Maggie – LFF 2019 review Alex Goldstein October 5, 2019 Reviews The shift from offbeat to bonkers can be glorious. For Maggie, an erratic structure mirrors the film’s examination of truth, perception and trust – but unfortunately in a way that comes across as more...
Lucky Grandma – LFF 2019 review Alex Goldstein October 3, 2019 Reviews There's a common belief that older women enjoy the goriest fiction. Certainly there's an invisibility that comes with age; a sense of being the constantly underestimated little old lady. In Lucky Grandma,...
The Personal History of David Copperfield – Review Alex Goldstein October 3, 2019 Reviews Armando Iannucci isn't known for his forgiving touch when it comes to social commentary. But for this almost aggressively charming Dickens adaptation he slips off the knuckledusters and takes a noticeably...
Ready or Not – Review Alex Goldstein September 27, 2019 Reviews Who's up for some literal class war? Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's pitch-black horror comedy wears its politics on its sleeve, and is mostly the better for it. Ready or Not sets its dissection...
In Defence of Joanna Hogg’s Middle Class Problems Alex Goldstein September 6, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off Stewart Lee once referred to Joanna Hogg’s second film Archipelago as “an art film about middle class people on a disappointing holiday”. On one level, he is right. There are also plenty of fair reasons...
Why Every Generation Needs its Own Little Women Alex Goldstein August 13, 2019 Analysis, By The Book, Features Every generation gets its own adaptation of Little Women, and here is ours, with its first trailer released today. But just how well has Greta Gerwig cast her adaptation compared to past...
The Cats Trailer and the Movies’ Favourite Moggies Alex Goldstein July 18, 2019 Features, One Off, Opinion Was the Flerken a tentacle too far? Perhaps it was Pet Sematary’s Church on the red carpet that pushed everything over the edge. Whatever it was, just when we were all feline a bit overwhelmed, along came...
Has Spider-Man: Far From Home Changed the Rules for the MCU’s Credit Stingers? Alex Goldstein July 8, 2019 Analysis, Features, One Off New phase, new rules. Spider-Man: Far From Home has been marketed very heavily as the final piece of the Avengers: Endgame puzzle, but, along with Captain Marvel, it marks the beginning of a new era. He might...
Late Night – Review Alex Goldstein June 7, 2019 Reviews Art spins from timely to dated on a dime. Late Night packs in references that are bound to instantly age as it examines the media landscape in the age of so-called diversity hires, #MeToo and social media...
A Beginner’s Guide to… Emma Thompson Alex Goldstein June 5, 2019 A Beginner's Guide To..., Analysis, Features Being a national treasure can be a double-edged sword. It carries a sense of predictability, of recycling character types. But for Emma Thompson, blasting into her 60s as a caustic chat show host in Late...
Booksmart – Review Alex Goldstein May 25, 2019 Reviews Booksmart takes the essentials of a rowdy, raunchy high school comedy and flips them, though it would be a disservice to suggest this is simply by putting girls in the driver’s seat. It’s much more nuanced...
Pokémon Detective Pikachu – Review Alex Goldstein May 10, 2019 Reviews Based on the game of the same name, Detective Pikachu actually feels more the product of the Pokémon GO phenomenon with its mass-appeal stylings. The noir vibe helps; a lighter, less memorable Who Framed...
Why TV is the Best Place for Loki Alex Goldstein May 1, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion The beauty of a cinematic universe is that it contains someone for everyone. But if the MCU had anyone close to being a universal fan favourite, Asgard’s most slippery adopted son was it. Loki's charms made...
What’s Next for Marvel’s Women After Black Widow’s Endgame? Alex Goldstein May 1, 2019 Analysis, Features, Opinion Poor Black Widow. Introduced as a skin-tight catsuit, deemed a "monster" for her infertility, and finally sacrificed in favour of a grief-stricken revenge murderer who happens to be a dad. She doesn’t even...
Scene Stealers: Nicholas Hoult in The Favourite Alex Goldstein April 30, 2019 Analysis, Features, Scene Stealers Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite is deliberately, unsettlingly claustrophobic – all fish-eye queasiness and endless corridors. Yet it derives much of its brilliance from freedom. Freedom from slavish...