-
1 week ago | 
bfi.org.uk | Philip KempReviews |Philip Kemp |Ben Nicholson |Samuel Thomas Davies
Alex Garland and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza’s rigorous re-enactment of the 2006 Ramadi incident is a powerful depiction of combat but leaves little space for the audience to connect with its characters.
-
Sep 3, 2024 | 
ft.com | Philip Kemp
Seventy-five years ago, in 1949, a film was released that was soon rated the finest British movie of all time. To many critics, it still is.
-
Sep 2, 2024 | 
bfi.org.uk | Alex Barrett |Dylan Cave |Adam Scovell |Philip Kemp
Despite being the most prolific director at England’s beloved Ealing Studios, Basil Dearden is largely absent from history books – that is, when he’s not being damned with faint praise or outright savaged. Take this, for example, from David Thomson’s The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: “[Dearden’s] proficiency was at the expense of inventiveness or artistic personality… His films are decent, empty, and plodding.” Ouch.
-
Oct 16, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Philip Kemp |Kambole Campbell |Sophia Satchell Baeza |Jason Anderson
News, reviews and archive features every Friday, and information about our latest magazine once a month. After the disappointment of the high-concept, futuristic Downsizing (2017), The Holdovers finds director Alexander Payne gloriously back on prime form.
-
Jul 20, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Jonathan Romney |Ben Nicholson |Philip Kemp |Jessica Kiang
Christopher Nolan’s serious, scholarly epic about ‘the father of the atom bomb’ J. Robert Oppenheimer revolves around verbose courtroom confrontations, but the beautiful visual touches – and Cillian Murphy’s grave, introspective performance – put it among the director’s best. 20 July 2023By Jonathan RomneySign up for Sight & Sound’s Weekly Film Bulletin and moreNews, reviews and archive features every Friday, and information about our latest magazine once a month.
-
Jul 18, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Ben Nicholson |Philip Kemp |Jessica Kiang |Leigh Singer
Omar El Zohairy’s darkly funny and strikingly composed absurdist parable uses one man’s chicken transformation to tell a wider story of patriarchal oppression. 18 July 2023By Ben NicholsonSign up for Sight & Sound’s Weekly Film Bulletin and moreNews, reviews and archive features every Friday, and information about our latest magazine once a month. Email“Something’s wrong.
-
Jul 17, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Philip Kemp |Kim Newman |Beatrice Loayza |Jonathan Romney
Armed with clips from Hitchcock’s biggest hits as well as his rarely-screened features, Mark Cousins’s mischievous documentary allows ‘the director himself’ to take the viewer on an entertaining journey through his favourite narrative and stylistic tricks. 17 July 2023By Philip KempMy Name Is Alfred Hitchcock (2022)Sign up for Sight & Sound’s Weekly Film Bulletin and moreNews, reviews and archive features every Friday, and information about our latest magazine once a month.
-
May 22, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Philip Kemp
Directors Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor let flesh and bone do most of the talking with a documentary that uses microscopic cameras to show real surgeries in intimate, gory detail. 22 May 2023By Philip KempDe Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022) © Courtesy of MUBISign up for Sight & Sound’s Weekly Film Bulletin and moreNews, reviews and archive features every Friday, and information about our latest magazine once a month.
-
Apr 12, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Philip Kemp
The latest Stoker resurrection turns its attention to Renfield, a put upon sidekick desperate to escape his ‘toxic’ relationship with Dracula. It’s not short on giggles and gore, but despite Nicolas Cage’s entertainingly excessive turn as the Count, the film never quite sustains its premise.
-
Apr 11, 2023 | 
bfi.org.uk | Philip Kemp
This sympathetic documentary about Patricia Highsmith attempts to capture the novelist’s identity by exploring her storied love life. 11 April 2023By Philip KempA young Patricia Highsmith in Loving Highsmith (2022) © Rolf TietgensSign up for Sight & Sound’s Weekly Film Bulletin and moreNews, reviews and archive features every Friday, and information about our latest magazine once a month. EmailAs a writer, Patricia Highsmith deservedly enjoys an exalted reputation; as a person, rather less so.
