Articles + Quotes on Film & TV

 This might just be the first film I've watched that has pushed my own limits of dark comedy. Definitely not one for beginners, and not one to watch with the family. That being said, if you're feeling brave enough and feel like seeing real revenge play out that echoes the very real realities of the world we live in, then dive right in. But don't say I didn't warn you. Memorable, with some carefully understated roles from the likes of Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Molly Shannon, Alison Brie, Laverne Cox, Clancy Brown and Alfred Molina - all quietly tiptoeing over the literal and very real darkness that goes on but doesn't get mentioned with any real action being taken. Carey Mulligan, fifteen years after her film debut as Kitty Bennett is in the starring role here as Cassandra Thomas. And like another recently Margot Robbie produced film, Ms Mulligan is portraying a one woman powerhouse on a mission with more wit and guile than most other revenge flicks put toge

 There is a reason why war films are made. Beyond the usual chicanery of making a movie - there is the overwhelming responsibility to remind people of the horrors of war. But beyond even that, beyond the horrors of war that are portrayed on the silver and small screen, is the tragic and sickening madness of the Holocaust. And especially now, when the world is reeling from unimaginable cruelties anew, we have to remind ourselves that we might be capable of not just seeing it but also stopping it. This film, Resistance almost plays like a Shakespeare production from the start. Ed Harris, is this film's 'Chorus' providing us with the introduction and conclusion to the tale. Only Chorus is now General Patton and he is speaking to soldiers, not theatre goers. Marceau Marcel, as he becomes, is portrayed with startling innocence by Jesse Eisenberg. That innocence is fleeting as he becomes more involved in the resistance, helping children escape the Nazis. His performance is one of

There is a reason why so much care must be given to portrayals of historical events. A poor portrayal happens when the history is kept one sided, tamed or otherwise blunted. Claws removed, it has all the power of a wet tea towel and just as appealing. You can rest easy, knowing this film, the latest by the great Aaron Sorkin, has the power of a hurricane, volcano and a hail storm combined and like natural disasters, will have you breathless, tense and on edge until the crew and cast credits roll.  In this film, everything is turned up to eleven. The real life drama is compelling on its own but Mr Sorkin's steady hand on the script and as director - means that every angle of this story is covered. Pure perfection. It has been said before, he is a master of the political drama and here he proves it in spades. As I said, portrayals of historical events need to be carefully handled. It's not enough to merely show what happened, editing plays a huge part in keeping the whole thing t

A little context: when I was around ten, we got on video, three episodes of Batman: The animated series. This was my first introduction to the character of Harley Quinn, a little short on her marble collection (given her company, hardly a distinction) but clearly just as able to hold her own up against the other crazies in Gotham. Given this was the nineties and live DC heroines were limited to Batgirl, Harley Quinn became my new favourite. I decided to ignore the fact she was a villain. And while it seemed that every other DC character was given the live action treatment, this one was getting passed over each time. When the trailer for Suicide squad was released, my inner ten year old was whooping with joy, more so seeing the character come to life on the big screen - then bitterly disappointed with the rest of the film. Thanks to the combined efforts of director Cathy Yan director and writer Christina Hodson, we finally have a Harley Quinn movie that surpasses Suicide Squad in e

Regardless if you enjoyed the two Sherlock Holmes films, or thought the new reimagining of Aladdin was exciting, or the King Arthur film was epic - nothing really gets you moving to the cinema quicker, than the thought of Guy Ritchie returning to make a proper gangster film. And thank whatever person was responsible for getting this idea to the big screen and for Mr Ritchie to get behind the camera (and on the proverbial typewriter - along with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies) because this was a great one. Great acting skills aside, what this film called for most, is screen presence. It's all well and good writing some menacing lines, but you have to be able to believe who's speaking them. And you definitely believe Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, along with Eddie Marsan, Henry Golding and Michelle Dockery - are going to deliver on the violence coming. Along with  Jeremy Strong and Tom Wu (once again a George in a Guy Ritchie film) plus some of the other

Despite the authorship of the book this is based on being by the combined powers of Neil Gaiman and the late great Terry Pratchett, this has a strong whiff of the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy - something Neil Gaiman himself commented on in an interview. Given the strong (funny, entertaining) material in the book, all that was really needed was the cut, copy and paste option for the script, and a strong cast to bring the characters to life. (Plus a few special effects, music and fancy camera work.) And Frances McDormand to narrate the whole thing, as God. Because, really, who else can master that? Enter David Tennant and Michael Sheen, who portray the demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale respectively. They clearly had a ball making this, both devour their roles with obvious glee and their scenes together are an absolute delight. (So, if someone else can team these two up for something, hurry up please!) The story, told in six episodes, centres on the end of the world, and th

Back in 1843, almost two hundred years ago, Charles Dickens wrote and had published a book named A Christmas carol. Like his other works, it opened the eyes of its readers to the plight of the poor, the downtrodden, disenfranchised, elderly, sick and oppressed. While Victorian England was the age in which many good works were done to alleviate people's suffering, there was a lot of suffering for all those who weren't privileged to own property or vote. Selling out overnight, it forever established its story of how we view Christmas, with the snow and holly (regardless of which hemisphere we live in) and the characters of Scrooge and Tiny Tim, along with their famous phrases: 'Humbug!' and 'God bless us everyone.' It is a joyous tale, with redemption, love, family and friendship. Fast forward to 2019 and we now have a three part adaptation of the tale, created by Steven Knight, with Guy Pearce as the main character. Very much a no frills edition, this

I saw this film last week and I am still thinking about it. A good film should keep you wondering about the subject matter and this was a great film. Taika Waititi has done this before, made the child the protagonist in his films and explored on a deep level the experiences that can make us stumble as adults and somehow make us laugh at the same time. In this film, the protagonist is a ten year old in Nazi Germany. Like others, he has become deeply committed to the third reich and his imaginary friend is Hitler himself (portrayed here too by Mr Waititi - the Hitler imagined by a ten year old is a new one) but finds himself questioning the ideals pressed on him when he discovers a young Jewish girl hiding in his attic. Mr Waititi, pulling off the ultimate double hat trick as director, writer and actor. He strikes the rare and perfect balance at finding the farce in the lunacy of the Nazi regime and the heartbreak of the realities of what war does, to the community and to people.