Goran Stolevski drops us into a maelstrom of a household and holds us there through grief and hardship and transcendent moments of love.
Continue readingHousekeeping for Beginners (2023)
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The Zone of Interest (2023)
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The ‘zone of interest’ was the Nazi party term for the 40 square kilometre area around Auschwitz and also the name of Martin Amis’s novel, a very different version of a glimpse into the life and home of Rudolf Höss.
Continue readingLove Lies Bleeding (2024)
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Refreshingly unpredictable and the kind of film that would usually have been about blokes, not daughters and body building lovers.
Continue readingCivil War (2024)
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There aren’t many films I watch where I feel my heart is in my mouth right up until the final act. Alex Garland is not one of my favourite directors so perhaps my expectations were slightly lowered for this intimate meditation on media and the personal choices we make.
Continue readingMaXXXine (2024)
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It’s feeling like a bit of a golden age for horror films where they are more than just a vehicle for shock.
Continue readingA Difficult Year (Une Année Difficile)(2023)
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If you’ve seen The Intouchables (2011) or The Extraordinary (2020), you’ll know that co-directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Tolenado have a deft hand at giving us emotional, character-driven stories that also tackle important social issues.
Continue readingKinds of Kindness (2024)
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Yes I could have seen this one on streaming on my TV screen but I chose to treat myself to a cinema viewing. I’m a very big Yorgos Lanthimos fan, particularly his early Greek-based works and a little less so of his more recent Hollywood outings. Kinds of Kindness is a mostly successful amalgamation of them both.
Continue readingStrange Darling (2023)
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This is one of those films that it’s better to go into not really knowing much about it, which makes it really difficult to write a review about it. So if you are planning to watch this, perhaps stop now and come back to my review after you have seen it.
Continue readingThere’s Still Tomorrow (C’è Ancora Domani) (2023)
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I chose this Italian film festival film almost at random, based on the session time and the fact that it was black-and-white. It was absolutely delightful.
Continue readingKneecap (2024)
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Music is a powerful tool for resistance and Rich Peppiatt’s delightfully frenetic retelling of the birth of northern Irish hip-hop band Kneecap shows the power and the vulnerability of sticking it to the Man.
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