorized,

There are directors who enjoy a special rapport with actors, being able to coax memorable performances from the most unpromising talent. On the opposite side of the ledger are those such as Baz Luhrmann, who can assemble an all-star cast and turn everyone into a cardboard cut-out. Woody Allen is the joker in the pack. […]

Film Reviews

We Steal Secrets, A Gun in Each Hand, Pacific Rim

Saturday, July 13th, 2013 Film Reviews,

If ever you had a sneaking feeling that Julian Assange was not the ultimate hero and martyr of our time, Alex Gibney’s We Steal Secrets will turn suspicion into certainty. The portrait of the WikiLeaks founder that emerges from this documentary reveals a man whose quest for truth has become an exercise in personal propaganda. […]

Film Reviews

Life of Pi & Samsara

Saturday, January 5th, 2013 Film Reviews,

Every movie seems to come with a pithy tag line intended to be thought-provoking and seductive. Probably the two best-known examples are: “In space, no-one can hear you scream”, from Alien (1979); and “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..” from Jaws 2 (1978). In the latter case the […]

Film Reviews

Le Havre

Saturday, April 7th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,

Some films are too good to be saddled with that paralysing epithet, “heart-warming”. One thinks of smiling, rosey-cheeked children, poor but honest parents, perhaps a loveable old codger, and a dog. Aki Kaurismaki’s Le Havre has the dog, it has the salt-of-the-earth characters, but it also has a vein of surreal humour that never allows […]