The supremely talented Washington family come together to keep the legacy of the late August Wilson alive with The Piano Lesson. And in the process, they’ve created one of the most extraordinary films of the year. The Piano Lesson is the third in patriarch Denzel Washington’s ambitious ongoing project to produce films of all Wilson’s…
The boys are back! Sure, the (nearly) 61 year-old Brad Pitt and the 63 year-old George Clooney hardly qualify as “boys” anymore, but their reunion in Jon Watts’ crime-caper Wolfs is still welcome. Their easy charm and almost telepathic on-screen chemistry elevate this amiable romp. I’m going out on a limb and suggest Watts (Spider-Man:…
For a while now, Glen Powell has largely traded on his (very) good looks. His recent cinema outing Anyone But You, proved a box office hit. But the actor spreads his wings somewhat as an undercover agent in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man. I say “somewhat” because he still can’t entirely escape his genetic gifts in…
Over the last decade, streaming services have changed the face of both television and movies. It hasn’t always been for the best; but occasionally the rise of streaming has provided some real benefits. One of those is that, in their never-ending quest for “content” (yeesh!), the streamers have given smaller films and TV shows the…
You remember that guy… You know, from that show… Oh, you mean Kramer? No, no, the other one… George? No – the other one What, Jerry? Yeah, yeah; that’s him. Of course – Jerry. After changing the face of television with Seinfeld (1991 – 98), Jerry Seinfeld has spent the next 25 years or so…
K-dramas (from South Korea), have been making a huge impact on Netflix in the past few years (e.g. Squid Game), with one of them, The Glory, making it into the top 10 for 2023. Gyeongseong Creature arrived with much hype, with the irresistible pairing of a couple of well-loved actors – Park Seo-Jun and Han…
The story made world news. On 15 May 2010, 16-year-old Jessica Watson became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop and unassisted. It was just her, a 10-metre-long boat named Ella’s Pink Lady and the elements. In the Netflix movie True Spirit, Teagan Croft plays Watson. Her mentor is a Ben Bryant (Cliff…
The success of the original Knives Out took many by surprise. On the surface a twisty “drawing room” mystery (though in reality much more), the film was a runaway success, prompting Netflix to sign director Rian Johnson up to at least two more films featuring the enigmatic detective Benoit Blanc. Now the first of them…
The church, religion and medical science have a lot to answer for in The Wonder. This is acclaimed director Sebastián Lelio’s first feature since Gloria Bell (2018). In 1862, nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) travels from England to small-town Ireland to watch an 11-year-old girl Anna O’Donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy). The reason soon becomes clear….
This generic globe-trotting action thriller comes across like James Bond on steroids. The Gray Man is based on the 2009 thriller written by Mark Greaney, who was a frequent collaborator with the late Tom Clancy and is credited with writing some of the recent Jack Ryan novels. The Gray Man introduces us to Court Gentry…
