After “12 Years a Slave” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” I’d thought I’d seen all of the serious best actor candidates for this year. That was before I’d seen Matthew McConaughey’s performance in “Dallas Buyers Club”. The performance is simply outstanding:  less showy that DiCapprio’s in “Wolf”;  certainly  less worthy than Ejiofor’s in “Slave”; … Read more
The old student adage – “better a bottom in front of me than a frontal lobotomy’ – was never truer than in Martin Scorsese’s new film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.  The film tells the bizarrely true story of Jordan Belfort (based off his autobiography): a rags to enormous riches story of the ugly … Read more
Oscar Isaac portrays the titular Llewyn Davis in the latest film from Ethan and Joel Coen: surely creating one of celluloid’s most memorable losers. This is a joyfully melancholic film, if that makes any sense. Set in 1961 in Greenwich village in New York, Llewyn walks through a series of Dylan album covers, beautifully rendered … Read more
Quick pop quiz: name the four actors who have played Tom Clancy’s CIA character Jack Ryan on film….?   OK – I’ll give you a clue… Chris Pine plays the latest incarnation in Kenneth Branagh’s new film: “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”. This is not a film that is going to challenge for the Oscars methinks, and … Read more
(Republishing due to wordpress seeming to have thrown away my original post). I love this time of year in the run up to the Oscars when the real power-house films come to the fore. 12 Years a Slave is a case in point: a hard film to watch, but ultimately a must see.  … Read more