Film (UK) Breaking Habits review – holy smoke: the nun who runs a marijuana farmThe GuardianThe star of this chirpy, amusing if somewhat glib documentary is Sister Kate, formerly Christine Meeusen, a habit-wearing, self-anointed “nun” and businesswoman born in the American midwest who moved California
Film (UK) James Bond: 25th film launched in Jamaica – but still no titleThe Guardian - Lanre BakareFresh details of plot and cast for the 25th James Bond film have been revealed at an official launch at Ian Fleming’s villa in Jamaica. With the sea in the background, a platter of pears and papaya in
Film (UK) Say what? Why film translators are in a war of words over subtitlesThe Guardian - Anne BillsonThe perfect subtitle is one you don’t notice. Occasionally, you might thrill to Anthony Burgess’s English subtitles in alexandrine form for Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), or marvel at the bravura way Timur
Play buttonJulianne Moore Bel Canto review – Julianne Moore trills as opera star in hostage dramaThe Guardian - Cath ClarkeJulianne Moore could put a toothpaste advert into awards contention with the inner turmoil she conveys with her magnificent eyes. She certainly lifts her scenes in this slushy, heavy on the romance adaptation
Play buttonFilm (UK) Spy Cat review – feline crimefighter not up to scratchThe Guardian - Cath ClarkeActually, there have been real-life feline spies. In the 60s, the CIA wired up cats with microphones and trained them to eavesdrop on its cold-war enemies. The programme, codenamed Acoustic Kitty, had
Play buttonFilm (UK) Pond Life review – affectionate coming-of-age comedyThe Guardian - Cath ClarkeTheatre director Bill Buckhurst makes his film debut with this semi-gritty portrait of teenagers on a dead-end estate in mid-90s Yorkshire. It’s a drama in the socially conscious tradition of Ken Loach,
Play buttonFilm (UK) Iron Sky: The Coming Race review – woeful return of the lunar refugeesThe Guardian - Sophie Monks KaufmanNever has the concept of “one for the diehard fans” been so applicable as it is to Timo Vuorensola’s scattershot, stakes-free, self-consciously wacky space comedy. Its existence is baffling until you that
Play buttonFilm (UK) Maborosi review – Kore-eda's revelatory story of life after deathThe Guardian - Peter BradshawThe title loosely means “vision” or “illusion” but for its Japanese release, the full title of this film was “phantom light” – like our will-o’-the-wisp – and its relevance to the story isn’t made explicit
Play buttonFilm (UK) Eighth Grade review – the exquisite agony of growing upThe Guardian - Peter BradshawIn all its boredom punctuated by sudden moments of unforgettable discomfort and horror – like military service – the state of being a teenager could best be approached numbly. There is something anaesthetised,
Play buttonFilm (UK) Avengers: Endgame – who survived Thanos’ finger-click? Discuss with spoilersThe Guardian - Jordan HoffmanIt doesn’t matter if you love or loathe superhero films. The Marvel experiment, with its enormous tentpoles of interlocking stories dominating the international release calendar, has altered cinema forever.
Play buttonFilm (UK) The Dig review – a hole lot of buried rageThe Guardian - Mike McCahillTwins Ryan and Andy Tohill’s distinctive homecoming parable, further proof of Irish cinema’s resurgent boldness and versatility, finds a striking visual metaphor for the emotional labours required to peace
Film (UK) Avengers: Endgame fever set to make it first $1bn film in under a weekThe Guardian - Catherine ShoardIf any movie is critic-proof, it is Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of 21 previous titles in the wildly popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began with 2008’s Iron Man. Pre-sale records have already
Play buttonAvengers: Endgame Avengers: Endgame review – unconquerable brilliance takes Marvel to new heightsThe Guardian - Peter BradshawThe previous Avengers movie, Infinity War, stunned believers and unbelievers alike with its sheer stupendous scale, and that devastating ending in which the evil Thanos appeared to have gained victory
Wes Anderson Wes Anderson gets a wallpaper collection – let the over-decorating begin!The Guardian - Stuart HeritageWes Anderson turns 50 next week. Of all the ways you could mark such a momentous event, one stands head and shoulders above all others: you could deck out your entire house in whimsical wallpaper that
Film (UK) Celeste review – lush, verdant visuals spoiled by a limp and soggy storylineThe Guardian - Luke BuckmasterFrom the opening images of Celeste, which depict star Radha Mitchell walking through a dewy rainforest in tropical north Queensland, director Ben Hackworth maintains beatific vibes and an atmosphere that
Walt Disney Company Disney Plus streaming site will not offer 'racist' Song of the South filmThe Guardian - Lanre BakareWhen Disney’s streaming site launches in the US in November this year, fans will be able to watch Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian and classic films – but there will be a notable absence. The
Film (UK) Directors' Fortnight risks Cannes festival rupture by choosing Netflix filmThe Guardian - Andrew PulverThe long-running row between the Cannes film festival and Netflix has taken an unexpected turn as the Directors’ Fortnight, one of the key strands of the festival that runs in parallel to the official
Film (UK) Cannes festival 2019: full list of filmsThe Guardian - Guardian filmCannes official selection Competition The Dead Don’t Die (dir: Jim Jarmusch) – opening film Atlantique (dir: Mati Diop) Bacarau (dir: Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles) Frankie (dir: Ira Sachs)
Film (UK) From Proof to Muriel's Wedding: Jocelyn Moorhouse on the films that broke Russell Crowe and Toni ColletteThe Guardian - Luke BuckmasterWhat do a blind photographer and a bad-arse seamstress have in common? They are both unforgettable protagonists of Australian films played by A-list actors – Hugo Weaving in 1991’s Proof and Kate Winslet
Film (UK) Election at 20: assessing the high school satire's brutal politicsThe Guardian - Charles BramescoThere’s a big M Night Shyamalan twist in the final minutes of Election, Alexander Payne’s searing 1999 high school satire. Tracy Flick, the irritating overachiever indelibly played by a breakout Reese
Play buttonWalt Disney Company Walt Disney heir says paying chief executive £50.5m is 'insane'The Guardian - Julia KolleweAn heir to the Walt Disney fortune has described the $65.6m (£50.5m) paid to the company’s chief executive, Bob Iger, as “insane”. Abigail Disney, an Emmy award-winning film-maker and a granddaughter the
Play buttonFilm (UK) Video killed the Hollywood star: will vloggers take over the film world?The Guardian - Steve RoseLet Eighth Grade count the ways in which social media has warped teenage life beyond all recognition. Insta-envy, artificial vlog personas, painstakingly posed selfies, Snapchat etiquette – generally more
Film (UK) Who? What? How? Hulk! – addressing the Avengers: Endgame theoriesThe Guardian - Clara MaeBy now, theorizing about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is as integral to the experience of being a fan as watching the actual movies is. It’s unsurprising: Marvel Studios actively encourages
Film (UK) Streaming: the joys of Soviet Movies OnlineThe Guardian - Guy LodgeThere was good news in the film world last week, as embattled, iconoclastic Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov was finally liberated after nearly two years of government-mandated house arrest. Having
Film (UK) On my radar: Neil Jordan’s cultural highlightsThe Guardian - Kathryn BromwichBorn in County Sligo in 1950, director and writer Neil Jordan studied Irish History and English at University College Dublin. His first book, Night in Tunisia, won a Somerset Maugham award and the Guardian
Play buttonFleabag (TV Series) Steel Country review – Andrew Scott shines in clueless murder mysteryThe Guardian - Wendy IdeThe always excellent Andrew Scott, most recently seen as the “sexy priest” in Fleabag, brings an angular authenticity to the central performance in this drama set in small-town Ohio. He plays Donny, a
Play buttonJudi Dench Red Joan review – soporific spy storyThe Guardian - Wendy IdeWhat if the old lady next door was in fact a former Soviet spy, whose stolen secrets added fuel to the nuclear arms race? This rather too mild-mannered drama, directed by Trevor Nunn, combines the red
Play buttonFilm (UK) Greta review – effective B-movie madnessThe Guardian - Simran HansThe catalyst in Neil Jordan’s thriller is a green handbag. An expensive-looking leather satchel, square with a gold clasp. Left unattended on a subway seat, it’s either an invitation or a ticking bomb
Play buttonConcrete Dragged Across Concrete review – crime caper that outstays its welcomeThe Guardian - Wendy IdeWith his first two features, Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, director S Craig Zahler served up helpings of gleefully extreme B-movie violence. But in his latest, which pits a pair of suspended
