Love Letter

War films generally have a hero. They pay lip service to the received wisdom that war is hell and people shouldn’t have to get caught up in it, but for the most part there are still clear ethical boundaries...

Apologies to all whose have continued singing “I’ll Make A Man Out of You” in their heads – or out loud – upon reading the title. The 2010s have been a relatively strong decade for Disney...

"And in case I don't see you: good afternoon, good evening and good night!" It's one of the most memorable Jim Carrey lines, up there with "aaalrighty then" and "somebody stop me!" It's also from the film...

This Friday will deliver Tully, a drama about motherhood from the stunning team of director Jason Reitman, writer Diablo Cody and actress Charlize Theron. Reitman and Cody, of course, first worked together on...

A cast that boasts the likes of John Travolta, Michelle Pfiefer, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah is what movie dreams are made of – and John Water’s 2007 reboot of Hairspray doesn’t disappoint. A...

Let’s get something out of the way: high school is hell, and if you enjoyed it then you probably made it miserable for those who didn’t. Adult appreciation of the high school film is more complex than mere...

To younger audiences, Todd Haynes is probably better known for his Bob Dylan experimental tribute, I’m Not There (2007) and exquisite romantic melodrama, Carol (2015). In the early years of the new...

In 2016, aged just 27, Anton Yelchin was at the top of his game.  Deftly navigating between multimillion dollar blockbusters and smaller independent fare, Yelchin was building an enviable career working with...

A concrete estate in London, a gang of teenagers roaming the streets, and…aliens from outer space? Yes, it’s the surprising sci-fi comedy Attack The Block, in which a group of inner city kids must defend...

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...

Alexander Payne, the great satirist of Middle American mores, returns this weekend with his latest ditty of wry social commentary, Downsizing. Often when a filmmaker establishes such a distinctive formula as...

The title of The Greatest Showman, out this week, refers to the 19th-century circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum, though it could just as well refer to the movie’s star. Hugh Jackman has proved again and again...

“A game for those who seek to find/A way to leave their world behind” If you grew up in the ‘90s, chances are you went to see – and fell in love with – Jumanji. A Robin Williams-headlined family...

The Last Jedi is going to make Rian Johnson a star. Since Summer 2014, the film world has waited in heady anticipation for not only the true follow-up to legendary sequel Empire Strikes Back, but also this...

Every sequel ever made is royally screwed. Those poor filmmakers can go back to their hit movies with the purest intentions and the best bundle of influences, but how many second instalments can really hold a...