The Times critic Kate Muir has described Manchester by the Sea as “the most emotionally intelligent film you will see this year” – and she’s probably right. The main problem is that January isn’t the best month to see it. January is a downbeat month to say the least. The days are short, it’s freezing cold and the bills for our reckless Christmas extravagances are dropping through the letterbox. On ...keep reading
My jaw dropped as the new film adaptation of Swallows and Amazons got into its stride. It wasn’t the fact that the movie takes substantial liberties with Arthur Ransome’s much loved children’s book, such as adding in a couple of Russian spies and renaming young Titty Walker ‘Tatty’. No, it was the plot’s central premise, which stays utterly faithful to the original novel. To the astonishment of 21st century parents everywhere, Mrs ...keep reading
What a peculiar day. The sun is blazing and the beach is packed with holidaymakers. As they saunter along clutching ice creams, buckets and spades they seem oblivious to the excitement building at the far end of town. The scene is very different outside Swanage railway station, where a gaggle of teenage girls have clambered on to the wall to gawp at their heartthrob. A few yards away, a seasoned ...keep reading
It’s not every day that you walk to the newsagent’s for a paper and bump into a group of swashbuckling pirates in the car park, their faces caked in make-up and sporting frock coats and breeches. The quiet seaside town of Swanage hasn’t seen anything like it in ages. A film crew has swept into town, with an army of trucks, loads of security men brandishing walkie-talkies and stars like ...keep reading
Film awards are a bit of a lottery but the right man definitely won the Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama award at the Golden Globes last night. Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of scientist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything is astounding. I’ve only seen him in roles like Angel Clare in Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Marius Pontmercy in Les Misérables before so I wasn’t sure he could ...keep reading
Cecelia Ahern is only 33 but she already has 11 novels to her name. She’s sold 22 million books around the world and her first novel, PS. I Love You, was made into a movie starring Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank. Now her second novel, Where Rainbows End, has been turned into Love, Rosie, with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin as the lead characters. Ahead of its release, Grazia magazine ...keep reading
When I booked tickets for The Luna Cinema’s showing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s at Lulworth Castle I imagined a balmy August evening, crowds picnicking on the lawn and the gentle clink of wine glasses. Except it didn’t turn out like that. Think dark skies, freezing temperatures and lashing rain – the kind of evening when you want to draw the curtains, light the fire and not go anywhere at all, ...keep reading
Whoever hit on the idea of beaming live broadcasts from theatre shows to the cinema deserves a medal. I’ve been to some stupendous National Theatre productions at the movies – when I saw Helen Mirren in The Audience at the Phoenix Picturehouse in Oxford the whole audience erupted into spontaneous applause at the end. And now the Royal Shakespeare Company is following suit. Last night saw the RSC’s first live broadcast from Stratford-upon-Avon to ...keep reading
If there’s an award for outstanding film debut of the year then it should go to 13-year-old Eloise Laurence. No question about it. Eloise has just made her big screen debut in Broken, a gritty family drama set in a dreary suburban cul-de-sac. She plays 11-year-old Skunk Cunningham, who lives with her single parent father, her au pair and her teenage brother. Kind-hearted and adventurous, Skunk has had to cope ...keep reading
Hyde Park on Hudsonwas one of the movies on my must-see list when I whizzed up to London for a film preview day hosted by ShowFilmFirst. Why? Firstly because it stars the brilliant Bill Murray as legendary US president Franklin D Roosevelt and secondly because the director is Roger Mitchell, of Notting Hillfame. Most of the action focuses on the real-life visit by George VI and his wife Elizabeth to Hyde Park ...keep reading