Just as all families are unique, it’s safe to say that all have their own individual issues and, accordingly, suburban family life has long been fodder for theatrical works. In the case of From Darkness Steven Oliver’s take comes with humour but so much more; the darkly funny drama is, at its core, about bigger…
Loro is a bloated two and a half hour indulgence that serves up pure unadulterated hedonism. Co-written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty), the film is about Italian media tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi (Toni Servillo) between 2006 to 2010. In this fictional account, Sorrentino speculates on what may or may not have taken…
Some names need no introduction. And when it comes to the world of fashion, Pierre Cardin is one of those. But what’s behind the name motivates filmmakers P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes in their documentary The House of Cardin. This reverential doco sources both archival footage and contemporary interviews, including with Cardin himself (he…
A 16-year-old by the name of Levi Presley plunges to his death after leaping off the ledge of a tall casino hotel in Las Vegas, so an American voiceover tells us. That may appear to be the start of a horror story, but while the act and its repercussions most certainly are, The Lifespan of a…
This is a reboot of a series starring Chris Evans, Jessica Evans and Julian McMahon, among others that kicked off in cinematic form only 10 years ago. Filmmakers did the same thing with Spider-Man in 2012, a decade after it first hit cinemas. So, here we have another contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running…
True crime and true crime podcasts are having a moment, not only in the real world but also in fiction. However, in fiction, writers can start to get behind the obsession with true crime, the ethics of these investigations and the consequences, both good and bad, of reopening old cases. Rebecca Makkai’s new novel I…
Zach Braff is probably still best-known as Dr JD Dorian on the very funny TV series Scrubs. But he’s also directed several films – including the well-regarded Garden State (2004), Wish I Was Here (2014) and Going in Style (2017). Now after a few years working in television, he’s back with A Good Person. Braff…
Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, is probably now as well known for her series of espionage thrillers featuring English agent Liz Carlysle. The Devil’s Bargain is well within the spy genre but breaks out some new characters. It is currently a stand alone but is in some ways an origin story for a new…
There have been a few excellent, heart-wrenching movies made in recent years about disabled men being looked after by caring attendants. Those that immediately come to mind are The Intouchables (2011) with François Cluzet and Omar Sy, The Sessions (2012) featuring John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, and The Theory of Everything (2014) starring Eddie Redmayne…
British filmmaker Andrea Arnold has given us a sometimes bleak view on listless British youth with films like Fish Tank, but with her latest film she has turns her discerning view on America. We are introduced to a motley crew of youngsters who travel around America’s Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. It is…
