Yorgos Lanthimos can be polarising. Even among his own fan-base, his films can be divisive. Recently, something of a split has emerged between fans of his “old stuff” (like Dogtooth and The Lobster) and those of his “new stuff” (The Favourite and Poor Things). I’m a bit on the fence here, because I’m certainly a…
Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos makes weird but oddly compelling and visually arresting dramas and absurdist comedies. His resume includes films such as The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and The Favourite, which have won numerous awards on the festival circuit. But his deadpan approach and detached style have proved polarising and controversial with…
Wow! What a ripping good, most entertaining, magnificently realised origin story. Cruella is clever, funny and sassy – a family comedy turned sophisticated adult offering. English children’s novelist and playwright “Dodie” Smith is best known for the novel The Hundred and One Dalmations (1956), which became the big screen animation 101 Dalmations in 1961. Disney…
The idea that the collective is stronger than the individual underpins The Croods 2: A New Age. This is of course the sequel to the successful animated film The Croods (2013). The story picks up when young Guy (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is left to fend for himself. His loved ones’ last words to him…
Ten years on, the little family of four in Zombieland: Double Tap are still doing what worked well when the zombie apocalypse first occurred. The rules of survival haven’t changed, though they may have been added to over all the years that Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and sisters Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and…
Do you like your period dramas to be fussy affairs filled with ruffles, secret courtships and proper manners? If you said yes, then The Favourite probably isn’t for you. Compared to traditional costume dramas, this is the cinematic equivalent of a Molotov cocktail. Idiosyncratic Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos steps tentatively into the mainstream with this…
One of the brightest talents in television creates one of the most audacious series of the year with Maniac. That talent is Cory Joji Fukunaga, the mind behind the acclaimed first season of True Detective, has crafted an exquisitely mind-bending experience. Of course, it helps to have A-list actors Emma Stone and Jonah Hill in…
In 1973, former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs played women’s champion Billie Jean King in a spectacular tennis match – dubbed the Battle of the Sexes – at the Houston Astrodome. Riggs was also a serial tennis hustler, gambling addict and sexist braggart. It proved a landmark that ultimately had repercussions for the status of women’s tennis and…
Damian Chazelle made a splash with 2014’s Whiplash, and now he takes a headlong dive into the deep end of the Hollywood pool with La La Land. This brilliantly conceived and handsomely executed paean to the Dream Factory is definite Oscar-bait and will also win a strong following from everyday moviegoers who should respond to…
I unashamedly love the way Woody Allen weaves such colourful and engaging stories on screen and also generates some great acting performances. This one concerns an alcohol-riddled, womanising, professor of philosophy called Abe (Joaquin Phoenix), held in the highest regard for his academic achievements, but who has lost all meaning in his life. That is…
