The uneven paranoia thriller pastiche, Maxxxine is the third instalment in the X series which began with gothic horror films X and Pearl. This instalment, which takes us into the mid 80’s LA, is a homage of sorts to the era’s infamous video nasties. As in X and Pearl, Mia Goth stars, this time as porn actress Maxine Minx. Despite
Read moreSuch is the power of Gen X nostalgia that a film made nearly 30 years ago can still seem ripe for a sequel. Thankfully, though, Twisters – which is more a remake than sequel of the 1996 Helen Hunt/ Bill Paxton film Twister – isn’t just a nostalgic cash-in but a surprisingly entertaining action/ romance. Twisters stars Daisy Edgar Jones
Read moreLike David Lynch in the 80’s and 90’s, Greek film director Yorgos Lanthimos is bringing dark, surreal cinema to a mainstream audience. Some, however, feel his films are more about superficial weirdness and shock value than substance. Those calls might become a little louder with his latest piece of misanthropic mayhem the drama/ horror/ comedy triptych, Kinds of Kindness. While
Read moreThe fake moon landing conspiracy has been a fertile myth for many years and even inspired a decent thriller in 1977’s fake Mars landing romp, Capricorn One. Now, the amiable, old fashioned and slightly clunky Fly Me to the Moon, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, attempts, with middling success, to build a rom-com and a good old American propaganda
Read moreLike a very restrained and low-key mix of Lost In Translation and Truly Madly Deeply, Sidonie in Japan, is a tonally shaky but still very charming and at times moving story of grief, guilt, alienation and emotional healing. Isabelle Huppert plays moderately famous author Sidonie Perceval who, while still trying to come to terms with her husband Antoine’s (August Diehl)
Read moreMidnight Oil were always an intriguing mix of contradictions. They were almost as much an activist entity as a band. Their sound was an unusual mix of disparate genres such as hard rock, punk, surf music and prog and was sufficiently diverse that just about anyone would like at least some of their repertoire even if they recoiled at other
Read more