Overlooked Classics: Sound Of Metal

Is this too recent to be considered a cult classic? I don’t think so. Not enough people have seen this masterpiece from director and co-writer Darius Marder, it would seem. But everyone should, it’s nothing short of exceptional, a beautifully crafted story of love and survival. British actor Riz Ahmed portrays Ruben, a battering ramContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Sound Of Metal”

Film Review: Queendom

Times are truly appalling. With the Orange Menace having been sworn in as president of the United States yesterday, cosying up to tech billionaires and hellbent on promoting “only two genders”, this fascinating, deeply moving documentary film from Agniya Galdanova is a reminder of how art can flourish in the wake of capitalist greed andContinue reading “Film Review: Queendom”

I Like Anti-Musicals

Poor old Joker: Folie a Deux. Todd Phillips ‘ sequel absolutely TANKED last year, because nobody wanted to see a musical that depressing. I’ve only got round to watching it myself, as I’m not the biggest admirer of Lady Gaga. But guess what? I loved it. For me, it succeeds as an anti -musical, becauseContinue reading “I Like Anti-Musicals”

One From The Tempo House: Cracked Actor -When Bowie Killed Ziggy

Ahead of his twenty fifth studio album Blackstar, Lorna Irvine looks at the BBC documentary which showed Bowie at a major turning point in his career. Almost forty years after its creation, Alan Yentob’s candid documentary for the Beeb on David Bowie still stands up beautifully, juxtaposing the disintegration of Bowie’s health and ego as heContinue reading “One From The Tempo House: Cracked Actor -When Bowie Killed Ziggy”

Vintage Films: Cabaret

If Sally Bowles was around today, she’d most likely be chronically online, binging on TikTok make-up tutorials and dance crazes.She’d be oblivious to the outside world, unaware of the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, or the orange menace that is Trump. Bob Fosse’s film has endured, because the theme of “divine decadence” amid the encroachingContinue reading “Vintage Films: Cabaret”

Je Deteste Amelie

I’ve a confession to share: I really hate Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 film, Amelie. The rom-com, with its insufferably childlike lead character, portrayed by the beautiful Audrey Tautou, is often cited by cineastes as revitalising French cinema in the millennium, but I find it nauseating. It seems I’m not alone in this. Savages ‘ lead singerContinue reading “Je Deteste Amelie”

Film Review: Kneecap

What’s the craic? Directed by Rich Peppiatt, this fictionalised account of the West Belfast hip-hop trio, has not been without controversy from, unsurprisingly, certain sectors of the British press. However, the band deny they’re pro – IRA, and define their film as a satire, a provocation mocking every Irish trope ever committed to film, particularlyContinue reading “Film Review: Kneecap”

TV Review: Boybands Forever

“Fame, fame, fatal fame”, The Smiths once sang, “It can play hideous tricks on the brain”. They weren’t wrong- fame can indeed be a poisoned chalice. Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang’s excellent three -part documentary series about the boyband phenomenon of the nineties and early noughties explores the highs; lows, scandals, meltdowns and exploitation bubblingContinue reading “TV Review: Boybands Forever”

(From Across The Arts Archive) GFF Review: Burroughs -The Movie

Arts:Blog POSTED BY ACROSS THE ARTS ON FEBRUARY 28, 2015, AT 7.44AM Lorna Irvine reviews ‘an excellent portrait of a contrarian and genius’. William S Burroughs, one of the most influential writers of all time, has been on screen before–notably in Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy as Tom the Priest–but this lesser-seen documentary by Howard Brookner predates it byContinue reading “(From Across The Arts Archive) GFF Review: Burroughs -The Movie”