Knight Of Cups (2015)
★★★☆☆
As a Hollywood pilgrim searches for the meaning of life, Terrence Malick’s Knight Of Cups evokes stunning images that remain ultimately meaningless.
USA
I Saw The Light (2016)
★★★☆☆
Despite a beautiful performance from Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams, Marc Abraham’s I Saw The Light can’t quite lift the country music icon out of the dark.
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
★★★☆☆
A Hollywood companion piece to Marguerite, Stephen Frears’ Florence Foster Jenkins finds a heart of gold beneath the tarnished voice.
Anomalisa (2015)
★★★★☆
A story of depression, alienation and looking for love where the human characters are played by puppets, Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa is unsettling and haunting.
Festival Review: Miles Ahead (2015)
★★★☆☆
Love and labour lost, Don Cheadle’s biopic Miles Ahead reveals the great jazz musician Miles Davis at his lowest ebb.
Festival Review: Zero Days (2016)
★★★☆☆
Exposing the secrecy around cyber-warfare and the US attack on Iran’s nuclear industry, Alex Gibney’s Zero Days pleads for a break in the silence.
Festival Review: Little Men (2016)
★★★★☆
A delicate portrait of friendship and fractious neighbours, Ira Sachs’ Little Men is an all-too-brief glimpse into the hopes and dreams of a Brooklyn boy.
Festival Review: Chi-Raq (2016)
★★★★★
A dazzling rap musical against the epidemic of gun violence amongst Chicago’s black communities, Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq is sensational.
Festival Review: Soy Nero (2016)
★★☆☆☆
Following a Mexican teenager on his journey from immigrant to green card holder, Rafi Pitts’ Soy Nero seethes with palpable discomfort.
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
★★★★☆
A riotous romp through Hollywood’s golden age, the Coen brothers’ Hail, Caesar! is a hilarious tribute to the (strangely religious) cult of cinema.
Deadpool (2016)
★★★★☆
Nimble, witty and downright rib-tickling, Tim Miller’s Deadpool takes on the superhero genre with postmodern sharpness.
Trumbo (2015)
★★★★☆
Hollywood eats itself in Jay Roach’s comprehensively entertaining biopic of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, earning Bryan Cranston an Oscar nomination.
The Big Short (2015)
★★★★☆
Fast-paced comedy-drama about the global financial crash, Adam McKay’s The Big Short makes brilliant entertainment out of a true story of men behaving madly.
The Revenant (2015)
★★★★☆
An electrifying and gripping tale of one man’s journey back from the dead, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant finds an unexpectedly spiritual side to revenge.