I was intrigued by this film: the Times reviewer gave it 5 stars; the Sunday Times reviewer gave it 1 star. Such diversity of view has to be investigated! Let’s get one thing straight before we start; Under the Skin is very much an ‘art house’ film, so don’t go and see it if you … Read more
The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest from Wes Anderson, and what great fun it is. My review of Monuments Men pointed out that putting the likes of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville in the same film was no guarantee of a good film. Following that logic, … Read more
I’m a child of the 60’s, and to me as a young boy the films of the 60’s and 70’s that really spoke to me were those involving cars doing dangerous things: Steve McQueen in ‘Bullitt’ tearing round the streets of San Francisco; the Love Bug; the Monte Carlo race in ‘Grand Prix’; Bond’s Lotus … Read more
The Monuments Men is allegedly a true story (though I suspect rather embellished) of a mission by allied art lovers to save the wealth of public and private art from being captured by Nazi Germany and/or destroyed on Hitler’s death. The real life photos over the end-titles indicate that it certainly wasn’t all made up. … Read more
When a film is narrated by Death himself, you know it’s not likely to be a laugh-a-minute sort of film. “The Book Thief” – a cinema feature debut by Brian Percival – starts impressively. Death stalks the skies muttering truisms about life and mortality. Decending throught the clouds we see a steam train chuffing through … Read more