Is it a pastiche? Is it a homage? Is it just derivative? Whatever the (clearly deliberate) links to Taxi Driver and especially King of Comedy, Joker remains a powerful film anchored by Joaquin Phoenix’s painfully physical portrayal of Batman’s cackling nemesis. It’s not a film you forget, and brings an extra dimension to Heath Ledger’s… Read More
Author: Jonathan Turton
What better book to read on a long flight to the Caribbean to talk about cocktails, than gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s fictional account of a young reporter’s rum-fuelled experiences in 1950s San Juan, Puerto Rico? A longer book, that’s what. I’d read the whole thing and we’d barely cleared European airspace. But it was… Read More
Less travel book and more reportage as Theroux engages with the problems of race in America’s south. There’s real insight into the systemic problems that mean many poor families struggle to survive. Theroux talks to farmers, social workers, pastors and authors – all the while debunking some of the myths of the south. Anyone interested… Read More
1932 was a prolific year for one of the most prolific artists of all time. Astonishingly, almost all the works on display in this simply yet effectively curated exhibition come from that one year. Many of the works seems familiar, thanks to PP’s overexposure, but standing in front of the real thing is still an… Read More
Yet another remastered recut version of Blade Runner. Thirty-something years after the original release, this Ridley Scott sci-fi noir classic holds up astonishingly well both in plot and (even more amazingly) in style. Definitely worth seeing on the big screen. 9/10
This one-shot meta movie is good enough that you forget about the cinematic wizardry. Michael Keaton is, as usual, the master. Forget Alejandro Iñárritu’s showing off and enjoy the story. 8/10
Finally it’s over – the last film is the worst. I didn’t mind the first, I tolerated the second, but this is woeful – hard to believe that the brains behind the Lord of the Rings could come up with this. And What did Billy Connolly think he was doing?! 4/10
Ambitious sci-fi that’s complicated but beautiful and charming. And lets not forget that rare thing – a totally genuine A-list cameo that’s uncredited. 9/10
An interesting, but ultimately unsatisfactory telling of the Turing story with Benedict Cumberbatch once again cast as “an intelligent person”. Too Hollywood for me (yes, I know it’s a British film), but a bit dumbed down and a lost opportunity. 7/10
Wonderful. This unimaginably ambitious film is a masterpiece. Director Richard Linklater of course takes credit, but the cast are also amazing – Patricia Arquette perhaps being the pick of the bunch. If I had to criticise it, I found the ending rather strange, but then I don’t know how you end a film like this… Read More
Ludicrous remake that underuses Bryan Cranston. The whole thing starts off promisingly enough, but after 20 minutes or so you really just want it to stop. 2/10
Excellent atmosphere in this nicely paced film from Richard Ayoade based on Dostoyevsky’s novel of the same name. Jesse Eisenberg is great in the double roles, and Mia Wasikowska shows that Stoker was just an unfortunate blip! 9/10
It’s a Wes Anderson film. Again. Not my favourite of his – when the whimsy overtakes the storytelling, I start to struggle. 6/10
Good biopic. Idris Elba imbues Mandela with the muscular charisma he needs – especially for a generation who knew him only as an old man. 9/10
The second Hobbit film is all set pieces, and you start to feel Peter Jackson stretching out the story. It also departs fairly dramatically from the book as our old pal Legolas rocks up. The sequences inside Erebor with Smaug are by far the best and it has one of the best endings ever. A… Read More
Split the room, but even the silly ending doesn’t detract from the superb opening and the feel of the film. It’s as much about the filmmaking as the plot or the characters – and worth seeing in 3D Imax – but as it’s not that long (91 minutes) so it doesn’t matter. Whether Clooney needed… Read More
Exactly as entertaining as you’d expect. No more, no less. Steve Coogan may never escape his greatest creation, but at least he has the sense to evolve the character over time. The whole thing is fairly predictable but if you like Alan Partridge then you’ll enjoy this. 7/10
This rare insight into Saudi culture is eye-opening and enjoyable, though it’s hard to shake the feeling that you shouldn’t be enjoying as much as you do given the underlying themes. 9/10
Surprisingly good up until the end when it disintegrates into superhero nonsense. The Bullet Train sequence is something special, even more so in 3D. 8/10
Lightweight nonsense, but with a few great scenes. Might just take itself a bit too seriously, but as long as you don’t you’ll be fine. 6/10