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.
Essays
The Top 10 Films of 2013
Last year was an anomalously fantastic year for film, comprising several masterpieces (Before Midnight, Stories We Tell, Inside Llewyn Davis), thought-provoking films (Museum Hours, No), and a wealth of other great movies – or at least movies with truly great elements (the acting in Blue is the Warmest Color) which there was not room for […]
Inside Llewyn Davis: Not the nicest man to get to know inside
Inside Llewyn Davis opens on a closeup of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) singing and strumming “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me”, surrounded by darkness. It’s a mesmerizing and evocative shot, which immediately renders Llewyn iconic, performing this haunting, bare bones ballad. Slowly, the camera pulls back to reveal Llewyn on stage, and then the stage in the […]
Review: Philomena — On the road with Steve Coogan and Judi Dench
When Philomena (Judi Dench) returns to the Irish convent in Roscrea, she almost winces at the sight of it, as she pulls into the driveway with the reporter Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan). It was here that her parents abandoned her, where she gave birth to her son as a teenager, and then spent several unhappy […]
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review: The Girl on Fire burns on, but not as brightly
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the rare intelligent mainstream film that’s full of compelling characters and emotional weight.
NTLive rebroadcasts Frankenstein and Hamlet to cinemas around the world
Two landmark National Theatre productions were recently rebroadcast to cinemas around the world via NTLive: Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatc and Jonny Lee Miller, and Hamlet starring Rory Kinnear.