xanbrooks

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‘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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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