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The McGarrigles, Little Women ('49) and apocalypse later - Reviews #220
Four docs, four books, an old favourite and a big disappointment...FILMSHearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (Eleanor Coppola, 1991) - There's nothing worse than a pretentious movie, Francis...
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Cate Blanchett, The Force Awakens and, actually, that's about all - Reviews #221
A couple of new films. One of them's Star Wars. My next three posts will together make up my review of the year. Yes, I thought you'd be excited about that.*ONLY VERY MINOR SPOILERS, BUT DO NOT READ IT...
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Review of 2015: Part 1 - Movies
I may have curbed the obsessive movie-watching a little this year and last, but I still managed to catch 167 movies, 134 of them for the first time, and 31 of them at the cinema. In this, part one of...
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Review of 2015: Part 2 - Live
I've been to quite a lot of stuff in That London this year: 16 plays, 21 gigs, 19 other bits and bobs, so I thought I'd tell you about some of my favourites. The first part of my review of the year,...
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Review of 2015: Part 3 - Books (and a tiny bit of TV)
I've been trying to read a book a week. Here's how I got on. (My other reviews of the year, concerning movies and live shows are up already.)Fiction: For me, this was a year dominated by four writers,...
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Ten things I learned about Peter Lorre
The latest in a semi-regular series... Peter Lorre, that strange, strangely beautiful, intensely and minutely expressive actor is one of the most recognisable and most imitated figures in movie...
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An 11th thing I learned about Peter Lorre
This proved popular on Twitter, so I thought I'd put it up here too. It's Lorre (who fled the Nazis in 1933) winding up Basil Rathbone, for no reason: You can read my original post about Lorre here....
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Totoro, Les 400 Coups and in the desert with Donald Cammell - Reviews #222
I've had the chance to watch quite a few movies and some TV. I've written you some reviews. Back to the books now: there'll be some of those in the next round-up. Thanks, as ever, for reading.FILMSLes...
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Lillian Gish, Henry V, and Woody Allen in 2015 - Reviews #223
A few reviews. Next time: a journey through the back catalogue of Francois Truffaut.FILMS*MINOR SPOILERS*Irrational Man (Woody Allen, 2015) - In 1989, Woody Allen created one of his greatest movies,...
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Truffaut, Inside Llewyn Davis and the Singing Sweethearts' swansong - Reviews...
INTRO Greetings from my desk, as I upload this blog before going to the staff quiz night. Sometimes it's good to turn off the TV and be sociable. Apparently. Yes, hello. Last night I saw Eileen Atkins...
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Woody Guthrie, Point Break and my favourite film - Reviews #225
A handful of new reviews.*MINOR SPOILERS*Remember the Night (Mitchell Leisen, 1940) - I watched this on the big screen for the first time last night. It’s still the greatest movie I’ve seen: a witty,...
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Basia Bulat, Sunny Afternoon and some fillums - Reviews #226
I've been out and about. Read some books too.FILMS The League of Gentlemen (Basil Dearden, 1960) - A superior, extremely punchy British crime caper from the start of the ‘60s, with Jack Hawkins...
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Spotlight, Barbara Stanwyck (again) and Ibsen doing funnies - Reviews #227
Another few reviews. The next post will be about Alfred Hitchcock.FILMSCINEMA: Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015) - All the Pederasts' Men, with an exceptional ensemble bringing to life this true story of...
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Ten things I learned about Alfred Hitchcock
This is part of a series that I do now and then. The near-legendary movie tome, Hitchcock/Truffaut (1967, updated 1983), is the subject of a new documentary, so I thought I better finally read it. It’s...
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Steve James, Cry Danger and the burning of books - Reviews #228
My last post was about Alfred Hitchcock. Here's an 11th fact about him: the worst silent movie inter-title he ever wrote (according to Hitchcock himself) was in Easy Virtue, in which Isabel Jeans's...
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Beggars of Life - Reviews #229
CINEMA: Beggars of Live (William A. Wellman, 1928)with live accompaniment from the Dodge Brothers; Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall A grim but intoxicating silent wonder from William Wellman, with a...
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Douglas Sirk, Hail, Caesar!, and the truth about The Truth About the Harry...
Plus: Warhol, a sleeper and the development of an unexpected crush.CINEMA: Hail, Caesar! (Joel Coen, 2016) - The Coens’ 17th movie is a sort of Hollywood-on-film cartoon, following Capitol Pictures’...
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Mulholland Drive, more Douglas Sirk and a Shakespearean swearathon - Reviews...
I have been otherwise occupied of late, but now I am back, so here's the first of two medium-sized review updates, featuring Rock Hudson, David Lynch and a sub-par Vonnegut novel.FILMS Douglas Sirk...
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Bogie, High-Rise and another astonishing Philip Roth book - Reviews #232
Here's that update I promised.FILMSCINEMA: The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946)“You go too far, Marlowe.”"Harsh words to throw at a man, especially when he's walking out of your bedroom." I saw The Big...
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Basia Bulat, Sunset Blvd: The Musical, and confessions of a completist -...
I've been out of the flat a bit. See:LIVE:Photo by me, can you tell?Basia Bulat (Hoxton Square Kitchen) - Since I last saw her properly a year ago, giving my favourite live performance of 2015,...
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