Film Reviews

Wild Rose review - how country music can set you free

Adam Sweeting Thursday, 11 April 2019

It was the fabled Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard who commented that country music is “three chords and the truth”. Rose-Lynn, the protagonist of Wild Rose, just happens to have the surname Harlan, and she has the “three chords” motto tattooed on her forearm.

Mid90s review – rise of a skate gang tyro

Graham Fuller Wednesday, 10 April 2019

There’s an admirable modesty in the way Jonah Hill has approached his first film as writer-director.

Pet Sematary review - spine-jolting shocks, but a disappointing ending

Adam Sweeting Saturday, 06 April 2019

The wilds of Maine have been favourite country for novelist Stephen King, and they form the setting for this new version of his 1983 supernatural thriller (previously filmed in 1989).

Happy as Lazzaro review - magical realism from Italy

mark Kidel Friday, 05 April 2019

Italy has a romance with rural grit and innocence and – perhaps not surprising in a country where the links between village and city are still very strong: Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro (Lazzaro Felice) isn’t in any way derivative, but revisits some of the same territory as Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) and the Taviani Brothers’ Padre Padrone (1977) and Kaos (1984), all classics of...

Shazam! review - refreshing super-goofiness

Nick Hasted Thursday, 04 April 2019

The DC Universe continues to back out of its dark dead end with this satiric kids’ film about the other Captain Marvel.

The Sisters Brothers review – wonderfully off-the-wall western

Demetrios Matheou Wednesday, 03 April 2019

French director Jacques Audiard is a master at genre with a twist, most famously the prison drama A Prophet, but also a number of crime thrillers with atypical settings or themes, including The Beat that my Heart Skipped (classical music), Dheepan (political refugees) and Read My Lips (office politics).

At Eternity's Gate review - Willem Dafoe excels in hyperactive biopic

Matt Wolf Saturday, 30 March 2019

It's all go – no, make that Van Gogh – when it comes to the Dutch post-Impressionist of late.

Out of Blue review - noir and cosmology collide

Tom Baily Saturday, 30 March 2019

At the start of Carol Morley’s noir mystery Out of Blue, detective Mike Hoolihan, bleary-eyed and slow, is carrying some burdensome weight. “This burger from last night is not sitting right,” comes the weary female investigator’s first line.

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story review - inside Sidebottom's head

Nick Hasted Friday, 29 March 2019

Frank Sidebottom was a petulant, man-child showbiz trouper with a papier-mâché head. He was more spontaneously subversive than memories of his heyday rampaging round Nineties kids TV may suggest. As to the rigorously hidden man behind the mask, he was more peculiarly brilliant than that.

Dumbo review - does Tim Burton’s new adaption take flight?

Joseph Walsh Thursday, 28 March 2019

At its heart, Disney’s fourth-feature, Dumbo, was about the love between mother and child, and defying expectations.

Minding the Gap review – profound musings on life

Owen Richards Friday, 22 March 2019

Where would you go for a devastating study on the human condition? The home movies of teenage skaters would be very low down on that list. But most of those movies aren’t filmed, compiled and analysed by Bing Liu, the director of Minding the Gap.

The White Crow review - gripping depiction of the brilliance of Nureyev

Adam Sweeting Thursday, 21 March 2019

Genius is as genius does, and Rudolf Nureyev made sure nobody was left in any doubt about the scale of either his talents or his ambitions.

Girl review - Belgian art-house portrait of a teenage ballerina

Saskia Baron Friday, 15 March 2019

Girl opens in a golden haze of sibling affection; a teenager is tickling a little boy one sunny morning in their bedroom. Lara is 15 and has just moved to a new flat with little brother Milo, 6 and single dad Mathias. The family have changed cities because Lara has been offered an 8-week trial at a prestigious ballet school.

Triple Frontier, Netflix review - war-on-drugs thriller suffers identity crisis

Adam Sweeting Friday, 15 March 2019

Flying boldly against the #MeToo grain, Triple Frontier is a rather old-fashioned story of male buddyhood and the disappointments of encroaching middle age.

Under the Silver Lake review - fascinating LA noir folly

Nick Hasted Thursday, 14 March 2019

Disappointment is instant, anyway. David Robert Mitchell’s second film, It Follows, was a teenage horror tragedy of perfectly sustained emotion.

Benjamin review - awkward romcom meets cultural analysis

Tom Baily Wednesday, 13 March 2019

Benjamin is the debut feature of Simon Amstell, a young director who has thought cleverly about the torments (and hilarities) of artistic creation in an information-soaked world.