Category: Films
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The Duke of Burgundy
Peter Strickland is one of my favourite directors at the moment, and basically I will watch anything he makes. He used an inheritance to make Katalin Varga, a fascinating little 2009 film in which a woman confronts the abusers of her past. It’s set in Romanian speaking Hungary and filmed in that language. But it…
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Scheduling Films
A regular moan, but it bears repeating. Do we have to have “awards season” films? What is the idiocy behind releasing every film Hollywood (and others) think is awards worthy over a 2-3 month period when there are so many barren times of the year? Yes – I understand that winning an Oscar/BAFTA has a…
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Films Sometimes Take A While
Last year at the London Film Festival, I went to the surprise film. It was Wong Kar Wai’s long awaited new film – The Grandmaster. Well I say, “new”, but actually I was watching it in October, when the film had actually come out in China in January 2013. The film had experienced a somewhat…
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The Imitation Game
I’ve long been fascinated by the story of Alan Turning. I first read Andrew Hodges’ book, on which The Imitation Game is based, sometime back in the late 80s or early 90s, although it was first published in 1983. Subsequently, I saw the TV version of Hugh Whitemore’s play, Breaking the Code, starring Derek Jacobi…
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Interstellar
A new Christopher Nolan film is always something to welcome. He’s been on quite a winning streak for a while now. And while I might prefer the original Norwegian Insomnia to his perfectly fine remake, and think that Christopher Priest’s novel of The Prestige is better than the film, I’m actually a fan. Interstellar is…
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American Hustle
The new David O Russell film, American Hustle is immensely enjoyable. We’re dropped in at the deep end, with some kind of con or undercover operation going on. And not going well. But we get quickly get into flashback as our narrator and main character Irving Rosenfield (Christian Bale), sets out in a life –…
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Captain Phillips and Saving Mr Banks
Tom Hanks managed to somehow both open and close this year’s London Film Festival with a pair of very different films that I managed to see within twenty four hours of each other. Some film-makers demand to be seen, whatever they do. And Paul Greengrass is one such film-maker. Captain Phillips opened this year’s London…
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The Grandmaster
One of the fastest selling tickets at any London Film Festival is always the surprise film. As you’d imagine, it’s not a film that anyone knows about in advance. In the past I’ve seen Far From Heaven and Capitalism: A Love Story at the LFF. And I know that last year they showed Silver Linings…
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The Armstrong Lie
I’ve been watching the Tour de France for as long as I can remember. Back in the eighties, I readily adopted the new sports that Channel 4 brought to air – cycling, NFL, although perhaps not kabbadi. I certainly remember seeing Greg Lemond beat Lauren Fignon in a final stage time trial in 1989, to…
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Northwest and Kon Tiki
The Northwest, or Nordvest, of Copenhagen seems to be rough part of town. Let’s put it this way, you didn’t see much of it in The Killing or Borgen. It’s where the impoverished working class live, with kids falling helplessly into a life of crime. Casper is a young lad who burgles for a living.…
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Nebraska and Pioneer
As the London Film Festival gets into gear, I’ve been trying to catch a few films before heading to Salford and the Radio Festival. Nebraska is the new film from Alexander Payne, whose breakout film was Election, but who has also made About Schmidt, Sideways and The Descendants. I’ve not seen all his work, but…
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Gravity
Wow. I’ve just seen Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film, Gravity, and, well, just… wow! It’s a stunning piece of work, and I was just blown away by it on every level. Fear not – I won’t be spoiling the film in any way, and will say as little about the plot here as I can. Because…