9 years ago
The Tao of text
4COL! ASAMOF, BON…! Or to say that in English: For crying out loud! As a matter of fact, believe it or not, some cinemas are now considering allowing patrons …
Read More
9 years ago
Screen legends: then and now
The death of Lauren Bacall (August 12, 2014) reminded me of a kinder, gentler time when actresses treated each other with respect. As when ‘Betty’ Bacall was asked how …
Read More
9 years ago
Pensioners in action
The boys are back in town, and by boys, I do mean old men.
The combined ages of the dozen leading male actors in The Expendables 3, which …
Read More
9 years ago
The evolution of the movie kiss
Can we have a serious talk about kissing? Have you ever noticed in old movies when Bogart or Clark Gable kissed a girl, her head would go back and …
Read More
9 years ago
The death of film
Film is dead. Quentin Tarantino read the last rites at the Cannes Festival this year when he arrived for a special 20th anniversary projection of Pulp Fiction. He was …
Read More
Recent Reviews
Bad people doing bad things
Detour
Written and directed by Christopher Smith
97 minutes, rated MA 15+
3 stars
There’s no such thing as originality, but that doesn’t mean you stop aiming for it. Detour …
Read More
An elegy for Emily D.
A Quiet Passion
Written and directed by Terence Davies
125 minutes, rated PG
4 stars
When one artist makes a film about another artist, you can be reasonably sure that …
Read More
Kartoonish Korean ultra-violence
The Villainess
Directed by Jung Byung-gil
Written by Jung Byeong-sik and Jung Byung-gil
122 minutes, rated R
3.5 stars
The Villainess is a high-octane Korean thriller about a young woman …
Read More
Fascinating half-true story
Monsieur Chocolat
Directed by Roschdy Zem
Written by Cyril Gely, Olivier Gorce, Gerard Noiriel and Roschdy Zem
114 minutes, rated M
4 stars
This is the fascinating true story of …
Read More
Black and white and red
Get Out
Written and directed by Jordan Peele
104 minutes, rated MA 15+
4 stars
A guide to African–American horror films would be a slim volume. There are black people …
Read More
Fine and brave
Don’t Tell
Directed by Tori Garrett
Written by Anne Brooksbank, Ursula Cleary, James Greville, based on a book by Stephen Roche
108 minutes, rated M
4 stars
Child abuse. …
Read More
Gurinder’s personal Partition
Viceroy’s House
Directed by Gurinder Chadha
Written by Paul Mayeda Berges, Moira Buffini and Gurinder Chadha
106 minutes, rated PG
3 stars
Where to begin with this fascinating, infuriating, entertaining …
Read More
Pablo Neruda as fantasy
Neruda
Directed by Pablo Larrain
Written by Guillermo Calderon
Rated MA 15+, 108 minutes
4 stars
A chubby man with a comb-over (Luis Gnecco) sits bare-chested in front of a …
Read More