You can often judge the quality of a biopic by how effective its closing montage of real life footage is. First of all, using this implies the whole piece is rather formulaic; secondly, if this footage really hits home, it can highlight quite how much the movie has not worked. The moments of something real … Continue reading Elvis
Tag: music
The Beatles: Get Back (Review)
The Peter Jackson led restoration of The Beatles' Get Back sessions (previously only released as part of the movie Let It Be) is not merely fascinating, it is a truly definitive work of unprecedented brilliance. It's impossible to not sound hyperbolic when describing it. It gives a privileged insight to an iconic moment of cultural … Continue reading The Beatles: Get Back (Review)
Summer of Soul (Review)
Music festivals have always been about more than just the music. Questlove's beautifully curated documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival understands this perfectly. This amazing film lets us experience the music and the atmosphere, but also effortlessly contextualises everything, selling the historic import and delving into the wider topics while still delivering one hell … Continue reading Summer of Soul (Review)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Review)
At the heart of this adaptation of August Wilson’s stage play are two phenomenal performances. Viola Davis stars as the titular Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman (whose tragic death hangs heavy over this film, his final film) as jazz trumpeter Levee. Boseman is just outstanding here, his performance is loud and powerful, but marked by … Continue reading Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Review)
David Byrne’s American Utopia (Review)
Over 36 years ago, Talking Heads teamed up with acclaimed director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) to produce Stop Making Sense. This masterpiece is not only frequently viewed as the best concert film of all time, it is also one of the highlights of 20th Century cinema. Now, in 2020, the ex-frontman of … Continue reading David Byrne’s American Utopia (Review)
The Long Goodbye (2020)
This collaboration between director and co-writer, Aniel Karia, and star and co-writer, Riz Ahmed is an incendiary short about racism in Britain. Though it only spans twelve minutes, it's an expansive project with an impact far wider than its diminutive running time. It's another example of the power of short film: refined storytelling that is … Continue reading The Long Goodbye (2020)
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)
A Dog Called Money (Review)
It's rare to see a documentary with such talent behind it turn out so misguided. A Dog Called Money is the seeming final layer of a multi-stage vanity project that has turned an interesting piece of art into an oblivious display of privilege. Technically, it's a documentary to accompany PJ Harvey's 2016 album The Hope … Continue reading A Dog Called Money (Review)
Blue Story (Review)
Sometimes good enough is, well, good enough. This is certainly true of Blue Story, a film with a clear audience in mind that does exactly what it needs to do for that audience. It's a film about the spiralling consequences of gang culture in London, specifically focusing on the black community. The almost Shakespearean story … Continue reading Blue Story (Review)
Leto (Review)
There are countless tales of how art and creativity were repressed in Soviet Russia. Just last year, the superb Cold War explored this space - and its impact on personal relationships - and earlier this year, The White Crow commendably - but not always successfully - traversed similar territory. Leto, is conceptually of a piece … Continue reading Leto (Review)
Assorted Opinions 