Uncut Gems (2019)

The morning after I watched Uncut Gems (2019) on Netflix (where it’s been released for international audiences), I felt like I had a hangover: agitated, restless, but also euphoric over having finally seen something I was so hyped for. When we first see jeweller and gambler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) in his shop at the […]

Sleuth (1972)

Listening to several interviews with Knives Out director-writer Rian Johnson, he mentioned several influences on his take on the “Whodunnit?” genre (including some very obscure ones like The Last Of Shelia). I’d heard of Sleuth (1972) ever since an old movie book I once read spoiled the ending with its chapter on ‘Classic Movie Deaths’. […]

Prime Cut (1972)

At under 90 minutes running time, Prime Cut (1972) is efficient and taut like its mob enforcer protagonist Nick (Lee Marvin, another great role as a measured tough). Yet there’s also an original streak of perverse humour throughout, more than likely helped by director Michael Ritchie (who’d go on to specialise further in comedy with classics like The […]

The Irishman (2019)

The first time I watched I Heard You Paint Houses aka The Irishman (2019) was in a cinema thanks to The Backlot. When it ended, I felt like I had lived a lifetime and my head was heavy like a brick. Second viewing was weeks later on Netflix and it’s a long epic that carries […]

Border (2018)

Winner of Un Certain Regard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, the Swedish film Border (2018; Gräns) might also take the crown for weirdest sex scene in a movie. Directed by Ali Abbasi and based on a story written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of Let The Right One In, which gives an indication […]