With a line up of Gary Cooper, Claudette Colbert and Edward Everett Horton and Ernst Lubitsch to mould them, where can you go wrong
Month: May 2022
Of Love and Other Demons – Crude but lyrical Marquez
Marquez doesn’t bother with a dressed-up realism that would soften the contradictions within each character, between the saintly and the earthly or satanic
Alice in Exile – Heir to Waugh’s throne
A very subtle story about characters I normally wouldn’t like, told without preaching or any stodgy moralising
Quigley Down Under – Quirky Australian western
It sounds like a fairly typical setup for conflict in the lone ranger’s life but there is a little more to it than your average western
Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Dr Holly Ordway
Dr Ordway’s excellent book undoes the myth of Tolkien the fuddy-duddy
Blue Jasmine – Solid late Woody Allen
A solid entry from Allen, justly remembered for Cate Blanchett’s mesmerising performance
Munich: The Edge of War – the edge of credibility
A disappointing film, which offers up a solid spy-thriller story and then undermines it with a lazy historical take
Lord of the World – a holy tale of terror
With a disturbing vision powerfully conveyed, Lord of the World is part-novel, part-experience
Karol: A Man Who Became Pope – impressive and enjoyable
Karol is an exceptionally popular biography of the exceptionally popular Karol Wojtyła, later known as Pope John Paul II.