Music
TÁR Review
Cate Blanchett is note perfect as the lead in Todd Field’s much anticipated drama Tár, but is it a film that is too wrapped up in itself to appeal to the average Joe? Tár tells us the haunting story of titular Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a conductor on the verge of her biggest achievement, and potentially her own undoing. The “Maestro” (Tár) is the severe and demanding conductor of the Berlin orc...
Elvis Review
Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer whose music and influence made him an icon of the 20th Century. From 1956, when he sold 10 million singles for the RCA company in twelve months, until his untimely death in 1977 at the age of 42, Elvis was a global star. His effect on new music waned in the later 1960s, however his fame and his influence were intact until he died. He was dubbed The King o...
Cyrano Review
Little did he know that when he made his 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, Joe Wright would be cementing his place in my bubble bath cinema of joy. Having rewatched his version countless times from the warm, sudsy confines of someone else’s bathtub, I feel the same sense of calm and contentment each time that only a two-hour massage or beta blockers bring. With his new film Cyrano (an adap...
Annette Review
“So may we start?” sing Sparks and the cast at the beginning of Annette, a film that asks its audience’s permission before proceeding with surely one of the most unique cinematic experiences they’ll have this year. It is the English language debut from bizarro French auteur Leos Carax (Holy Motors) that Wikipedia describes as a ‘musical romantic drama film’ but that IMDb classifies as a documentar...
In The Heights Review
I just love IN THE HEIGHTS. Right from the beginning, I was hooked! That opening number, ‘In the Heights’? It’s a whirlwind of a song. We meet Usnavi (our hero, played by Anthony Ramos), most of the people in the neighbourhood, and of course, Washington Heights itself. The real star of IN THE HEIGHTS is Washington Heights. It’s a Latino American neighbourhood in New York City. And always under thr...
The United States vs. Billie Holiday Review
How much did I love THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY? Well, I went right on down to my library and checked out the book it’s based on. How much did everyone else love it? I’m not even joking: the cinema burst into applause as the final credits rolled. THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY is not your usual biography film. It’s actually based on a chapter of ‘Chasing the Scream: The First and ...