Critical Week: When the wine runs out

It's been another busy week for screenings, and this year's festival season kicked up a gear with the announcement of the programme at next month's 79th Cannes Film Festival. Already everyone is trying to work out who will feature in next year's awards season. Three of the films I watched this week featured terrific offbeat performances: Charli XCX leads the cast of the improvised romantic comedy Erupcja, which is set in Warsaw. It's rather uneven, but strikingly well shot and performed. Jude Law and Paul Dano are excellent in The Wizard of the Kremlin, Olivier Assayas' expertly crafted fictionalised biopic about Vladimir Putin. And John Magaro shines as legendary pianist Keith Jarrett in Koln 75, based on the true story of an 18-year-old promoter (played by rising star Mala Emde) who organised a groundbreaking concert.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Diamanti • Wasteman • Departures
The Wizard of the Kremlin
Rebuilding • Miroirs No 3
Eagles of the Republic
PERHAPS AVOID: Balls Up
ALL REVIEWS >

More in the mainstream, Mark Wahlberg  and Paul Walter Hauser star in the chucklehead comedy Balls Up, which has a sharp script thanks to Deadpool writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. But it's resolutely unfunny. Set in Manchester, the British romcom Finding Emily stars Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice. It's charming and funny and very predictable. Bob Odenkirk is back in action in Normal, which also sticks very closely to the formula but engages us with its quirkiness. The entertaining romantic melodrama Almost Us is a bit awkward, but nicely uses its setting in Phoenix's Black queer community. And the French comedy-drama Colours of Time is an entertaining and astute look at how history echoes in everyday life today. 

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, Paul Rudd in Power Ballad, John Magaro in Omaha, Mads Mikkelsen in The Last Viking and three live performances: The Center Will Not Hold at Sadler's Wells, We Caliban at Sadler's Wells East and Misconduct & Ladykiller at White Bear (Tube strikes notwithstanding).

On the road: Take the plunge

Being away for the holidays, I've prioritised hanging out with family and friends over work - so I'm a bit behind with everything apart from food! But I've managed to watch a few films here and there. Just out in cinemas here in the US, The Plague stars Joel Edgerton as a boys' water polo coach who seems either unable or unwilling to tackle the horrific bullying on the team. It's strikingly well made, with a terrific central performance by young Everett Blunck. 

The gentle drama Rebuilding features yet another excellent role for Josh O'Connor as a Colorado rancher trying to start over after a wildfire. It's quietly powerful. Ron Howard's Eden tells the true story of Europeans trying to find paradise in the Galápagos in the 1930s, with a cast that includes Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas. The cast makes it watchable even when it gets rather soapy. The documentary The Perfect Neighbor is assembled from body-cam footage as Florida cops teal with a messy situation that escalates until someone dies. It's hard to watch, but important. I also caught up with a few pulpy movies from recent years, including the cat-and-mouse thriller Carry-On in which Jason Bateman terrorises security agent Taron Egerton in Los Angeles airport. It's seriously stupid, but fun. Mel Gibson plays an action-oriented Santa in Fatman, an uneven mix of comedy and violence that never comes together. Walton Goggins is seriously intense as the baddie; Marianne Jean-Baptiste (yes, really) shines as Mrs Claus.

Over this next week, I'll be watching a few more contenders before ballots are due in various awards. I'm also flying back to London, so will no doubt catch up with some gems (!) on the flights. Before that, I will be finalising year-end lists of my best and worst from 2025 - watch this space...

Critical Week: Say no more

Working long days as part of a TV series crew doesn't leave a lot of time for watching movies, so I've only seen a handful of films this week - either late at night or on days off. Alicia Vikander stars as Katherine Parr in Firebrand opposite Jude Law as a particularly corpulent Henry VIII. It's a very well made film, if a bit on the dry side for such a, ahem, beefy tale. Michael Keaton is back 35 years later for more ghostly hijinks in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as are Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. Tim Burton brings a robust energy to the film, although as before there's not much to it.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Apollo Thirteen: Survival
His Three Daughters
ALL REVIEWS >

Ian McKellen gleefully munches the scenery as the title character in The Critic, set in London's theatre world in 1934, with strong support from Gemma Arterton and Mark Strong. The dialog crackles, but the plot gets bogged down in corny twists. Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark are excellent as always in the British folk horror thriller Starve Acre, which is superbly creepy and very yucky, if never terribly scary. And I revisited one of my very favourite films for its 50th anniversary: Young Frankenstein is perhaps Mel Brooks' finest movie, a warm homage that's packed with classic hilarious moments featuring the ace Gene Wilder, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle and Madeline Kahn. I could happily watch this movie every day, forever.

This coming week, I'm watching James McAvoy in Speak No Evil, whistleblower biopic Winner, Scottish thriller Kill and teen anime Trapezium, plus anything else I can find time to watch while working long days. 

Critical Week: Take a load off

Bigger movies continue to turn up at the box office each week, signalling a return to the pre-lockdown pattern of one blockbuster per week. And press screenings are also getting a bit more colourful as a result. We had two big screenings this week, starting with the Nicolas Cage pastiche action comedy bromance The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which is even more fun than expected. Going full-method as himself, Cage and up-for-it costar Pedro Pascal dive fully into the ridiculous story, and they keep the audience right with them. There was also Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third chapter in the whizzy but oddly uninvolving Harry Potter prequel franchise. This one is much more momentous, and the actors (notably Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen) make it worth a look. I also caught up with Michael Bay's latest over-the-top action thriller Ambulance, a choppy but very entertaining ride through Los Angeles with the superb Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen and Eiza Gonzalez.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Compartment No 6 • Small Body
Poppy Field • Cow
PERHAPS AVOID:
Agent Game • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
ALL REVIEWS >

Further afield were the by-numbers spy thriller Agent Game, which has a strong cast (Dermot Mulroney, Jason Isaacs, even Mel Gibson) but rarely rises above its cliches. French actor-filmmaker Valerie Lemercier's Aline is a fictionalised biopic about Celine Dion, and it's as bonkers as you hope it will be. From Ireland, You Are Not My Mother is a stylish dramatic horror that properly gets under the skin. And from France, Anais in Love is a sunny, chatty comedy-drama that recounts an awkward coming of age.

For this coming week I have no press screenings in the diary, but I do have some links to watch at home, for films including Eva Longoria in the comedy Unplugging, James Duval in the comedy I Challenger and the Japanese triptych Sexual Drive. I also hope to see Alexander Skarsgard in The Northman, most likely buying a ticket for a regular cinema.

Sundance London: See the world

The Sundance Film Festival London continues today with an event about the ethics of documentary filmmaking and a special screening of Visconti's classic Death in Venice, which is of course the subject of the festival doc The Most Beautiful Boy in the World. This is a busy, short blast of a festival, and many of these films will never see a big screen in Britain again, so it's worth the effort to get down to Picturehouse Central or some of the other venues that are hosting screenings and events. 

Cryptozoo
dir-scr Dash Shaw; voices Lake Bell, Michael Cera 21/US ***
Essentially Jurassic Park with fantastical creatures, this energetic animated romp is made by various artists in their distinct styles, then inventively stitched together on-screen. There's a wildly original mix of imagery, all beautifully hand-drawn from sketches and line art to vividly detailed colour illustrations. Writer-director Dash Shaw's story may not be terribly complex, but it's loaded with deeper themes and properly grown-up touches that will win it a following.

The Nest 
dir-scr Sean Durkin; with Jude Law, Carrie Coon 20/UK ***.
Earthy and intriguing, this intensely personal drama has a terrific balance of humour and darkness, keeping the audience on edge with a subtle sense of foreboding. Writer-director Sean Durkin is determined to subvert expectations, carefully guiding the point of view to deepen the characters in unexpected directions, mirroring the misdirection that fills each person's life. And even if the film meanders a bit, the cast relishes the sharp dialog... FULL REVIEW >

Human Factors 
dir-scr Ronny Trocker; with Mark Waschke, Sabine Timoteo 21/Ger **.
There's an intentionality to this dark German drama that holds the interest, even if writer-director Ronny Trocker keeps everything far too enigmatic to properly connect with the audience. But then this is a film about disconnection, as a family is quietly pulled apart by a series of misunderstandings, clashing personalities and unnervingly insidious betrayals, some of which are unconscious. Still, letting the viewer in would have helped a lot.

Pleasure 
dir-scr Ninja Thyberg; with Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle 21/Swe ***
There's a bold point at the centre of this Swedish drama set in the Los Angeles porn industry: that even women who are intentional about becoming adult movie stars are still being exploited and often abused by men. Filmmaker Ninja Thyberg says this through virtually each scene in this compelling but repetitive story. It's finely acted and shot with a riveting point of view. But it never feels personal.

• For more festival information: PICTUREHOUSE: SUNDANCE
• Visit Shadows on the Wall's anchor page for SUNDANCE LONDON for links to all reviews.

Critical Week: Joy to the world

Happy Christmas from locked-down London! I had a barrage of timed awards-consideration screening links this week that changed what I was planning to watch. This meant that I saw quite a few contenders, and the common adjective to describe highbrow movies this year seems to be: "dour". Thankfully, each has something to recommend in it, usually strong performances that lift the tone. And some of these films have been wonderfully upbeat too.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK: 

One Night in Miami • Soul 

Promising Young Woman 

News of the World • AK vs AK 

The Dissident • Luz 

ALL REVIEWS >

Hugh Bonneville stars in the Roald Dahl biopic To Olivia (above), a downbeat film that's beautifully played by its cast, including Keeley Hawes as Dahl's wife, the actress Patricia Neal. Tom Hanks gives yet another wonderful performance in Paul Greengrass' earthy Western News of the World, matched by a fierce turn from the wondrous Helena Zengel. Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston yearn for each other in the aching period drama The World to Come. Jude Law and Carrie Coon find cracks in their high-flying life in the insidious 1980s drama The Nest. Sophia Loren shines brightly in the terrific Italian comedy-drama The Life Ahead. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner have a happy life in Let Him Go, until they really, really don't.

There were also a few guilty pleasures this week. Gerard Butler stars in the catastrophic comet strike thriller Greenland, which is far more entertaining than expected. Hilary Swank is downright nasty in Fatale, a dopey noir-style semi-erotic thriller. And Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor takes on director Anurag Kashyap in the clever pastiche action comedy AK vs AK.

Indie movies included Steven Yeun leading a terrific ensemble in the acclaimed drama Minari, about a Korean family in Arkansas; Boaz Yakin's swirling gender-bending dance-infused drama Aviva; the naturalistic, finely observed immigrant drama Farewell Amor; and the fiercely artful surreal thriller The One You Feed. From Colombia, Luz: The Flower of Evil is a wonderfully stylised horror packed with bonkers touches. And there were two seriously intense documentaries: The Dissident traces the horrific assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudis in Turkey, while the thriller-style Welcome to Chechnya following activists trying to rescue young gay people hunted down in Russia.

I'm taking a few days off from movies around Christmas. Then I'll dive in and watch Judi Dench in a new all-star version of Blythe Spirit, Michelle Pfeiffer in French Exit, the comedy Freshman Year, the Greek drama Apples and the Italian documentary The Truffle Hunters. Others are bound to pop up before voting deadlines close in soon.

Screen: November TV Roundup

I'm still watching a bit more television than usual, thanks to lockdown - basically filling the time I would normally be travelling into central London for film screenings. There's been a lot on, and I'm behind with a few series, trying to take them one by one and getting easily distracted when something new pops up (The Crown!). Here's what I've been watching over the last few months, starting with a timely treat...

The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special
This animated 45-minute mash-up is an inventive mix of silly comedy and thrilling action. It's set after the nine-film saga as Finn and Poe plan a bustling Life Day party, and a magical Force Key sends Rey on a wildly chaotic journey through space and time, jumbling up the entire franchise. The mayhem is packed with knowing nods to fans, plus hilarious Lego-style gags as that black caped gang (Darth Vader, Kylo Ren and Palpatine) squares off against Rey, Luke and others. The holiday touches are amusing too, including Christmas jumpers, Poe's sentimentality and an unexpected snowfall. It's a lot of nutty fun, but not nearly as daring or ridiculous as the notorious 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. (Disney)

We Are Who We Are
With the pungent subtitle "Right Here Right Now", this strikingly current series by Luca Guadagnino centres around teens living on a US military base in italy. The show has a loose-limbed exuberance to it that's engaging and freeform, allowing it to circle themes and deepen considerably as it spirals in unexpected directions. It also deliberately blurs lines of gender and sexuality in almost every character, which is fascinating as these young people take circuitous routes into their grown-up selves. The central friendship between Fraser and Caitlin is played with unapologetic complexity by Jack Dylan Grazer and Jordan Kristine Seamon. And their parents have their own messy journeys. (HBO)

Lovecraft Country
This ambitious series could have been this year's Watchmen, exploring history and major issues through story infused with fantasy. But it's not nearly as focussed or coherent. Jonathan Majors leads an above-average cast, holding attention even as the characters and plotting become increasingly opaque. Each episode is a combination of intrepid action and mind-bending supernatural freak-outs, all of which feels strangely random, especially as it never comes together to illuminate the bigger mystery. The themes are powerful, but the expository dialog is too dense, the dramatics exaggerated, and whole episodes are extraneous. Curiosity keeps us watching, but interest wanes. (HBO)

The Third Day 
With echoes of The Wicker Man, this series initially follows a man (Jude Law) to the island of Osea, off the Essex coast, where he runs into a freaky ancient cult that's up to something nefarious. And he's the person they're after. The perspective then switches to another woman (Naomie Harris) who arrives in Osea months later on her own private mission. These two plot threads are quickly revealed to be one, and the filmmaking approach skilfully keeps dropping creepy details into scenes, including wonderful performances from Law and Harris, plus Paddy Considine and an on-fire Emily Watson. It's uneven and not terribly convincing, but enjoyably chilling. (HBO)

Tehran
A twisty plot makes sure that this espionage thriller holds the attention over eight nail-biting episodes. It's about an Israeli agent (Niv Sultan) trying to complete her mission in Tehran while an Iranian security official (Shaun Toub) tries to stop her. Telling the story from both perspectives adds some unnerving nuance, which means that we don't want either side to succeed. Some of the plot points leave gaping holes here and there, and a tit-for-tat kidnapping tilts the story toward melodrama. As does a genuinely sweet romance that might just be part of a spy's job. But it's sharply well made and superbly acted, and it gets increasingly thrilling the events unfold. (Apple)

The Duchess 
London-based Canadian stand-up comic Katherine Ryan based this sitcom on autobiographical elements as a single mother who puts her daughter above everything else. There are some very funny and astute moments scattered throughout this show, and some terrific dialog, especially as Katherine storms around being brutally honest with everyone she meets. But she's not hugely likeable, and she mistreats the people in her life until they snap; and when they do something nasty, they're suddenly the villains. It's a bit frustrating to watch her fail utterly to learn anything from her errors. But it's blackly hilarious, and rather bleak fun. (Netflix)

Someone Has to Die [Alguien Tiene Que Morir]
From Spain, this three-part melodrama centres on a wealthy Spanish family that's infused with outrageously cruel bigotry. This latest conflict starts when prodigal son Gabino (Alejandro Speitzer) returns to Madrid from Mexico after 10 years away, and his father instantly exerts control, furious that Gabino brought a friend (Isaac Hernandez) home with him. The plot is simply bonkers, not only making very little sense in its histrionics, but always settling in on the worst possible things people can do to each other. As always, the great Carmen Maura livens things up as the imperious matriarch. But even her character is essentially thankless. (Netflix)

BACK FOR MORE

The Boys: series 2 
Diving straight back in with an all-new pile-up of decapitations, betrayals and Billy Joel tunes, this mis-titled rowdy series barely pauses for breath. The high-energy superhero characters are a mess from the very start, caught in spirals of inner turmoil and frustrated megalomania, which of course gives the actors a lot to work with and provides plenty of interpersonal fireworks. Literally. The various plotlines move in fits and starts, compromised by some soapy story points and sequences that strain to be over-cool. But there are plenty of intriguing wrinkles to the characters that catch us off guard, most notably whenever the engaging Hughie (Jack Quaid) is on-screen. (Prime)

The Crown: series 4 
Peter Morgan continues to mine the royal family for dramatic morsels, and as always his writing has the ring of truth to it even though it's pure fiction. Centring this season around Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) and Princess Diana (Emma Corrin), the show is immaculately produced, as each episode contains heart-stopping moments alongside the throwaway bits that make it feel so real. Even if the takeaway this year is that Prince Charles is a monster. And the cast deserves all the awards: beautifully anchored by Olivia Colman with Josh O'Connor, Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter, each of whom gets a chance to shine very brightly indeed. It'll be all-change for the next season. (Netflix)

ONGOING

Star Trek: Discovery: series 3 (in progress)
This season's opener sends this series into yet another whole new direction, and where it continues from here is beautifully crafted, reinventing the entire show once again with a very different set of tensions and intentions. The superior cast (led by Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Rapp and the awesome Michelle Yeoh) bridges all of this expertly, deepening their roles as they go while finding clever ways to reinvent the wider franchise for today's audience. Like the original series almost 60 years ago, this show continues to ask enormous moral and ethical questions in provocative ways, and it grapples with hot-potato issues using stories that are easy to identify with. (Netflix)

The Conners: series 4 
(in progress)
The astute writers on this sitcom have always reflected the times, and this new season is no exception. Embracing the pandemic and the economic carnage it has brought to the working class, the scripts are putting this already bedraggled family through the wringer with issues of health, work, finances and immigration flaring up in earthy, thoughtful ways. And throughout even the most serious stuff, this great cast (Laurie Metcalf continues to steal the show) manages to drop smart punchlines all over the place, reminding us that laughter can ease the pain, for a few moments at least. It's rare to have such a long-running show that actually feels like it's still going somewhere. (ABC)

CATCHING UP

Huge in France 
Acclaimed comedic actor Gad Elmaleh plays a version of himself in this amusing comedy about a top French comic who moves to Los Angeles to be closer to his teen son (Jordan Ver Hoeve), an aspiring model with his own issues. The show focuses on how Gad struggles with the fact that he's not famous in America and can't get a grip on the local sense of humour. With his identity in crisis, he's certainly in no shape to help his son pursue his dream, although his contacts come in handy (cue a terrific Jean Paul Gaultier cameo). Everyone in this show is struggling wildly with who they are, which gives the writers a chance to astutely satirise various aspects of show business.  (Netflix)

REALITY BITES

Reality competitions are comfort food during this pandemic, and have found clever ways to bubble, distance and so forth. The most comforting of them all, The Great British Bake Off: series 11 (C4), put its cast and crew in a bubble and made the show as normal with another terrific line-up of likeable contestants, plus a new host in the cheeky Matt Lucas. With a more complex style of safe distancing, Strictly Come Dancing: series 18 (BBC) is also back for another spin, with entertaining celebrities and up-for-it professionals. Quarantine measures make everything look very different, but there's plenty of glittery magic. And then there's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here: series 20 (ITV), held this year in a superbly creepy castle in Wales, which has added some enjoyable twists for the typically eclectic cast of scene-stealers. And then there were two competitions that delayed their finals until the autumn: Britain's Got Talent: series 14 (ITV) saw the title going to a fitting winner who warms the heart with his witty quintessentially British act, while The Voice UK: series 9 (ITV) came back with two live shows to wrap up its truncated season and crown another seriously talented winner we'll probably never hear from again.

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman hit the road again for Long Way Up (Apple), another likeable travelogue, this time from Tierra del Fuego to Los Angeles. The scenery is spectacular, and their stopovers add some pointed meaning. The first and last episodes get a bit bogged down in logistics, but it's a fabulous journey. And in Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: series 1-2 (Food) the comic and her chef husband take us into their lockdown life, teaching how to make cocktails and to recreate favourite restaurant dishes at home. It's loose and funny, with some great tips.

Finally, RuPaul had a few series running through the autumn as well, including Drag Race: Vegas Revue (VH1), following a group of queens as they launch a massive show on the Strip, and God Shave the Queens (WoW), with British drag stars putting on their own UK tour. Both featured plenty of lively backstage clashes, which isn't surprising with these divas. And both stage shows were cut short by Covid. I couldn't find a way to watch Drag Race Holland, and now Drag Race Spain is coming too.

I GIVE UP

• Adult Material: I only made it through two episodes of this broad and contrived comedy-drama before giving up. The premise is solid, a soapy bit of madness set around the porn industry. But it's impossible to believe that these people are wealthy when they make such terrible porn and are so incapable of acting like humans. A waste of the terrific Hayley Squires and Rupert Everett. (C4)
• Truth Seekers: As a fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, I was looking forward to this ghost-hunting sitcom. But while it has a gently scruffy charm, it just isn't funny. Frost and Samson Kayo are a witty double act at the centre, as they face a variety of supernatural activity. And high-profile guest stars add sparky moments along the way. But after three dull episodes, I gave up. (Prime)

NOW WATCHING: The Undoing, Next, The Comey Rule, Des, The Mandalorian (2), His Dark Materials (2), Fargo (4), This Is Us (5), Superstore (6), Mom (8)

LOOKING FORWARD: The Stand, Bridgerton, The Morning Show (2), Dickinson (2), Shameless (11).

Critical Week: Lord have mercy

It's been another slow week for screenings, which has been helpful as it's been a crazy one in the movie awards world - both sifting through the big award winners and the way they impact the season as a whole, and organising the London Critics' Circle Film Awards, which take place next week.

The three movies I saw were: The Rhythm Section, an action thriller with a female perspective starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K Brown; True History of the Kelly Gang, Justin Kurzel's stylish take on the Aussie folk hero starring a staggeringly good George MacKay, Essie Davis and Nicholas Hoult; and the feel-good British comedy-drama Military Wives, a true story from the director of The Full Monty, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan and Greg Wise.

There was also the launch event for New Nordics Festival, which will be presented by theatre company Cut the Cord 18-21 March at Yard Theatre in East London. It's a clever new initiative that involves six playwrights from six Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands) teaming up with six UK-based directors to bring their work to a British audience for the first time. This is a superb display of Brexit-defying collaboration between northern European countries that share elements of climate, culture and history. And the plays all look intriguing, grappling with social issues, environmental awareness and gender equality. With a bit of Ikea thrown in for good measure. For full details: YARD THEATRE 

In addition to another theatre press night, I also have film screenings of three acclaimed arthouse films this coming week: the Icelandic drama A White, White Day; the Swedish drama Koko-Di Koko-Da; and the housing crisis documentary Push.

Critical Week: An odd couple

Returning from a film festival, it always takes awhile to catch up, not only writing up a backlog of reviews but also tracing down screenings that were missed. This week I've caught up with The Upside, the remake of the French drama Intouchables, starring Kevin Hart and Bryn Cranston. It's lively and entertaining, and of course overly slick. Carrying on the effects-heavy wizarding world, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald throws Eddie Redmayne in between Jude Law and Johnny Depp in a film that's an entertaining series of set-ups that leave us waiting for the next movie in the series.

Keanu Reeves does his usual slow-burn performance in Siberia, a stylish romantic thriller that's neither romantic nor thrilling. The British horror film Await Further Instructions has a clever premise and solid cast, but an unfocussed script. The documentary Three Identical Strangers traces the amazing story of triplets separated at birth, although the filmmakers indulge in some manipulative editing. And then there's this film, marking a century since the end of the First World War...

---

They Shall Not Grow Old
dir Peter Jackson; prd Peter Jackson, Clare Olssen
release UK 9.Nov.18, US 17.Dec.18 • 18/UK 1h39 ****
Deploying the remarkable archive of film and audio recordings held by the Imperial War Museum and the BBC, Peter Jackson uses digital technology to tell the story of the Great War in a way we've never seen it. Most impressive is his transformation of vintage battlefield footage by adding colour and normalising the frame-rate, making it feel startlingly present. This is then edited together into a chronological narrative that pulls us right into the experience, starting with untouched news footage of the outbreak of war, enlisting, training, shifting to colour for the battlefield scenes and then returning to black and white for a pointed post-war sequence. This is adeptly accompanied by the moving first-hand reminiscences of soldiers on the soundtrack. The sense of detail, including vivid descriptions of sights, sounds and smells, puts us right in the trenches with these very young men, vividly experiencing events from a century ago. And their comments about how Britain reacted to them when they came home after the war gives the film a provocative kick. This is a notable achievement both for its technical and artistic skill and for how it honours more than a million British and Commonwealth men who died in this conflict. And with the voices of men who were there, it expresses a powerful view of pointless nature of such barbaric warfare.

---

This coming week we have, among other things, Taron Egerton as a new take on Robin Hood, Michael B Jordan in Creed II, Steve McQueen's heist thriller Widows, Robert Redford in The Old Man & the Gun, Hirokazu Koreeda's Cannes winner Shoplifters and the performance art documentary Being Frank.

38th Critics' Circle Film Awards: words and pics...

As chair of the London Critics' Circle Film Awards, I get to be right on the frontline putting this event together. It's a lot of work, over about six months with especially intense days when voting starts in early December until the big night. Our 38th awards were handed out on Sunday 28th January at The May Fair Hotel, presented by Dover Street Entertainment. And since I have to get up at the start to thank our sponsors, I usually hand out the first award. This year's first honour went to Hugh Grant (above), named Supporting Actor of the Year for Paddington 2. He joked, "Well that's ludicrous. Trump, Brexit, and now me winning this. It's the end of days!"

The ceremony ended on a highlight, as Kate Winslet was presented the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film by her friend Jude Law. She gave an electric speech referencing the Time's Up movement from her own personal perspective. Kate started with, "It almost feels uncomfortable to receive an award at such a time." And she went on to reference the #MeToo issue: "I realised that I wouldn't be able to stand here this evening and keep to myself some bitter regrets that I have about poor decisions to work with individuals with whom I wish I had not."

These three men from Call Me By Your Name were in the house - Armie Hammer came along with his friends, nominees Luca Guadagnino (up for film and director) and Timothee Chalamet, who won Actor of the Year. Timothee thanked Luca ("Who basically gave me my career at this point") and his "tongue-wrestling partner" Armie.

Here's the team running the show: host Steve Oram, Critics' Circle President Anna Smith, host Alice Lowe and Critics' Circle Awards Chair Rich Cline. This was Steve and Alice's third year hosting the show - they're an awesome double act.

Winners for Breakthrough Filmmaker and Young Performer: Francis Lee for God's Own Country and Harris Dickinson for Beach Rats.

Lesley Manville was named Supporting Actress of the Year for Phantom Thread, while producer Daniel Battsek collected awards on behalf of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: for best film, screenwriter Martin McDonagh and actress Frances McDormand.

Writer-director Paul King and writer Simon Farnaby, both nominees for their work on Paddington 2, were in the house. Writer-director Dionne Edwards and producer Georgia Goggin won British/Irish Short Film of the Year for We Love Moses.

Supervising Art Director Paul Inglis accepted production designer Dennis Gassner's Technical Achievement Award for Blade Runner 2049. Noah Jupe (Suburbicon) and Dafne Keen (Logan) were nominees for Young Performer.

More nominees in the house: Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), Josh O'Connor (God's Own Country) and Emily Beecham (Daphne).

Emma Willis was a nominee for her amazing hair and makeup in The Love Witch. Other guests included Alec Secareanu (God's Own Country), Jessica Barden and Jack Johns.

Four of our winners sent thank you videos. Clockwise from top-left: Martin McDonagh won Film and Screenwriter of the Year for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Daniel Kaluuya was named British/Irish Actor of the Year for Get Out; Paul Verhoeven won Foreign-Language Film of the Year for Elle; Sean Baker took Director of the Year for The Florida Project.

And finally, our former chair Jason Solomons presented a lovely In Memoriam segment for Barry Norman, one of Britain's best-loved film critics.

The awards were presented this year by Dover Street Entertainment. Our main sponsor was The May Fair Hotel. Award sponsors were Heaven Skincare, Cameo Productions and Millbank and CooperSearle Management. In-kind sponsors were Sacred Gin, Remy Martin, Voss Water and Audi.