Archive for the ‘Cultural issues’ Category
A review of the Korean-set film “Return To Seoul”
May 14th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This is a work that underlines the international nature of modern film production. It is set in South Korea and filmed there and in Romania. The story concerns a French-Korean woman but it is written and directed by a French-Cambodian man. The dialogue is in both French and Korean with some English. The funding is […]
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A review of the new Japanese film “Plan 75”
May 11th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
In 1973, there was a film called “Soylent Green” which depicted a future Earth (it was set in 2022!) in which rapid population growth and deficiences in supply of food had combined to necessitate that the working classes be provided with artificial nutrients and voluntary euthanaesia. There is a very moving scene where an aged […]
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A review of the movie “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3”
May 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I’m a loyal fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), so I wasn’t going to miss this 32nd contribution to the long-running and ever-sprawling saga. Also the Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) characters have always been the funniest in the MCU and this volume was billed as their final one as the current team. There […]
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A review of the 1946 classic movie “Gilda”
April 13th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This classic film noir is largely set in an illegal casino in Buenos Aires just after the Second World War and its point of view is that of the American narrator and gambler Johnny played with style by Glenn Ford. However, all the best films in this genre have a femme fatale and the eponymous […]
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A review of the 2016 film “The Whole Truth”
April 11th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This is a courtroom drama that follows the standard tropes of the genre. It is Louisiana and a man has been murdered; his son confesses to the crime and it seems like an open and shut case. But this is a movie so we know that it is not going to be as simple as […]
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A review of the 1963 epic “Cleopatra”
April 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Was “Cleopatra” a classic? Well, it was far from being a brilliant movie, but it deserves to be appreciated for its infamously troubled production and its gloriously grand staging. As the film critic David Thomson wrote in his book “Have You Seen …?”: “You have to see ‘Cleopatra’ if you have any remote interest in […]
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A review of the Chinese film “So Long, My Son”
April 5th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This 2019 Chinese film is a revelation. It tells the story of two couples, friends and fellow workers at the same factory who have boys on the same day who also become friends. The two couples prove to have very different lives and the actions of the two sons have powerful and long-lasting implications for […]
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A review of the classic novel “Orlando” by Virginia Woolf
April 3rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Having seen the 1992 film version with Tilda Swinton in the titular role and the 2022 theatre adaptation starring Emma Corrin, I thought that I would tackle the original 1928 novel. The eponymous hero is a male noble man and poet in the early 17th century who lives until the time of Woolf, about half […]
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A review of the 2020 action movie “The Old Guard”
March 31st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Charlize Theron in combat mode is always a sight to behold. After her stand-out performances in “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) and “Atomic Blonde” (2017), she has the lead role in “The Old Guard” which, as a Netflix movie appearing at the beginning of the pandemic, went straight to streaming. Theron plays the leader of […]
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A review of the new action movie “John Wick: Chapter 4”
March 28th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Oh my, what a blast. If you enjoyed the three previous John Wick movies, you’re gonna love this one. Former kickboxer and former stuntman Chad Stahelski once again directs this latest contribution to an action hero franchise that continues to be both popular and profitable. Keanu Reeves is back as our suited, laconic, titular assassin, […]
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