First, a big caveat. I realise this documentary about a pioneer of early cinema will have a limited audience. But Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché was total catnip for me. So I know my enthusiasm for this film may not be widely shared. But for anyone with a love for cinema in…
Have you ever faked it? In the intriguing psychological thriller Who You Think I Am, a middle-aged woman creates a fake Facebook profile to lure a much younger man. He’s on the hook, and she’s besotted, but the pair never meet. She is teacher Claire Millaud (Juliette Binoche), who assumes the name of Clara. She…
In many countries, homelessness is a big problem. But the scale of the issue hasn’t led to a lot of films exploring it. Emilio Estevez – making his first feature since 2010 – tries to redress the imbalance at least a little with The Public. This ambitious and rather surprising film deftly delves into the…
Action, corny humour and a thin script mark Hobbs & Shaw; the 9th feature from The Fast & Furious franchise. This one is a spin-off though, not a sequel. At stake is … surprise, surprise … just the future of the world due to a virus the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Hobbs…
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.”: Bill Shankly. The one-time Liverpool manager’s quip plays out on a far more profound level in The Keeper. And while football plays a significant role in Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s drama, it’s certainly not its sole…
Anger was my overwhelming emotion while watching this passionate, moving documentary about the barbaric Japanese practice of slaying defenceless whales in Antarctica. Four vessels of the marine wildlife conservation organisation Sea Shepherd set out on their ninth campaign to police the waters of the Antarctic. The location is the world’s only international whale sanctuary, where…
While watching Apollo 11, I felt immense pride in what Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the entire NASA team managed to achieve 50 years ago – on 20 July 1969. The never-before-seen footage lifts the lid on exactly what happened from the final hours before take-off until the three astronauts returned safely to…
Even if you’re not a ballet fan, it’s likely you’ve heard of Rudolph Nureyev. Along with Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, he’s an icon of the art form. But in The White Crow, actor turned director Ralph Fiennes delves into some lesser-known parts of Nureyev’s story to create a fascinating portrait of a supreme –…
Disney gives The Lion King a Jungle Book treatment, turning animation into a blend of live action and computer-generated imagery. The visual effects are spectacular. If you haven’t seen the 1994 original cartoon version, I suspect you’ll be satisfied with this 2019 representation of the story of young Simba’s rise. Director of The Jungle Book,…
Ever since Jaws made us afraid to go into the water we’ve had any number of monster films featuring a variety of killer creatures, from sharks to killer whales to grizzly bears to rats, spiders, snakes, piranhas, and even crocodiles that all played on our fears of nature and predators. In 1980 we even had…
