Movie review - “The Critic” (2024) ***

Starts off great fun, with Ian McKellan having the time of his life as a bitchy theatre critic, very good support cast, enjoyable period detail and nods to the time (British racism, anti gay laws, the newspaper industry). Gets less fun as it becomes more serious.

Movie review - “The Way We Live” (2025) **1/2

Love Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield as actors. Not a bad movie at all. Made with taste. But doesn’t seem to go anywhere. No real progression in their relationship, regardless of non chronological storytelling. The only real conflict is she wants to go in her cooking competition. Love Story had a progression in terms of their relationship (he was uptown, she was poor), and also fleshed out the world in terms of their relationship with their respective dads. We meet family here but don’t do much with them. And friends. It doesn’t even get tears going.

Movie review - "See How They Run" (2022) ***

 Charming mystery about a murder backstage as they are going to make a film of The Mousetrap. Lots for buffs such as characters including John Woolf, Agatha Christie, Sheila Sims and Richard Attenborough. 

I'm not a huge Sam Rockwell fan but Soraise Ronan is delightful and Adrien Brophy is having fun.

TV review - "Spacey Unmasked" (2024) ***1/2

 Two part doco about the allegations against Spacey. So consistent and repetitive that it's even more remarkable the charges haven't stuck - actually, no, that's not remarkable, really. Plenty of strong ex military guys wanting to be actors struggling to explain why they felt so helpless but they are not the only type. Confronting. To flesh it out there's accounts from Spacey's brother about their upbringing - it's not a portrait devoid of sympathy. I wonder if it wouldn't have been more successful as a contained piece rather than a two parter. Still, well done.

Movie review - "Scoop" (2024) ****

 Great fun. Journalists digging at a story - really, it's all about the "get". Like a lot of British stories it's about class - the place of the royals, Prince Andrew's place within the royals (declining), his privelege (calling his mother "mummy" bringing up the Falkland Islands), but also within the BBC where Billie Piper is treated a little disdainfully and Gillian Anderson's presenter has been around the block.  Keeley Hawes' big sad eyes work a treat, because they make you wonder whether she did throw Andrew under a bus... or at least decided to expose some sunlight... I also loved how Hawes was a little star struck about Anderson. The costuming for the people who work in TV is spot on, especially Piper with her long hair, boots and keep cup. Rufus Sewell is very good in a tricky part but so is everyone.

Movie review - "What's Love Got to To with It" (2022) **1/2

 Jemima Khan has had a glamorous life - daughter of James Goldsmith, beautiful, married to Imran Khan, dated Hugh Grant, now screnwriter. Those things all would've been more interesting than this.

It's not bad. She provides an emphathetic view of Pakistani life, and sensitively handles arranged marriages verus Western love. Not a lot of romance - the two leads have no chemistry, the pakistan guy is a handsome lout but Lily James doesn't have a twinkle in her eye to make it work. Emma Thompson sparks itn up as do the older Pakistan actors, who are terrific - I didn't know these faces I'm sure they're experienced, they were great. The old ladies scolding modern ways was hilarious I would've liked more of that. It's not very funny.

Works best as a light drama, really. I mean, it's fine. I just would've preferred the story of marrying the captain of the Pakistan cricket team!

Movie review - "Wonka" (2023) ***1/2

 My expectations were low and it does drag but it goes off it its own direction, doesn't over do fan service, and carves out its own world, a combination of Cameron Mackintosh and Dickens. Timothee Chamalet is fine - not Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp but his own fresh faced creation.

It's got a good heart, a plucky orphan (that storyline worked for me esp reuniting with mum), people in prison basically doing washing, villains who are real threats, chocolate is amusingly swapped for drugs, Hugh Grant again steals every scene he's in.

Movie review - "Love at First Sight" (2023) *** (warning: spoilers)

 Amiable Netflix rom com that gives a starring role to the superb Haley Lu Richardson from White Lotus Season 2. Couple fall in love on a plane, lose track of each other, find each other. Jameela Jamil is a nrrator playing multiple roles.

Old friends like Dexter Fletcher and Sally Phillips turn up in support roles and are quite lovely together. It's got wafty covers of old favourites ("I Wanna Dance with Somebody"), funky costuming and commercials cinematography, a death (or rather imposing death). It works. It's holistic. It's greenlit by execs who spend a lot of time on airplanes, no doubt. I was moved.

Movie review - "Wham!" (2023) ***1/2

 Fun look back at the famous band benefiting from terrific home movie footage and much  contemporary footage. Back up singers clearly important. Human League vibe. Hilarious dancing. Good looks and high spirits important with George michael's genius as the X factor. Doesn't mention legal hassles between the first two albums.  Llindsay Anderson directed the China footage.

Movie review - "Catherine Called Birdy" (2022) ***

 I love how out of all the Game of Thones alumni Bella Ramsey is getting the choice roles. This is a fun, loving account of a novel thought it feels like an account of a novel. Watching it I was always going "this is probably better as a book, you can really get inside her head, and get all the detail".

There's a decent budget and the cast can't be faulted. Lena Durham does a good job as director. I do love the way the father loves his daughter down deep that was touching. It had resonance the rest doesn't but I recognise that could be because I'm a dad and I don't relate to the 14 year old girl stuff as much.

Movie review - "Ticket to Paradise" (2022) **1/2

 I enjoyed this but I saw it on a plane which is maybe the best way. But it's got funny lines, pretty scenery, treats Bali culture with respect (even if it was shot in Australia) and most of all the high wattage star power of Julia Roberts and George Clooney, both getting on but both still have It.

Frustrating things abound - why not give Billie Lourd a subplot? Why not have a woman chase Clooney? Kaitlyn Deever, a brilliant actor, never seems in to her finace. But a fun time. And I did like the reason why they broke up i.e. their dream house burnt down. That's a traumatic event. It gave hope that maybe they could make it work again - as opposed to some insolvable inherent problem.

Movie review - "No Time to Die" (2021) **** (warning: spoilers)

 Some of this ranks with top level Bond - the gloom, the references to On Her Majesty's Secret Service (including a reprise of "We Have All The Time in the World"), the new 007 (I loved that), the locations, Bond's dream house in Jamaica, Ana de Armas' Cuban agent, the acting, Remi Malek's villain, the action scenes.

The debits are clear and frustrating because so avoidable. Well, in a way. Lea Seydoux is gorgeous, can act and I loved her character and the romanticism of her relationship with Bond... but she looks so much younger than Daniel Craig it's like he's romancing his daughter. It never goes away. If only Monica Belluci had played this part in Spectre. Or they'd recast. But I guess they had to double down on a bad decision.

I didn't like that they killed off Felix Leiter. I guess they figured they needed motivation but if you can't get motivation in a film where Bond finds out he has a daughter... I mean, seriously?

The third act is a mess. And this was easy to fix. Just have them discover the plan, and the island, the world leaders get together (why keep it a secret, really? I know they try to explain it by having it be a secret British operation but it wasn't necessary), they decided to blow up the island, they need to open the hatch, Bond asks if he can extract his daughter and Seydoux, so you have a ticking clock I wish they'd brought along de Armas for the final attack. She was fun. The ending is messy. Malek is there, then he's gone, then he conveniently comes back.

And the death. It's a cheat. Because you know he's coming back and a missile hits him. They didn't even set up a clever "out". It's enough he can't see the woman he loves and his kid again. That's enough. Death is a cheat.

I think I could spot some Phoebe Waller-Bridge bits like the Ana de Armas being a bit ditsy and the associate of Leiter gushing over Bond. I could be wrong.

Movie review - "The Gentlemen" (2020) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would - I have an instinctive wariness of Guy Ritchie, but there's plenty of movie stars, story, great actors, funky music, and twists, and Ritchie still has verve behind the camera. The dialogue is enjoyable to listen to and most of all Hugh Grant is having the time of his life as a gay gossipy investigator who narrates the tale - his good mood was presumably helped by the fact most of his scenes are shot in one location. Jeremy Strong and Eddie Marsden were also excellent and there was decent work from the others.

Gripe time: there's an unpleasant strand of white supremacy through the film, with its white establishment figures banding together to keep out the Jews and Chinese who are disloyal and push heroin, sympathetic depiction of aristocracy, and depiction of Irish and blacks being useful if they are hired hands. I really didn't like the attempted rape scene it wasn't necessary.

Some character aspects could have been more thoroughly explored-  why was Colin Farrell so obliging? I mean to do one nice thing sure but he kept coming back to get the heroes out of trouble. Why was Charlie H so loyal to his boss? Isn't the Russian mafia dude still going to want to come after them at the end? Did Matthew McC get the money?

I did like the nods to The Long Good Friday.