It is a truth universally acknowledged that we, as a society, have suffered from a dearth of good romantic comedies – possibly symptomatic of our cynical age but also a genre that’s, potentially, a salve for it. We were rom-com-less for years before a somewhat renaissance unfortunately consisting mainly of streaming slop: the genre (and…
No matter how many films you see, you never know when your next watch might become a seminal experience in your life. This recently happened to me when I finally watched The Red Shoes for the first time. Now, obviously this is an esteemed classic, lauded by cinephiles the world over and made by certified master filmmakers…
My second Michaela Coel-starring art-centred film in as many days, the ever-prolific Steven Soderbergh offers up a small-scale comedy with plenty to sink your teeth into. Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), an artist at heart who works in a food truck by day is approached by the children (Jessica Gunning and James Corden) of the once-great…
The first of three Zendaya-Robert Pattinson starrers this year has arrived. A highly-anticipated, high-concept, twisted romantic-comedy-drama, The Drama really delivers on its promises. We meet Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson), a happily engaged couple as they make the final arrangements in the week running up to their wedding. The stage is set through flashbacks…
Finally arriving in UK cinemas, Splitsville delivers a decidedly off-kilter comedy putting marriage, friendships and monogamy (or lack thereof) under the microscope to messily funny effect. Split by quasi-legal chapter headings, we begin with Carey (Kyle Marvin) and Ashley (Adria Arjona) driving to their friends Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul’s (Michael Angelo Corvino) lakehouse. On the way,…
Every now and then a film so original comes along that you can’t quite believe it got made in this day and age and it is a thrill to even see it made it to your local multiplex. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is one of those films: a wild, zany adventure that is…
Finally arriving in cinemas over a year after its Sundance premiere and now with a slew of Best Actress nominations for Rose Byrne in tow, Mary Bronstein’s black comedy-drama about motherhood is a personal tale of nightmarish proportions. We are thrown into the life of Linda (Byrne), a therapist whose husband is away long-term for…
James Cameron whisks us back to Pandora for a third outing, following directly on from The Way of Water. Whilst it remains an immersive epic, Fire and Ash feels more familiar than it should. We rejoin Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family as they are struggling with the grief of losing son Neteyam. Neytiri…
After an incredible run of films of the calibre and ilk seldom seen, Luca Guadagnino returns with After the Hunt, which arrived with a provocative premise, stellar cast and a presumed great directorial match, but faded quickly into one of the year’s biggest disappointments. The film centres itself on Alma (Julia Roberts), a philosophy professor at…
I am not the first to bemoan our increasing lack of shared experience and our increasingly fractured, algorithm-driven culture, but the honestly transcendent experience I had at the Hamnet gala premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, really drove home what we risk losing. The London Film Festival is my favourite place to be. It always has…
