In Nicholas Hytner’s drama Center Stage, an ensemble of young dancers join the prestigious American Ballet Academy in New York – but only a select few will progress beyond their first year. The academy itself is entirely fictional, but Hytner … Continue reading REVIEW: Center Stage (2000)
Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper will forever be remembered for their 1933 monster classic King Kong, but it was not the only film they made together. In 1935 they co-directed the RKO Pictures Roman epic The Last Days of … Continue reading REVIEW: The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
Kameda (Masayuki Mori) is a naïve man who suffers from epilepsy. He returns home to Hokkaido after almost being shot by firing squad in Okinawa. There he meets Taeko (Setsuko Hara), a former mistress to a rich business man, who … Continue reading REVIEW: The Idiot (1951)
I just don’t understand,’ mutters a woodcutter (Takashi Shimizu), and he shelters under the half-ruined eaves of the Rashomon gate with a priest (Minoru Chiaki) and a passer-by (Kichijiru Ueda). The woodcutter has just returned from a trial by the … Continue reading REVIEW: Rashomon (1950)
House of Gucci is, I think, a movie in conflict with itself. On the one hand it is a glorious work of glossy trash: obscenely rich families fighting one another over control of the family business, eccentric cousins, disapproving fathers, television … Continue reading REVIEW: House of Gucci (2021)
Artist Ichiro Aoe (Toshiro Mifune) meets pop singer Miyako Saigo (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) in the mountains. She has missed her bus, so he offers her a ride back to her hotel on his motorbike. They are photographed together by an opportunistic … Continue reading REVIEW: Scandal (1950)
A young knight Robert Nerra (Eric Stoltz) and his brother defy their father and set out to join King Richard I’s crusade. When their quest is immediately struck by tragedy, Robert continues alone. He finds himself the unwilling leader of … Continue reading REVIEW: Lionheart (1987)
Yuzo (Isao Numasaki) and Masako (Chieko Nakakita) meet in Tokyo one Sunday morning for a date. They have only 35 yen between them. Over the course of a single day they face numerous challenges as they wander the streets of … Continue reading REVIEW: One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
“Life of a VIP” I feel as if Anna Chlumsky is an Academy Award waiting to happen, as soon as Hollywood’s various studios recognise her immense talent and cast her into an appropriate feature. She arguably remains most famous for … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Inventing Anna 1.01 (2022)
Georges Simenon’s fictional detective Jules Maigret featured in 75 novels and a handful of short stories, and since 1932 has been a mainstay of cinema and television in both France and the United Kingdom. Over the years the character has … Continue reading REVIEW: Maigret (2022)
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