When Pope Francis recently approved the blessing of same sex couples by priests, he polarised many Catholics. Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers (16) may polarise them even more. It deals with the struggle of a gay man, Adam (Andrew Scott), with his sexuality, mixing reality and illusion in an intense operetta of the emotions.…
It’s 1988 and we’re coming up to Christmas. Elderly Jew Sir Nicholas Winton (Anthony Hopkins) is decluttering his study to please his wife Grete (Lena Olin). In the process he discovers a scrapbook from World War II. Flash back half a century. Nazism is about to sweep across Europe. The young Nicky (Johnny Flynn) is…
I refused to become a Barbenheimer during the year. When I was growing up there was a perfectly respectable practice of showing ‘small’ pictures and ‘big’ ones, despite the threat of the infamous ‘Paramount decree’ of 1948.
John Mulderig One promising way to get in the holiday mood is to watch a Christmas-themed movie. And, since yuletide films naturally tend to qualify as family-friendly, they can also provide an opportunity to gather the clan, make some popcorn and relax together. Following, in alphabetical order, are capsule reviews of eight such pictures with…
I have a theory. Endeavour is based on the same premise as Doc Martin. You probably think that sounds ridiculous but think about it. Both series feature introverted eccentrics who come up with elaborate solutions to complex problems. In one case they’re medical, in the other criminal. I recently bought box sets of both on…
Ronnie O’Sullivan is generally regarded as the greatest snooker player of all time. In the just-released documentary about his life, Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Reason (Amazon Prime) we’re brought into the complexities of his life and game. At times he appears so good he’s on a different planet to his colleagues. He can do…
As the race for the US presidency hots up, we’re confronted with the fact that we’ll possibly face a re-run of the last one. Regardless of one’s feelings about the merits of Messrs Biden or Trump, their prominence reflects the lack of young blood at the top of the political tree. I was only…
I went into Cat Person (15) thinking of Paul Schrader’s 1982 movie Cat People – for no other reason than the title. It has little in common with Schrader’s nightmarish curio besides that but you keep expecting it to turn into a horror film. Susanna Fogel directs with a clever use of anti-climaxes, red herrings,…
I don’t have a Smartphone. I only have a stupid one. It’s a Nokia.
Somebody should put up a statue of Ken Loach. For decades he’s been making great movies about little guys taking on the big institutions. In The Old Oak (15A) the enemy isn’t a conglomerate but a man’s own contemporaries. Refugees TJ Ballantine (Dave Turner) is the proprietor of the eponymous pub, a run-down establishment he’s…
Aubrey Malone
Ruadhán Jones