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Pre-Oscars 2019: Roma
I like structure. I like structure in movies, and I like it both explicitly and implicitly. I like it when a film is divided into chapters, or falls neatly into sections, or mirrors itself in some...
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Mary Poppins Redux
WARNING: Spoilers for Mary Poppins Returns I was really looking forward to Mary Poppins Returns. I’ve got a lot of nostalgic affection for the original 1964 film – even more so after watching Saving...
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So… what did I think of Resolution?
Doctor Who Christmas specials often operate by different rules than the regular episodes. With certain obvious exceptions, they stand-alone, outside the regular continuity and generally avoiding any...
View ArticleOscars 2019 – Here are the runners and riders
Okay – so the nominations have been out for a while and the dust has settled, but nevertheless here’s my take on what Academy voters came up with. Let’s start with the Best Picture nominees. Eight of...
View Article2018/2019 award season round-up
Okay, here are some capsule reviews of a bunch of other movies I’ve seen this awards season. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The Coen Brothers go to Netflix where we find them on rather frustrating form....
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Oscars 2019: Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book
Bohemian Rhapsody Another year, another biopic. My views on biopics have been extensively aired on this blog and elsewhere. There are two different issues. One is that the cradle-to-grave approach...
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Oscars 2019: The Favourite and Cold War
The Favourite Going into this, my knowledge of both Queen Anne and Jorgos Lanthimos was a bit skimpy. I had seen and largely enjoyed The Lobster, although I felt it ran out of energy towards the end...
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Oscars 2019: Vice
Adam McKay is the other comedy director trying to prove his worth to the Academy with meatier subject matter, but this is less of a surprise than Peter Farrelly’s restrained Green Book, since Vice is...
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Oscars 2019: BlackKklansman
And finally to BlackKklansman. I haven’t seen very much of Spike Lee’s work. I think I’ve been in the room when either She’s Gotta Have It or Do The Right Thing was on, but I suppose aged about 16, I...
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Oscars 2019 – the aftermath
Well. That didn’t go according to plan at all. Of course, some of it did. Congratulations Rami Malek, Regina King, Alfonso Cuarón (twice) and Spider-Man. Well-deserved if predictable wins. Mahershali...
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Joker
It seems everyone has to have an opinion about the new movie Joker, and so here’s mine. I didn’t like it. To begin with, I didn’t like the idea of it. I don’t really like the idea of Todd Phillips,...
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Pre-Oscars round-up: The Irishman, Marriage Story, Star Wars, Cats
WARNING: Spoilers It’s that time of year again, when little boys and girls’ heads are filled with visions of sugar plums, stockings and awards. The Oscar nominations are being announced shockingly...
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So… what did I think of Spyfall, Part One?
As regular readers may know, I wasn’t hugely impressed with Series 11. With only a handful of exceptions, this was a huge step back from the last Capaldi season, suffering from thin characterisation,...
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So… what did I think of Spyfall, part two?
Okay, to begin with, this wasn’t a case of an epic build-up followed by a damp squib of a resolution. Part two continued to learn the lessons of Resolution with proper jeopardy, real stakes, and it...
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Pre-Oscars 2020: Jojo Rabbit and Ford v Ferrari
Two films this week which have been part of the Oscar conversation but which won’t necessarily clean up or even get Best Picture nominations. Both came out strong, but reviews haven’t been uniformly...
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Oscars 2020: Nominations, Little Women
So, we’ve barely finished singing Auld Lang Syne and already the Oscar nominations are here. Depressingly, Todd Philips’ empty Joker leads the way, with eleven nominations, but in a sign that the trend...
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So… what did I think of Orphan 55?
I’m writing these reviews out of a sense of obligation I think more than anything. Maybe Doctor Who under Chris Chibnall just isn’t for me. That’s fine, I suppose, if disappointing personally. But can...
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Oscars 2020: 1917
Sam Mendes’ one-take wonder arrives in cinemas with less fanfare than some Best Picture contenders, but it is a superb piece of immersive filmmaking which unites its some-might-say gimmick and its...
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So… what did I think of Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror?
This was about the most entertained I’ve been by Doctor Who probably since Chris Chibnall took over. I still think The Witchfinders and It Takes You Away are the episodes to beat, but the one thing I...
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So… what did I think of Fugitive of the Judoon?
What? What!? What!? What!?? WHAT!?! Okay, let’s back up… Early on, the signs were promising. The little love triangle between Ruth, Lee and Allan – while it didn’t have the warmth and richness of RTD...
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