Frustratingly superficial but endearing biopic of the 1950s pin-up queen, mostly worth a look for Gretchen Mol’s irresistible and exuberant performance.
I confess that most of my knowledge about A Streetcar Named Desire came from a classic Simpsons episode. But now I finally unwrapped the 1951 adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ stage play, after the DVD sat on my shelves for years.
Somehow I spent the last fifteen years without ever once seeing this high school comedy classic, while still knowing its catchphrases (Stop trying to make Fetch happen). Watching it for the first time now, it still feels fresh and as deceptively effortless as a perfect pop song.
This action comedy from Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright is a little too long (seriously, which comedy from the last few years isn’t overlong?), but the enormously entertaining finale and the winning buddy chemistry between Pegg and Nick Frost more than make up for its flaws.
A stylish and eccentric thriller that feels thoroughly French despite the English-speaking cast and the New York setting, with Natalie Portman in what surely must be one of the most memorable child performances of all time.
A rare addition to the list of good Stephen King film adaptations, Gerald’s Game also impressively succeeds at making the practically unfilmable source material work as cinema.
This Will Ferrell comedy has no business running for over two hours, but it’s the kind of super-silly light fun that’s most welcome in these tense times. It also does a lot to fill the Eurovision-shaped hole for this Eurovision fan.
A handsome if somewhat slight period drama based on the life of Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire and the great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Palme d’Or-winning Japanese drama about a surrogate family living on the margins of modern Tokyo, Shoplifters lulls you in with its gentle intimate rhythm, before dropping big heart-wrenching twists.
