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TV Review: Killing Eve Series 2

Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer continue their great work but it’s hard not to see Series 2 of Killing Eve as a slight downturn on the first season 

“It’s OK if you feel weird. You just killed someone for the first time. With an axe.”

After such a strong opening season, there was perhaps an inevitability to Series 2 of Killing Eve not quite matching up to it. After all, in a game of cat-and-mouse, where do you go when they’ve met (and the mouse has stabbed the cat)?  It’s a question that new head writer Emerald Fennell never quite seems 100% sure of, even as she creates an entertaining journey along the way.

So after Eve stabs Villanelle, she’s recruited by MI6 to look into another serial killer, another woman working for The Twelve, whilst also dealing with the fallout of pushing her relationship with Villanelle to a new level. They continue to spar but the way in which the show engineers bringing them together doesn’t quite come off right. Killing Eve is at its best when completely unpredictable and this series doesn’t always hit that mark. Continue reading “TV Review: Killing Eve Series 2”

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Film Review: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)

Some may enjoy this more than me but I found The Electrical Life of Louis Wain to be almost insufferably twee despite Benedict Cumberbatch working hard

“The more intensely he suffered, the more beautiful his work became”

If you were playing Oscar-bait bingo, then you’d definitely want to draw biopic The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Central character with vaguely defined mental condition, with a wife who dies young, plus Olivia Colman AND Benedict Cumberbatch in the cast. Maybe we should do shots rather than bingo, it might make the film a touch more bearable… 

Will Sharpe’s film seems likely to divide audiences. Not between dog lovers and cat fanciers as you might expect, but to weed out those who have a high tolerance for the insufferably twee. For in its attempts to depict the unique brain chemistry of artist Louis Wain, it errs towards a sepia-tinged, Colman-narrated vision of whimsy and wonder that belies the essential tragedy here. Continue reading “Film Review: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)”

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London Film Critics Circle Awards 2021 nominees

Film of the Year
Belfast
Drive My Car
Dune
Licorice Pizza
The Lost Daughter
Memoria
The Power of the Dog
The Souvenir Part II
Titane
West Side Story

Director of the Year
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car
Joanna Hogg – The Souvenir Part II
Céline Sciamma – Petite Maman
Denis Villeneuve – Dune Continue reading “London Film Critics Circle Awards 2021 nominees”

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2021 British Independent Film Awards

Best British Independent Film
WINNER – After Love – Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier
Ali & Ava – Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan
Boiling Point – Philip Barantini, James Cummings, Bart Ruspoli, Hester Ruoff
The Nest – Sean Durkin, Ed Guiney, Derrin Schlesinger, Rose Garnett, Amy Jackson, Christina Piovesan
The Souvenir Part II – Joanna Hogg, Ed Guiney, Emma Norton, Andrew Lowe, Luke Schiller

Best Director
WINNER – After Love – Aleem Khan
Ali & Ava – Clio Barnard
Boiling Point – Philip Barantini
The Nest – Sean Durkin
The Souvenir Part II – Joanna Hogg Continue reading “2021 British Independent Film Awards”

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2021 British Independent Film Awards nominations

Best British Independent Film
After Love – Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier
Ali & Ava – Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan
Boiling Point – Philip Barantini, James Cummings, Bart Ruspoli, Hester Ruoff
The Nest – Sean Durkin, Ed Guiney, Derrin Schlesinger, Rose Garnett, Amy Jackson, Christina Piovesan
The Souvenir Part II – Joanna Hogg, Ed Guiney, Emma Norton, Andrew Lowe, Luke Schiller

Best Director
After Love – Aleem Khan
Ali & Ava – Clio Barnard
Boiling Point – Philip Barantini
The Nest – Sean Durkin
The Souvenir Part II – Joanna Hogg Continue reading “2021 British Independent Film Awards nominations”

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Film Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021)

This cinematic adaptation of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is fabulously enjoyable, led by a fine performance by Max Harwood

“Sometimes, you gotta grab life by the balls, and you take those balls and you tuck ‘em between your legs”

The movie musical seems to be having a bit of a moment again. We’ve been treated to In The Heights and Cinderella, tick, tick…BOOM!, Dear Evan Hansen and a new West Side Story are soon on their way and who could forget Diana: A New Musical… Joining that illustrious company is Sheffield’s own Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, making the leap from the Crucible to the West End to the big* screen. (*It’s available on Amazon Prime so screen size may vary ;-))

And as it has maintained a large proportion of its original key creative team, it carries over so much of its proudly fabulous heart and soul. Based on the true story of Jamie Campbell, we follow Jamie’s last few months at high school as he dreams of becoming a drag queen. And in true Britflick fashion, there are heartwarming ups and heartbreaking downs, plus an expanded range of toe-tapping tunes from Dan Gillespie- Sells. What is fascinating as someone who has seen the stage show a fair few times now, is how well Tom MacRae’s adaptation of his own book works. Continue reading “Film Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021)”

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Oscar Week Film Review: Victoria and Abdul

Not even Judi Dench can save this irresponsible look at the British colonial legacy, Victoria and Abdul nevertheless takes two Oscar nominations into the ceremony.

“It is imperative that the royal colon receives a little roughage”

AKA The Other V&A. You can see the rationale behind Victoria and Abdul, allowing Dame Judi Dench to reprise her much-loved role from Mrs Brown with another 20 years under her belt. And directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Lee Hall, hopes were reasonably high.

What results though, is a film that indulges in an irresponsible kind of historical revisionism, a refusal to engage with and interrogate the reality of British colonial rule. Hall’s version of Victoria is allowed to be coyly ignorant of the looting of Indian treasure, a champion of diversity too in an improbable twist. Continue reading “Oscar Week Film Review: Victoria and Abdul”

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24th Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees

Film
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name as Elio Perlman
James Franco – The Disaster Artist as Tommy Wiseau
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out as Chris Washington
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour as Winston Churchill
Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel, Esq. as Roman J. Israel

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Judi Dench – Victoria & Abdul as Queen Victoria
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water as Elisa Esposito
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri as Mildred Hayes
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya as Tonya Harding
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson Continue reading “24th Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees”