Category Archives: Film review

Depraved behaviour, with the Harvey Weinstein trial in New York seeing the movie mogul jailed for 23 years, a second trial soon to be held in Los Angeles on new charges, The Assistant is a perfectly timed, highly topical study … Continue reading →

“The system is rigged. They want us to think they protect us. We protect us. We do!” That cri de cœur might easily be thrown in the face of any modern neo-liberal regime. Democracies have to be vigilant. People must … Continue reading →

Many years ago, in 1992, when stand up comedians were not the Calgary Stampede they are today as a career choice, so few they could be placed in a single venue and still leave room for a ballet company to … Continue reading →

Bong Joon-ho won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival for his black comic thriller Parasite. It is sure to win Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, and should win Best Screenplay too. This is a labyrinth of a … Continue reading →

These alarming times need a story about happiness that has us smiling, and iconoclast Armando Iannucci delivers the goods. But I have to ask myself what is he doing dabbling in Charles Dickens? It isn’t as if The Personal History of David … Continue reading →

There is no avoiding it. In the face of five star glowing reports, this review of 1917 must bite the bullet, if I can put it that way. Sam Mendes’ latest effort as a co-writer-director amounts to a fail, from … Continue reading →

For over thirty years, probably longer, the once considered Saturday afternoon children’s fair has dominated mainstream cinema to the detriment of adult movies. Kid’s films moved from cheap sets and worse acting to phenomenal blockbusters. The junk we were fed … Continue reading →

If there is an aspect to The Irishman pundits and critics alike are talking about more than anything it’s the films three-and-a-half hour length. Yes, it is an indulgence, a mighty one, one many a master filmmaker falls prey to … Continue reading →

‘Monos’ is Spanish for monkeys. That out of the way, the next thing to report is, critics who say a new talent has emerged in cinematic art are correct, even if it is Alejandro Landes’ third film. But whether he can learn … Continue reading →

A “masterpiece” scream giant, in-your-face billboards in Edinburgh, white on black, night illuminated, ranks of 5 stars above newspaper titles. That’s pretty impressive, pretty bold, confident, but is it nothing more than Hollywood hyperbole? To cut to the summation: the acting and … Continue reading →