The Miss World competition of 1970 is a fascinating moment in history. It is a landmark event due to the first victory by a woman of colour; due to including a woman of colour as a contestant from South Africa (who placed second) and due to the entire event being overshadowed by a feminist protest … Continue reading Misbehaviour (Review)
Tag: comedy
Sonic the Hedgehog (Review)
To be fair, it's hard to make a film out of a character whose only defining characteristic is: they go fast. This is however, more of a reason not to make the film than any kind of defence of this awful movie. Sonic the Hedgehog may have been a bad idea from the get go, … Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog (Review)
The Farewell (Review)
Cinema, at its best, has the wonderful ability to make the personal and specific feel universal. The Farewell is about a very specific experience on a cultural and individual level - an experience that, in many ways, will be alien to so much of its viewership. However, The Farewell never feels insular or alienating; it … Continue reading The Farewell (Review)
The Personal History of David Copperfield (Review)
Unsurprisingly, the writer and director who managed to glean comedy from Stalinist Russia has managed to make an accessible and charming comedy out of a Dickens novel. Obviously, anybody versed in Dickens will know that comedy is actually something the famed writer is good at; however, it is not his primary mode and it is … Continue reading The Personal History of David Copperfield (Review)
Dolemite is my Name (Review)
Part way through this film, a writer (played my Keegan-Michael Key) talks about his want to make art that does more than just entertain. Dolemite is my Name is a film that somewhat informs but that definitively entertains. This is fitting, as this film is all about the rise of comedy (and filmmaking) legend Rudy … Continue reading Dolemite is my Name (Review)
Blinded by the Light (Review)
Music is a powerful thing: it crosses generational boundaries; cultural boundaries and shapes identity. Blinded by the Light is a film all about this - specifically the impact of Bruce Springsteen's music on the child of a Pakistani-immigrant family in Thatcherite Britain. It's an oddly specific premise but it works brilliantly, presenting the theoretically incongruous … Continue reading Blinded by the Light (Review)
Jojo Rabbit (Review)
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Taika Waititi's coming of age comedy set in Nazi Germany (just before the end of the war) about a young Hitler Youth member who likes to hang around with his imaginary friend - who is Adolf Hitler - doesn't quite work. There are moments when things click, but the whole hodge-podge of ideas … Continue reading Jojo Rabbit (Review)
Knives Out (Review)
One of Rian Johnson's gifts as a screenwriter and director is his ability to play with genre and audience expectations. In his murder mystery pastiche Knives Out, this quality flourishes. Knives Out is centred around the presumed suicide of a wealthy crime writer (Christopher Plummer) and the suspicions that then fall upon his family. The … Continue reading Knives Out (Review)
Marriage Story (Review)
There's a point in Noah Baumbach's fantastic Marriage Story where our two protagonists (played note perfectly by Scarlett Johansson - thankfully staying in her lane - and Adam Driver) close a gate together, one on either side. They push this barrier between themselves, working together to drive themselves apart. It's a wonderful moment that is … Continue reading Marriage Story (Review)
NastyPALs 16: Night of the Bloody Apes
A movie in which a man has his heart swapped with that of an ape in order to cure his leukaemia, only to be turned into a monster who goes on a bloody rampage! Oh, and it's also about female wrestling (Luchadores, to be specific).Yeah... This movie rules. You need to listen to this one … Continue reading NastyPALs 16: Night of the Bloody Apes
Assorted Opinions 