Author Rachel Brook

Far more than a travelogue-esque curio investigating the unfamiliar customs of a foreign land, Mike Day’s The Islands and the Whales offers documentation of national history in the making. The film’s...

Ellen Page fans can breathe a (moderate) sigh of relief. My Days of Mercy, her second high-profile LGBT film, doesn’t repeat the crushing disappointment of the first, 2016’s deplorable Freeheld. It’s...

Ruben Östlund has bested the unforgettable Force Majeure. The Square is delightfully unhinged; a viewing experience that can’t be conveniently collapsed into review-friendly phrases like “precocious art...

Greta Gerwig’s eagerly-anticipated first feature as director, Lady Bird, is finally here on Friday. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the triple-threat chose not to star in the film herself, yet a cast...

The release of Black Panther this week need not only be marked on the calendars of Marvel super-fans. It’s good news for fans of director Ryan Coogler’s previous output, and not just because he’s brought...

With Mike White’s Brad’s Status, a serious Ben Stiller plays a character like those he’s embodied in his work with Noah Baumbach. Brad is familiar – another version of the antiheroes in Greenberg and...

It's that time of year again. Christmas? No. Time for a new Star Wars release! After the continuity-eschewing interlude of Rogue One, we're back in the franchise's main stable to catch up with the characters...

Menashe may rest on the laurels of its striking USP – it’s a Yiddish-language film starring a father-son duo of non-professional actors – yet it’s both charming and totally immersive. The narrative...

Andrea Riseborough is having a bit of a moment. Of course she’s not exactly a newcomer to success or critical acclaim. Still, the almost simultaneous releases of The Death of Stalin and Battle of the Sexes...

At long last, DC's second ensemble stab at an extended universe movie is here! As our writer Joni wrote in his review, "The DC Extended Universe has taken quite a beating", critically and commercially, on...

This was originally reviewed on 03/06/17 as part of Sundance London. Like Spike Jonze’s Her, Marjorie Prime is set in a future not too different from the world we know. This adaptation of Jordan...

In 2012 two films about Hitchcock were released almost simultaneously, but both were problematic disappointments. Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, focused on Hitch during the filming of...

In theatre, the one- or two-person show can be an incredible crucible for claustrophobic action. It offers opportunities for showcasing intense chemistry, developing unrivalled suspense, or interrogating...

Wilderness is a film of two halves, with two distinct moods. The first twenty minutes or so are lyrical, the cinematic equivalent of poetry. Yet this sensuous parade of evocative, idyllic images is later...

The promise of Ask the Sexpert’s premise far outweighs its filmmaking acumen, yet it’s always an enjoyable watch. 91 year-old former gynaecologist, newspaper columnist and all-round sex positive activist...