Phil Hoad

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Phil Hoad

Interactive cinema cheerleader Paul Raschid’s last work The Gallery in 2022, cannily used the format to compare and contrast two fraught eras: Thatcher’s and post-Brexit Britain. So it’s a disappointment to see his latest outing, Hello Stranger, narrow its scope to a cheesy trial-by-internet that lacks the social commentary of Squid Game, from which it nabs its masked, filtered-voice tormentor.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Phil Hoad

The film director James Foley, who has died from brain cancer aged 71, was a self-effacing and shrewd stylist whose camerawork always served the actors and the psychology of the characters. This thespian focus was best showcased in his 1992 adaptation of David Mamet’s stage play Glengarry Glen Ross; its heavyweight cast, which included Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey, might have overwhelmed a less purposeful supervisor.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Phil Hoad

The Marvel bromide about “What is grief, if not love persevering?” comes to mind watching this metaphysically charged Danish documentary in which nine senior citizens discuss their departed life partners. Director Zara Zerny works hard in defining the miracle of lifelong companionship, and the ineffable essence of that significant other which persists after death.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Phil Hoad

Search queryEcho of You review – expressive documentary hears from grieving life partnersMon, May 19, 2025 at 8:00 AM UTCDreaming infants again … Echo of You.Photograph: True StoryThe Marvel bromide about “What is grief, if not love persevering?” comes to mind watching this metaphysically charged Danish documentary in which nine senior citizens discuss their departed life partners.

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Phil Hoad

With Tom Cruise’s reckoning upgraded to “final” in the imminent instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, it seems a strong probability that the curtain is about to fall on cinema’s leading daredevil. Unless his Impossible Mission Force agent Ethan Hunt expires mid-battle like 007 in No Time to Die, it seems likely the character will be gracefully retired. Cruise, now 62, can’t reasonably be expected to suction-cup himself to landmark architecture for much longer.