Category Movies

Victoria – reckless youth and a roving camera

A night out clubbing in Berlin takes a detour into armed robbery in Victoria, a heist thriller that’s been attracting rave reviews for its innovative, single-take camerawork. But despite a great central performance and a few heart-stopping action sequences, I’m… Continue Reading →

High-Rise delivers Brutalism and bloodshed

Fans of Brutalist architecture and man-of-the-moment Tom Hiddleston will find plenty of visual stimulation in director Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise. The star of The Night Manager sheds his clothes, daubs himself in blue paint and caresses the gorgeous concrete surfaces of… Continue Reading →

Spotlight on old-fashioned reporting

Is it the smell of newsprint or the (virtual) absence of the internet that makes the Oscar-nominated newspaper drama Spotlight feel so old-fashioned? Set mainly in 2001, this investigation into a child abuse scandal in the diocese of Boston seems like… Continue Reading →

Who cares about the Oscars?

The Oscars are essentially parochial, popularity driven and largely irrelevant to people who aren’t fascinated by frocks, flash-bulbs and side-boobs. Oh we do love a Hollywood drama – especially one in which Tinseltown’s hallowed institutions take centre stage. I’m talking… Continue Reading →

Joy – Jennifer Lawrence cleans up again

Jennifer Lawrence is so hot at the moment that people would probably pay good money just to watch her mopping a kitchen floor. On Sunday Jennifer Lawrence completed a hat-trick of Golden Globes, when she picked up the award for best actress in… Continue Reading →

Todd Haynes’s Carol: a failed seduction

If 2015 turns out to be the year I fell out of love with cinema I’m going to blame Todd Haynes. He’s been one of my favourite directors since he made the sublime Far From Heaven with Julianne Moore, more… Continue Reading →

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

As pre-teen back in the early 70s I used to kiss the posters of toothsome pop stars Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, which adorned the walls of my bedroom. Minnie, the 15-year-old heroine of The Diary of a Teenage Girl,… Continue Reading →

When Glenn Close had the edge

Earlier this week an ex-colleague tweeted that Jagged Edge was on TV that night and that he’d suffered nightmares after “accidentally” watching it on video back in the mid-80s. I knew exactly where he was coming from because this expertly… Continue Reading →

The Oscars 2015 – the usual suspects

If I had to use just one world to sum up the Oscars 2015 coverage so far it would be “dickpoo”. Announcing the nominations yesterday with actor Chris Pine, AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs mispronounced the surname of British cinematographer… Continue Reading →

Growing Up with The Graduate

The Graduate is the movie I would nominate as my “Desert Island disc” if I were unfortunate enough to be marooned somewhere with limited home entertainment options. When director Mike Nichols died last month, aged 83, I wanted to write a… Continue Reading →

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© 2024 Notreallyworking — Words by Susannah Straughan

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