Film
Impeccable filmmaking from Michael Haneke: Happy End reviewed
The title is ironic. The end is not happy for Michael Haneke’s bourgeois French family, whose hamper of festering secrets the…
Amusing, waspish take-down of Jean-Luc Godard: Redoubtable reviewed
Jean-Luc Godard’s famous dictum was: ‘all you need for a movie is a girl and a gun’. In Redoubtable, French…
Coffee, mist and brilliance: Sky Atlantic’s new series of Twin Peaks reviewed
So much coffee. Just like in the original, the characters in the new series of Twin Peaks get through so…
How Shanghai is becoming the new Hollywood
I was sweating on a treadmill in my local gym last week, when Scott Eastwood, son of Clint, appeared on…
Assayas’ Personal Shopper is slick, unnecessarily complex and totally irrelevant
Creaking doors, rustling leaves and leaky taps make up the soundtrack of Olivier Assayas’ improbable horror film Personal Shopper. But…
Why we need to cancel the Oscars to save the Oscars
Oscar has a problem, and I say that as a fan. If I could, I’d take one of those famous…
I want Elle to win an Oscar – but I also wish it hadn’t been made
Is it possible simultaneously to want a film to win an Oscar and to wish it hadn’t been made? That’s…
Affleck carries the film – with the help of that jaw: Manchester By The Sea reviewed
Everyone in Hollywood knows that if you want some good jaw-clenching you go to an Affleck brother. To older brother…
Inside the Ecuadorian embassy with Julian Assange: Risk reviewed
‘This film would not have been possible without the following encryption tools,’ is one of the least expected film credits…
Keanu Reeves’ asshole motel owner is one of the more sympathetic characters: Neon Demon reviewed
The first time we see Elle Fanning in The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn’s cannibalistic catwalk, she’s reclining on a…
The wunderkind disappoints – but Cassel may take Best Actor: Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World reviewed
‘This day fucking sucks,’ remark several characters over the course of Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World. It’s hard…
This luvvies’ letter warning against Brexit isn’t worth the paper it’s written on
Politicians from across the spectrum have had their say on Brexit. So, too, have various business leaders. Spy chiefs have…
Great hairdos, love the wallpaper – shame about the movie: Almodóvar’s Julieta reviewed
Pedro Almodóvar’s last two films were affronts to his reputation as a director. The Skin I Live In (2011) was…
Dull and impenetrable: Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin reviewed
Fans of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon be warned: this is not that. Never have I watched a film where the…
Stephen Hawking is a misogynist. And The Theory of Everything is a whitewash
We’re closing 2015 by republishing our ten most-read articles of the year. No9 is Tanya Gold’s piece from January, when The Theory…
The ten best home video releases of 2015
‘Tis the season for end-of-year lists. Here is mine. It’s for the ten best home video releases of 2015; which…
The films the Arab world doesn’t want you to see
‘I want a woman to be President,’ declared one of the ambulance drivers interviewed by Sherief Elkatsha for his film…
Richard Strauss was no conservative
With the ardent zeal characteristic of the freshly converted, I found myself channelling waves of anger towards Stanley Kubrick. The…
Conspiracies, hookers and bombs – welcome to the Odessa Film Festival
Odessa, the pearl of the Black Sea, is one of the most charming port cities you can imagine, the centre…
Magic Mike XXL reviewed: stripping can be sexy – but lying on a pinned-down woman’s face is not
It’s hard to overstate how much I wanted to like Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to the 2012 Steven Soderbergh…
Meet Stanislav Petrov – the cantankerous man who saved the world
I’ve just watched a rather good DVD. This happens so rarely that I thought I’d share the fact with you.…
Entourage review: its obsession with boobs, babes and oiled up bodies continues
Look, could everyone please stop denigrating the Entourage movie for spurious reasons like ‘it feels like an extended episode of…
What Afghan soldiers really think – the same as us
‘The NATO Commander in Eastern Afghanistan has said that this year 54 foreign bases have already been closed…’ Last December…
Force Majeure reviewed: meaty and hilarious – but it may wreck your relationship
If you’re unsure about the man (or woman) you’re dating, go and see this film. It’ll cause rifts in a…
Russell Brand’s The Emperor’s New Clothes reviewed: ‘uncomfortable viewing’
For the past year Russell Brand – who is worth an estimated £10 million – has been making a film…
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