Then Playing — Flow; Hard Truths; September 5
Reviews of films directed by Gints Zilbalodis, Mike Leigh, and Tim Fehlbaum Continue reading Then Playing — Flow; Hard Truths; September 5
Tag: mike leigh
From the Archive — Happy-Go-Lucky
As this slightly worrisome Oscar season continues to shower precursor awards on the problematic film about mass advertising on the outskirts of a small community, spare a thought for the fleeting front-runners from earlier in the cycle. Barring a major … Continue reading From the Archive — Happy-Go-Lucky
Branagh, Brooks, Leigh, McGrath, Trank
Cinderella (Kenneth Branagh, 2015). It’s grading on the most generous of curves, but as a crass attempt to develop a new revenue stream for a beloved Disney animated class, the live action Cinderella isn’t so bad. It’s certainly a damn sight better than the grotesque senses assault of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, which basically established this type of cinematic tomb raiding. Similarly, Kenneth Branagh’s directing is more tightly controlled and snappily efficient than anything else he’s done in ages, the stricter corporate oversight perhaps taming his penchant for dragging indulgence. Most of the acting is merely perfunctory, save for … Continue reading Branagh, Brooks, Leigh, McGrath, Trank
All this, but no surprises for this year’s girl
Take any minute or two of Lesley Manville’s performance in Another Year and strip it of all context. Even in total isolation, it would be immediately recognizable as a character from a Mike Leigh film. She exhibits a haggardness so … Continue reading All this, but no surprises for this year’s girl
Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Forty-Four
#44 — Secrets and Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996) It is a film about little lives, the sorts that are easy to bypass, assuming that the stories they hold are entirely unremarkable, that they hold no surprises, nothing worth measuring up … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Forty-Four
Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Forty-Five
#45 — Vera Drake (Mike Leigh, 2004) It is practically a necessity to begin any discussion or celebration of a Mike Leigh film by detailing his unique methodology. As is well-established, Leigh begins by assembling his actors and assigning them … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Forty-Five
Top Ten Movies of 2008 — Number Seven
#7 I highly doubt that Hollywood power brokers are aggressively examining the oeuvre of Mike Leigh in search of remake fodder. Lucky for all of us, since it’s easy to imagine the cheery monstrosity that would result if Happy-Go-Lucky fell … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2008 — Number Seven
Coffee for Two 