xanbrooks
‘Rejecting hatred and fear’: why Powell and Pressburger’s weird, confounding films are perfect for our times
They made 24 often morally complex pictures before falling out of fashion. Now, as a monumental BFI retrospective kicks off, can their stricken pilots and posh ballerinas speak to our divided era?
Xan Brooks
16, Oct, 2023 @7:00 AM
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford review – fabulously rich noir
The Golden Hill author turns his hand to the detective genre in a multilayered reimagining of 1920s America
Xan Brooks
07, Oct, 2023 @6:30 AM
Coup! review – exuberant class-struggle comedy set in Spanish flu lockdown
The life of an idiotic leftist journalist, isolating in his mansion, is upended by the real world in the form of Peter Sarsgaard’s mutinous chef in this broad, fun caper
Xan Brooks
08, Sep, 2023 @4:09 PM
Rage against the machine? Why AI may not mean the death of film
Generative technology is Hollywood’s current arch nemesis, but as exhibitors on Venice film festival’s ‘immersive island’ will tell you, AI, VR and XR could lead to a brighter future
Xan Brooks
08, Sep, 2023 @3:23 PM
Director Pablo Larraín: ‘Chile is my world. How can I not be allowed to talk about the things that happened to us?’
Augusto Pinochet returns as a bloodsucking vampire – together with Margaret Thatcher – in El Conde, the Chilean director’s black comedy horror. He talks about his fascination with the dictator and why, despite his family ties, he feels empowered to keep telling stories about his country
Xan Brooks
07, Sep, 2023 @4:15 PM
Hit Man review – Richard Linklater mixes philosophy and fun in true-crime caper
The director shows off his quickfire, casual side with a yarn about a contract killer who isn’t all he seems
Xan Brooks
05, Sep, 2023 @1:22 PM
Sky Peals review – eerie tale of lost souls at the service station
Moin Hussain’s arresting debut feature about an alienated night-shift worker turns the humble service station into a nightmarish modern limbo
Xan Brooks
05, Sep, 2023 @12:00 PM
Coup de Chance review – Woody Allen’s tale of ill-fated lovers is his best film in a decade
Venice film festival: An adulterous affair between bored millionaire’s wife Fanny and struggling writer Alain is surely bound for disaster
Xan Brooks in Venice
04, Sep, 2023 @7:30 PM
Venice’s brave new world: my cosmic trip to Immersion Island and back
On the Lazzaretto Vecchio, the small island home of Venice film festival’s Immersive section, I donned an XR headset and boldly went where most festivalgoers don’t
Xan Brooks in Venice
04, Sep, 2023 @3:43 PM
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial review – William Friedkin’s final film looks for the truth
A courtroom drama based on events in Herman Wouk’s second world war novel The Caine Mutiny, Friedkin leaves us with a worthy last effort
Xan Brooks
03, Sep, 2023 @8:00 PM
The Palace review – Roman Polanski’s tacky hotel farce is the worst party in town
Set in a hotel on New Year’s eve in 1999, this dismal comedy finds room for John Cleese, Mickey Rourke and Fanny Ardant, but you’ll want to run for the hills
Xan Brooks
02, Sep, 2023 @7:45 PM
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar review – Wes Anderson’s short and sweet Roald Dahl tale
Anderson’s second Dahl adaptation is a droll 40 minutes of beautifully composed nested stories, with Benedict Cumberbatch as a gambler who learns how to beat the house
Xan Brooks
01, Sep, 2023 @5:07 PM
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