Fisherman’s Friends tells the true(ish) story of a Cornish folk band signed by Universal Records in 2010. Understandably, the £1 million deal made national headlines — a collection of working sailors, bellowing out sea-shanties whilst on their shore leave, make for unlikely pop stars. Nonetheless, the aptly named “The Fisherman’s Friends” were a hit, with…
For a British voter and cinemagoer, it is a singular experience to see a film about Winston Churchill in the aftermath of a general election. The film is especially distinctive in 2017, as the British government displays all manner of contradictions and at times inadequacies, whereas Churchill, both the film and the legend of the…
There’s a lot I wanted to like about Equity, a financial thriller featuring three central female characters, including a commanding lead performance from Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad” TV series). It’s rare to see strong female characters in a Wall Street-set film, especially those as ambitious and calculating as the trio of leads here. And the…
Jean-Paul Sartre famously wrote that hell is other people. Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump’s adaptation of J. G. Ballard’s 1975 novel takes this premise to its (il)logical conclusion, as, in an ironic twist on the title, High-Rise depicts a steady descent into class war-induced delirium, as social and financial divisions steadily turn the eponymous building…
Clumsy action thriller Momentum may as well be retitled “Further Proof That Morgan Freeman Will Star in Anything.” The towering talent who has played everyone from Robin Hood’s sidekick to God is cinematically ubiquitous and yet has long since remained respectable while slipping deeper into embarrassing paycheck territory. One has to think that the reason…
Paul Giamatti is a damn fine actor. Not so good, that he can produce diamonds from a pile of shit, though. As a matter of fact, with his silly haircut (yes, I know it was fitting for the time period) and his lack of a consistent English accent, he adds to the shitty mess that…
