Greta Gerwig has previously proved herself as an actor and writer, and now she adds director (Academy-award nominated, I might add) to her skillset. With Lady Bird, she infuses a beautifully observed tale of teenagehood with such heart and humour; it’s hard not to find yourself falling for it. We encounter the titular Lady Bird…
Following last year’s inadvertently overtly dramatic Oscars, one that will certainly go down in history, last night’s affair was a tad uneventful (perhaps a plus for the producers following 2017’s Best Picture debacle). The awards themselves held no real surprises, even in races that weren’t locks, the favourite inevitably walked away with the trophy. The…
We’re now just one day away from film’s biggest night, and despite certain films and filmmakers sweeping up awards left and right at other ceremonies, this year’s Oscars seems a little more unpredictable. Last year’s Moonlight triumph in the Best Picture race threw a huge spanner in the works in being pretty much the only…
I, Tonya begins by stating it is ‘based on irony-free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly’, and the multiple perspectives this provides, combined with a snappy script and darkly comic sensibility, makes I, Tonya a blast of a film that entertains, whilst also humanising the figure at its heart. Whilst…
Last night, the most prestigious awards in the British film industry were handed out in a show full of speeches characterised by Time’s Up, unsurprising winners, and a sweep of awards for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The biggest winner of the night, Three Billboards began by claiming the Best British Film award, and went…
Disclaimer: Frustratingly, there are still a few nominated films that haven’t been released in the UK yet, so I’ll be basing my predictions for those more off of the general consensus The biggest night in the British film calendar is now only a day away, and the anticipation is reaching fever pitch. It is one…
Arriving with an impressive 13 Oscar nominations, Guillermo del Toro brings us another fantastical tale, one featuring an amphibian man, that, despite its other-worldly qualities, is a deeply human tale of love. It is pure cinematic magic. Set in the 1960s, during the Cold War, the film follows Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute woman who…
After last year’s ceremony deeply influenced by the Trump era, and this year’s awards circuit being completely characterised by Time’s Up and MeToo, the run up to the Oscars has prompted the usual ‘I don’t want your politics’, ‘awards shows shouldn’t be political’, and the general notion that those in the film industry shouldn’t be…
The latest from Paul Thomas Anderson is hard to categorise. Yes, it is a period piece, it is a romance, but it is also, in some sense, a comedy of psychological games that eventually pushes its characters to the verge of absurdity. It is an entrancing and intriguing piece, prepared to challenge its audience. Set…
2018 marks the 90th Oscars, and, as would be expected, there is a lot of focus on that fact, both from within the Academy, and from outside observers. Sadly, despite the many celebratory events and posts on social media, the emphasis on 90 years, also places emphasis on the discrimination and lack of diversity the film…
