With significant political, religious and cultural conflict in the world today, a reworking of a well-worn story about war seems particularly pertinent. The Trojan War, fought around the 12th century BCE, between the early Greeks and the people of Troy – now a part of Turkey – lasted a decade. It was, arguably, sparked when…
I can’t think of a play I have seen that I have detested more than the 40 minutes of garbled nonsense I sat through before walking out of The Anarchy (1138-53). The title refers to a civil war in England and Normandy at that time, which resulted in a widespread breakdown of law and order….
It is October 1915. Private James Martin (Oliver Tapp) is lying in bed on the hospital ship the Glenart Castle coughing his lungs out. Memories of his family back home in Australia come flooding back. This is the story of a boy who, after blackmailing his parents, enlisted in the Army, having falsified his age….
Between September 7th, 1940 and May 11th, 1941, the Nazis carried out an intense bombing campaign in London and other strategic cities across Britain. The offensive came to be known as the Blitz (after the German word for lightning war – blitzkrieg). During the Blitz, 1.25 million British living in urban centres, more than half…
Writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina) is a master filmmaker who steps it up a notch with the blockbuster Civil War. In the film, America is at war with itself. The President (Nick Offerman) has declared he is on the verge of victory, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Looking to take…
A tinge of nostalgia permeates this drama which is the final film for two-time Oscar and Tony award winning actress Glenda Jackson, who passed away late last year at the age of 87. It is also rumoured to be the final film for dual Oscar winner Michael Caine, who announced that he is retiring from…
Wolves of Winter is the second book in Dan Jones historical Essex Dogs trilogy which is following a crew of English soldiers in the early days of what was to become known as the Hundred Years War. The first volume, Essex Dogs, took the men from their landing in France to the battle of Crécy…
Ridley Scott has never been afraid to take risks. That much is evident from his many canonical films including Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Blade Runner. But for every Gladiator, there’s a Robin Hood. He seems to have a tendency to always shoot for the stars, sometimes succeeding brilliantly but sometimes falling short. His…
Director John Madden is a bit of an enigma. The Englishman is of course best known as the director of Shakespeare in Love. He’s also done some fine work in films like Proof (2005), The Debt (2010) and Miss Sloane (2016). But he also has Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Killshot on his resume. His new…
The tense Holocaust drama Farewell, Mr Haffmann concerns a Jewish jeweller in France caught up in the maelstrom as the Nazis spread their tentacles. It is May 1941 and Joseph Haffmann (Daniel Auteuil) runs a small jewellery shop. He’s noted for his fine craftsmanship. Haffmann sees the situation in occupied Paris worsening and understands the…
