It’s alarming to think that it’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the ditzy but charming and unstoppable Bridget Jones first bumbled her way onto cinema screens. The film Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), which was based on the successful Helen Fielding novel was a sufficiently big hit to spawn multiple sequels. While Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason from
Read moreWith their typically British combination of warmth, wit and mischievousness, the Paddington movies – featuring the eponymous bear in CGI form – have proven box office and critical favourites. The latest instalment, Paddington in Peru, which once again mixes sweetness, gleeful silliness and surreal invention, should continue to delight fans of the series. Not only is this a film for
Read moreWriter/director Sean Baker distinguished himself as an ultra-low budget filmmaker intrigued by the lives of people on society’s fringes such as transgender sex worker Sin-Dee in Tangerine and volatile single mother Halley in The Florida Project. After these raw and confronting films, he seemed to lose his way with the long rambling Red Rocket. His latest film, the Palm D’or
Read moreWicked is the hotly anticipated cinema adaptation of the hugely successful musical theatre production of the same name. I haven’t seen the stage version and all I knew was that it was a prequel of sorts to The Wizard Of Oz that involved origin stories for the good witch Glinda and the wicked witch Elphaba. The filmmakers certainly believe in
Read moreTodd Phillips’ Joker (2019) reimagined the supervillain origin story as a study of a fracturing mind with the beaten down incel Arthur Fleck transforming into the weirdly charismatic murdering psychopath clown of the title. In this age of superhero/ villain obsession it was an ambitious and subversive take on an iconic character but not always a riveting one. For those
Read moreWhile its plot and thickly layered Australiana are a little clichéd, Runt, from director John Sheedy, is still a very sweet, charming family film that represents another instalment in the ‘amazing animal’ film sub-genre. The title character (played by a dog named Squid) is a stray terrier who lives in the fictitious remote Australian town of Upson Downs. Having just
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