Confusingly, Swan Song is the second film with that title to be released in 2021. The other starred Mahershala Ali and you can stream it on Apple TV+. This Swan Song is a gentle tribute to a number of things – a man, a place, a time, a culture and an idea. Writer-director Todd Stephens…
Few directors have as formidable a reputation as Paul Thomas Anderson. Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master, Phantom Thread – his films deal in big themes in majestic ways. So his latest, Licorice Pizza, might seem a change of pace for him. After all, this could be seen as a rom-com – complete with…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 17 December 2021. Nils Frahm’s double album Old Friends New Friends gathers together 23 solo piano tracks recorded between 2009 and 2021, almost all previously unreleased but, for one reason or another, omitted from other projects. The album offers…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 10 December 2021. The Myth of The Happily Ever After is a homegrown project by Biffy Clyro that represents a reaction to their #1 album A Celebration of Endings and a rapid emotional response to the turmoil of the…
Are you into French culture? How about classic American writing of the 1950s and ’60s? Haute cuisine? Student politics? Post-modern art? Balloon-assisted crime? Chess? If you said yes to any of those, chances are you’ll love Wes Anderson’s new film, The French Dispatch. Anderson is, let’s face it, a divisive filmmaker. In my experience, few…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 3 December 2021. Modern Nature have dropped their new album, Island of Noise, out now via Bella Union. The album is released only as a deluxe double vinyl box set with a second companion LP titled Island of Silence:…
Disney enlists Lin-Manuel Miranda for Encanto, an animated family adventure that comes off a bit like In the Heights transplanted to rural Colombia. While this is a film filled with colour and energy, its rather muddled plot and lashings of treacle diminished its impact for me. Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith share…
As cultural touchstones go, few are as storied – or problematic – as Dune. Frank Herbert’s dense 1965 novel was (and is still) regarded as a breakthrough in the sci-fi genre, spawning a sometimes-fanatical following. The book was often considered unfilmable – something reinforced by Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt at it in the 1970s. Then…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 26 November 2021. The members of Quatuor Ébène went round the world with the complete Beethoven quartets, now they go ‘Round Midnight. This album offers a creatively conceived programme, bringing together major figures from different streams of 20th music:…
Two newcomers, a rising star and a consummate veteran collaborate on Best Sellers. Anthony Grieco provides his first script for Lina Roessler to direct her debut feature. Both are actors who’ve now turned their hands to new fields. And despite some valiant efforts by all concerned, a lack of cohesion drags on this heartfelt film….
