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…
Based on a true story, this is a tale of one man’s obsession to build a monument to his beloved daughter. Set in France, the film begins in 1979 and pans some three decades. Joseph Cheval (played by Jacques Gamblin) is a quiet, withdrawn and solitary postman who has just buried his first wife and…
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…
Gritty realism at its ugly best. That’s Ken Loach’s latest working class, slice of life film. As painful as it is to watch the struggles of the family at the centre of it, it is another beauty. It is a story about decent folk who get a bad deal in life, which keeps on delivering….
Christmas. The period everyone is jolly again. Family reunions. A brown-baked turkey with a tasty filling that was squeezed through its smallest hole. Christmas trees full of sparkling baubles, angel hair and soft-yellow LED lights. Every few moments a Christmas song is being heard on the radio. Christmas presents are piling up. And everyone hopes…
Rural noir being the big thing at the moment, it’s sad that many seem to have forgotten that there have been superbly talented authors like Garry Disher telling beautifully crafted, intelligent, and informed stories of the urban fringe, and the rural regions for many years. Peace is the second book now to feature Constable Paul…
A crowd pleaser based around sea shanties. That is Fisherman’s Friends, set in the picturesque fishing town of Port Isaac in Cornwall. Danny (Daniel Mays) is one of a group of four lads from London who work in a music talent agency. They decide to spend a stag weekend in Port Isaac and rock up…
English author Aldous Huxley wrote about a brave new world in a dystopian novel first published in 1932. I wonder what he would have thought of the world of artificial intelligence circa 2020 (well we are almost there). Let me put it this way, we have a long way to go before robots or artificially…
Supernatural hazing. Is there such a thing? I think not, but there is according to this festive season horror – a remake of the 1974 and 2006 killer chiller features. Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. But as Riley Stone (Imogen Poots – Green Room) and her sorority sisters prepare to deck the…
