Archive for the ‘Cultural issues’ Category
A review of the Dick Cheney bio-pic “Vice”
February 2nd, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Adam McKay stunned us with the “The Big Short” in which, as co-writer and director, he endeavoured to tell the complicated story of the sub-prime crisis in the USA economy in a virtuoso style. Now, as sole writer and director, he attempts the tell the incredible account of how Dick Cheney somehow became the most […]
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A review of the new film “Colette”
January 27th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
“I’ve been a fan of Keira Knightley since “Bend It Like Beckham” in 2002. She’s had her critics but she’s maturely nicely as an actress and, in the eponymous role, this is among her best work, together with films like “Atonement” and “The Duchess”. Here she plays real-life writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette in late 19th century/early […]
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A review of the Oscar favourite film “The Favourite”
January 26th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
By the time I went to see this film, it had already received 10 Acadeny Award nominations, so there was an incredible buzz around the work. Is this deserved? Well, it is an exceptional work but an odd one too. Losely based on actual events, this is a (very) black comedy set at the English […]
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A review of the new political film “The Front Runner”
January 19th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Gary Hart was a US senator for Colorado who, after a credible but failed attempt to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, was the eponymous leader in the race to secure that nomination in 1988 when he was forced to withdraw because of news of an extramarital affair. This story is told in a […]
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A review of the recent film “The Florida Project”
January 14th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
In 1984, I took my son – then coming up to aged eight – to Disney World in Florida and we stayed in a hotel in the delightfully-named little town of Kissimmee. I would never have imagined then that 35 years later I would view a film located in such an unlikely setting as a […]
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A review of the film “Disobedience”
January 9th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Like the earlier film “Apostasy”, “Disobedience” is a story of the restrictions and repression in an ultra-religious community in England told largely through the viewpoint of female protagonsists. Whereas “Apostasy” looked at members of Jehovah’s Witnesses living in Manchster, this film is set in an Orthodox Jewish community in north London. It is an adaptation […]
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A specially inclusive performance of “A Christmas Carol”
January 5th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
This week, I finished the holiday season in style by seeing a special performance of “A Christmas Carol”. Charles Dickens’ classic story has arguably come to define Christmas in the 175 years since its publication and there have been numerous versions, both on stage and screen. The Chickenshed theatre in Enfield in north London has […]
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Word of the day: obesogenic
January 2nd, 2019 by Roger Darlington
The Obesity Health Alliance, an umbrella group that includes charities and medical organisations, said more urgent action than messages on swapping high-sugar foods for low-sugar alternatives was needed. “Today’s children are growing up in obesogenic environments, bombarded by adverts and promotions for junk food online, on TV and in our supermarkets,” said Caroline Cerny, the […]
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A review of the new Mexican film “Roma”
January 2nd, 2019 by Roger Darlington
This is a deeply personal film from Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón whose previous work was the stunning “Gravity”. He has said that 90% of the narrative is autobiographical and accordingly it is set in a very particular place and time. The place is a district of Mexico City called Colonia Roma – hence the title […]
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Binge-watching the television adaptation of “My Brilliant Friend”
December 28th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Two years ago, it took me almost three months, but I completed my summer/autumn reading project: to read the four works and 1700 pages that make up the ‘Neapolitan Novels’, an acclaimed series by the Italian author Elena Ferrante. This is a saga of the 60-year friendship between two girls from a poor neighbourhood of Naples […]
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