The Choral is the new collaboration from director Nicholas Hytner and writer Alan Bennett, having worked together on The History Boys, The Lady in the Van and The Madness of King George. It has all the elements of a typical British comedy drama, set during World War 1, an unlikely bunch of characters thrown together…
Tag: drama
Bugonia
Many people say there is little originality in mainstream cinema. Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is out to prove them wrong. His films push the boundaries of what it means to be different while challenging the audience with his creative approach and unpredictability. Movies like The Favourite, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness are critical successes,…
I Swear
Very little is known about Tourette’s Syndrome and the stigma that has followed it. Well, now that is all about to change with possibly the most heartfelt, charming and emotional film of the year, I Swear, based on the real experiences of John Davidson. It is one of those rare films that will both touch…
The Smashing Machine
Mixed Martial Arts is a sport I have little idea about, apart from the fact that it involves beating the living daylights out of your opponent. So a film about one of the first names of the sport didn’t initially grab me. Yet while Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine is a biopic of Mark Kerr,…
One Battle After Another
Entering into Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, One Battle After Another, I didn’t know what to expect. The trailer appears somewhat disjointed, not only in tone but also in terms of plot and character development. Thankfully, this was one of those times when the trailer does the right amount to make an audience member intrigued, because…
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Downton Abbey has become almost critic-proof. No matter what people think about the movies that have come out since the TV series ended, the fans will come out to support it. The third, and allegedly, last movie, The Grand Finale, is a perfect example of how safe it is. It is possibly the worst of…
The Long Walk
Stephen King seems to be the flavour of the month at the moment. With the excellent Life of Chuck recently released, a TV series based on the novel It, Welcome To Derry, coming soon, and a new version of The Running Man in November, King’s wealth of novels and short stories seems to be attracting…
The Roses
Take two of this country’s finest and highly respected actors, the director of the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents movies, the writer of The Favourite and Poor Things and a film based on a best-selling book that has already been made into a popular movie from 1989, and what do you expect you will…
Materialists
Celine Song burst onto the scene with her beautiful, poignant love story, Past Lives, in 2023. Anticipation for her follow-up was high. Materialists is a different love story focusing on another triangle like her previous film, but this time in a very different world and with a different attitude. However, what sounds like a good…
The Life Of Chuck
When it comes to film adaptations of books, no one has had a chequered career than Stephen King. The master of horror has some outstanding film versions from Carrie (the original 1976 version) to The Shining (although King himself hates it) to more recently It (the first part). Where he has scored highly is the…
Bring Her Back
A few years ago, Australian directors and twin brothers, Danny and Michael Philippou, gave us the intriguing and compelling horror film, Talk To Me, about a mummified hand that conjured spirits. What made that film work so well was its originality and the fact that the directors gave us characters we cared about. Now they…
Friendship
The joy of cinema is that you go in and are expected to feel something, whether it be happiness, sadness, horror, or even depression. It is not often that you feel uncomfortable, but in a genuine, non-terrifying way. That is the case with Friendship, a new black comedy from A24, about an awkward man who…
Stu Loves Film 