In his 1994 song, “The World is Full of Crashing Bores”, Morrissey noted that “those that wish to hurt you work within the law.” Reading former Prime Minister’s Theresa May’s reflections on the use and abuse of power in public life, one imagines she wrote to the looped track, the former Smiths frontman validating boorishness […]

At the heart of Christopher Nolan’s urgent and virtuoso biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, are some difficult questions. Philosophically, the film ruminates on the uneasy application of science in warfare, the potential unleashing of chaos to instill a new form of order, the morality of killing for a good cause, and the politicisation of that […]

In his 1994 song, “The World is Full of Crashing Bores”, Morrissey noted that “those that wish to hurt you work within the law.” Reading former Prime Minister’s Theresa May’s reflections on the use and abuse of power in public life, one imagines she wrote to the looped track, the former Smiths frontman validating boorishness […]

At the heart of Christopher Nolan’s urgent and virtuoso biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, are some difficult questions. Philosophically, the film ruminates on the uneasy application of science in warfare, the potential unleashing of chaos to instill a new form of order, the morality of killing for a good cause, and the politicisation of that […]

In a parallel universe there’s a version of Barbie that retains the plot of Greta Gerwig’s unlikely spin on the Mattel toy brand, but has the feel of a conventional cash grab. The doll passes from her matriarchal utopia into the real world and gentle fish-out-of-water hijinks ensue. It could have been a sort of […]

Warning: This review refers to the film’s plot. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read once you’ve seen this title.  The latest movie to save cinema is the quintessential modern blockbuster. It’s bloated, po-faced and, given the deadening expository conversations that link its distended set pieces, best enjoyed at home, in […]

Though the following will read like a comic conceit, it’s all true. As I sat waiting for my screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to begin, the fates made me feel old. For a start, it was 34 years to the weekend since I sat, in the same town, to watch an […]

In the final moments of The Flash – the run in you might say (the movie’s packed with kinetic dialogue, “run!”, “move!” which isn’t the same as said dialogue being zippy) – Ezra Miller, the degenerate star, admits defeat. The world he’s trying to save is doomed and no number of non-linear interventions, narrative tweaks, […]

Timing is everything in life. Wait too long to propose to your girlfriend and you might discover that she’s no longer interested. Forget to lie to your eldest uncle and tell them they’re loved and you might discover you’re not included in their inheritance. Wait eight years to make a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, […]

When I was at college there was a girl loved by all the boys. We’ll call her Cecilia. Fortunately for said boys, she came from a strict religious household. Teenage rebellion and catholic guilt are the two greatest marshalling forces for sexual experimentation ever devised. You can tell they’re patriarchal constructs for this reason. God […]

On Hollywood’s list of unsuccessfully exploited IP, just above Manimal and T.J Hooker, sits Dungeons and Dragons, the role playing game for those with arrested development and no entanglements, that’s hitherto inspired some joyless film and TV effluent, not least the 2000 movie with Jeremy Irons – his career nadir. Yes, if “D&D” were a […]