Reviews

The essence of such an imposing presence as Grace Jones may be difficult to appropriately capture on screen without inadvertently reducing her to a stereotype (be it that of a Jamaican woman, a Disco-era...

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...

A documentary about a loved-up couple, both of whom are on the autism spectrum, walks a tightrope. If the film drops into sentimentality, it gives rise to claims of condescension. If it stays within cautious...

Rungano Nyoni’s debut feature weaponises an oddball sense of humour in this pointed satire set in a place where the government has successfully taken ownership of the bodies of women. In Zambia, far from...

Karl Marx famously observed that history repeats itself twice: “the first time as tragedy, and the second time as farce.” In The Death of Stalin, the two happen simultaneously. For some reason, it all...

The emphasis Thor: Ragnarok’s marketing has placed on boisterous irreverence proves only half-true in delivery. In fact, this threequel latches fairly greedily onto the proven Marvel formula throughout. All...

The Boy Downstairs, although it may most comfortably sit within the rom-com genre, avoids the common tropes and clichés of many of the poorer (and multitudinous) romantic comedies. Diana (a quirky Zosia...

Journeyman is a film waiting ringside to deliver a heavy, gut-wrenching blow; it’s not a sucker punch – you know it’s coming from the film’s traditional structure and triumphant opening act – but...

Why isn't John Hawkes in more films? He is mesmerising here as hopeless, selfish, drunk ex-copper Mike Kendall, whose life fell apart 17 months ago – and who still hasn't managed to piece it back together...

AlphaGo is an ostensibly dry and rather niche documentary on DeepMind’s efforts – from an idea 20 years in the making – to teach its AI to master the ancient Chinese board game Go. This game is...

In the fourth film made under his 20-year ban from the Iranian government, Jafar Panahi continues to audaciously fly in the face of his home country’s demands. Opening on an unnerving cameraphone recording...

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women ensures you’ll never look at Wonder Woman the same way again. Not only was she ahead of her time at her creation as a feminist icon in 1941, but the overtly sexualised...

It’s surprising that it took so long for 6 Days’ subject matter to receive the onscreen treatment, as it depicts the famous 1980 Iranian Embassy siege and the SAS’s response, seen as “an almost...

Funny Cow is literally Maxine Peake’s show, as she narrates her tough life – and the film – from a later point of success through a televised monologue. Her no-nonsense honesty is reminiscent of a...

Pablo Berger’s latest is the playful madcap comedy Abracadabra. The director doesn’t stay still for long at all. His previous features include the 2012 hit black-and-white silent film Blancanieves which...