A man who lived the kind of life he wanted inspires the feel-good Hampstead. The setting for the film is breathtaking. Hampstead in London is famous for its beautiful and much-loved heath – a piece of quiet countryside in a vast metropolis. Living on the edge of the heath is American widow Emily Walters (Diane Keaton). Since her…
Madame is a romantic comedy set in Paris. But this one misses the mark and then some. Anne (Toni Collette) and Bob (Harvey Keitel) are a wealthy American couple in a waning marriage. They move into a manor house in the City of Light, where affairs are commonplace. While preparing a luxurious dinner for friends, Anne is…
It was bound to end badly, but what a rollicking ride. Tom Cruise (Top Gun) reunites with his Edge of Tomorrow director, Doug Liman, in the international escapade American Made. The film is based on the outrageous (and real) exploits of a hustler and pilot unexpectedly recruited by the CIA to run one of the biggest covert operations…
Gritty and unrelenting, Wind River marks the directorial debut of Taylor Sheridan. He’s the screenwriter behind Sicario and Hell or High Water; and here he weaves a tense thriller. Wind River is Sheridan’s conclusion to a thematic trilogy (with those earlier films) exploring the modern American frontier. The film explores what Sheridan calls “perhaps the most tangible remnant…
Two US soldiers are literally in the firing line in the unrelenting psychological thriller The Wall. The pair are Sergeant Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), an army ranger who serves as spotter; and his sniper partner, Sergeant Matthews (John Cena). They’re pinned down by an Iraqi sniper. But the fight becomes as much a battle of wills and…
Charlize Theron’s character is put through the wringer as the Berlin Wall comes down in Atomic Blonde. This stylish and violent spy thriller is based on a graphic novel series, The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Sam Hart. The screenplay is by Kurt Johnstad and directed by David Leitch (John Wick). It’s 1989 in Germany. The Berlin…
The terms “medically induced coma” and “charming rom-com” may not seem an ideal fit, but that’s exactly what happens in The Big Sick. Kumail Nanjiani’s (literal) labour of love is one of the more original and engaging romances of recent years. You might recognise Nanjiani from TV’s Silicon Valley. He’s also appeared in smaller parts…
After jaunts through northern England and Italy, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon embark on another culinary road trip. This time, the guys head to Spain to sample the country’s gastronomic offerings in between rounds of off-the-cuff banter. Over plates of pintxos and paella, they exchange barbs and their patented celebrity impressions. Fun, but overly indulgent, this third…
Highly creative and well orchestrated is this mystery fantasy about grief. Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), A Monster Calls is a visually stylish, emotional drama. Patrick Ness, who also wrote the screenplay, penned the award winning novel on which it’s based. Twelve year-old Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is hardly your conventional kid. He is about to escape…
Terrence’s Malick’s The Tree of Life won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, but it drove me batty because I could not make head nor tail of it. So too David Lowery’s (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) A Ghost Story, which I only understood in the most rudimentary way. It concerns an official ghost. You know the ones,…
