Dramatisations of the life of Princess Diana have usually been misfires, the most notorious being the 2013 film Diana which, despite the star power of lead Naomi Watts, wound up as a fluffy costume drama and borderline turkey. Pablo Larrain’s Spencer, however, is a very different take on Diana’s story and while limited in scope, it’s a much more impressive
Read moreSplashed with vivid colour and featuring stories about relationships, solidarity and conflicts between women – particularly mothers and daughters – Pedro Almodóvar’s films are immediately recognisable. HIs moving new film Parallel Mothers has all the unmistakable Almodóvar traits, but in exploring women’s lives this time, he links the personal and the political in a story about confronting the raw truth
Read moreGiven director Guillermo del Toro’s catalogue of ornate gothic horror movies, it seems a film about a carnival freak show would be a career imperative. His latest movie, the confrontingly dark and creepy noir crime thriller, Nightmare Alley – which is a remake of the Edmund Goulding 1947 film – explores this unsettling and often sad world. Bradley Cooper stars
Read moreIn its odd but often very moving mix of refugee drama, quirky culture clash comedy, story of crushed hope and depiction of music as a source of salvation, Limbo at times recalls the lauded 2007 cross-cultural comedy-drama The Band’s Visit. Like that film, Limbo sees a group of people displaced from their homeland trying to cope with an unusual and
Read moreBoogie Nights, The Master and Magnolia director, Paul Thomas Anderson seems to have been imbibing a few Cameron Crowe films if his latest effort, Liquorice Pizza is any indication. An unusual ‘teen meets older woman’ romance and homage to the California of the 1970’s, this film is apparently based on the life of actor/ producer Gary Goetzman. The plot of
Read moreAs we emerge from the lockdown bunker we might be thinking we’re entering a brave new world but just to prove little has changed, there’s a Marvel film waiting for us, namely Eternals. The advanced word was that Eternals was the worst reviewed film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) so far. Given that the Marvel films have mostly been fast
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