Lenny Abrahamson’s charming, offbeat comedy film, Frank, tackles loneliness and mental health with wit and features great work by Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Fassbender. Listen to our podcast on Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did. Listen to our podcast on Lenny Abrahamson’s series Normal People. Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s latest film, the charming, offbeat comedy, Frank, is about […]
Sundance Review: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon charm in The Trip to Italy
Looking over the skulls at the Fontanelle Cemetery in Naples in The Trip to Italy, Steve Coogan begins to quote Hamlet to his companion in travel and comedy, Rob Brydon: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow/ of infinite jest…Where be your gibes now? your/gambols? your songs?’”. This famous speech could be the thesis […]
Sundance Review: Hong Khaou’s film Lilting explores grief with Ben Whishaw
Hong Khaou’s feature film debut, Lilting, is an exploration of grief, family, and the trauma of immigration. The film premiered at Sundance. Is there anything Ben Whishaw can’t do? He played Hamlet in the West End at twenty-three, Keats in Bright Star, Q in Skyfall, a timid but potentially dangerous young man in Criminal Justice, and […]
Sundance Review: Boyhood, or how to grow a masterpiece
By far the best film I saw at Sundance this year was “Boyhood”, the second consecutive masterpiece from writer-director Richard Linklater (“Before Midnight”). Shot in 3-4 day periods over twelve years, it captures the growth of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), from boy to teenager to young adult, in real time. Although the title suggests this is […]
If I picked the Oscar nominees…
Best picture Before Midnight Inside Llewyn Davis Enough Said Stories We Tell Frances Ha Best Director Richard Linklater – “Before Midnight” Joel and Ethan Coen – “Inside Llewyn Davis” Alfonso Cuarón – “Gravity” Sarah Polley – “Stories We Tell” Pablo Sorrentino – “The Great Beauty” Best Actor Oscar Isaac – “Inside Llewyn Davis” Joaquin Phoenix […]
Review of Lone Survivor: In the thick of war, honour and brotherhood reign
You didn’t need to like football to fall in love with Friday Night Lights, and you don’t have to like patriotic showcases or agree with the War in Afghanistan to be moved by Lone Survivor.