Killing crooks with kindness. That is the concept behind this original animated feature, which turns traditional methods of spying on its head. Lance Sterling (the voice of Will Smith) is an elite loner – the best of the best, who does things others can’t. Mind you he doesn’t always follow the instruction of the agency…
Feeling and sensitivity pervade every fibre of the sensual and artistic work by French auteur Céline Sciamma (Girlhood). We’re in Brittany, France in 1760. Slow-moving but compelling, Portrait of a Lady on Fire concerns a secretive and developing relationship between a painter, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and her subject, Héloïse, (Adèle Haenel), who has just left…
There’s a great deal of warmth and good humour in filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu’s (who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Shoplifters) wry new dramedy The Truth. It is his first film abroad in a language not his own and he worked with a totally French crew. It also marks the first time beloved Academy…
By the end I was bawling like a baby. CATS, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical as a Tom Hooper-directed and co-written (with Lee Hall) film, is a triumph of theatrics – costuming, make-up, choreography, colour and emotion. In the original 1980s stage musical, CATS takes place on the night of the annual Jellicle Ball, when…
The offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) trying to resolve deep-seated familial issues is front and centre in this official close of the Skywalker odyssey. A largely masked Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is given the opportunity to be the unchallenged galaxy leader, with power and control…
The original Jumanji (1995) concerning a board game coming to life, which starred Robin Williams, was a rolled gold winner. The reboot – two years ago – was in my eyes an unmitigated disaster, notwithstanding its box office success. This sequel is slightly better than that, but still basically very, very silly. Give me the…
Superlatives are inadequate to describe a truly mesmerising performance from a woman of grace, charm and sublime talent. Bernadette Robinson in Songs for Nobodies inhabits upwards of 10 characters – English, American, Irish, French and Italian – like a second skin. She weaves stories and sings popular tunes and opera as five ordinary folk rub…
Quite the epic, Little Women – directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) – is a moving adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s award-winning novel. The story unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March (Saoirse Ronan), reflects on her fictional life. It is the tale of four young women – sisters Jo, a writer, Meg…
The Two Popes gives us the behind the scenes story of how one Pope stood aside for another in a move not seen for more than 700 years. The pair – Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) – didn’t see eye to eye on several issues and yet had mutual respect. One…
Sassy and darkly humourous, the stage musical Chicago circa 2019/2020 remains a sordid tale of corruption, given new life by headliners Natalie Bassingthwaite, Alinta Chidzey, Casey Donovan and Jason Donovan. With lyrics by Fred Ebb, music by John Kander and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, the time frame is jazz-age Chicago. The musical is…
