Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

2018, review, dir, the, of, jan, best, my, feb, dec, apr, movies, favorite, 22, 2019, 14, mar, 11, on, blog, in, to, songs, films, you, spielberg, these, violent, delights, oct, 13, 31, aug, 27, 26, 21, nolan, variations, follow, me, instagram, profiles, people, misc, roll, life, pictures, 1967, 2012, popular, posts, lists, subscribe, taking, barack, 2000, 2010, followers, archive, 2010s, head, for, last, year, performances, may, so, far, must, remember, this, quiet, place, krasinski, unsane, soderbergh, ready, player, one, were, never, really, here, fantastic, woman, lelio, tonya, gillespie, loveless, zvyagintsev, phantom, thread, anderson, ipod, january, nothing, by, hanif, kureishi, post, darkest, hour, wright, three, billboards, outside, ebbing, missouri, mcdonagh, all, money, world, ridley, scott,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (510), and (204), with (96), his (95), best (90), that (67), share (64), films (63), for (63), film (54), from (53), this (49), you (43), one (42), her (41), she (34), but (34), #review (32), like (31), was (30), who (30), all (26), about (26), comments (24), 2018 (23), not (23), which (23), out (22), into (21), has (21), him (21), pinterest (21), facebook (21), blogthis (21), email (21), more (20), than (20), times (20), when (20), book (20), what (19), new (19), there (19), they (19), movie (18), have (18), shone (18), may (17), here (17), sunday (17), its (17), only (16), their (16), songs (15), most (15), are (15), your (13), world (13), june (12), movies (12), can (12), way (12), were (12), august (11), december (11), january (11), march (11), how (11), will (11), tom (11), love (11), first (11), dir (11), performance (11), churchill (11), july (10), october (10), february (10), april (10), performances (10), had (10), idea (10), man (10), say (10), would (10), york (10), after (10), long (10), while (10), just (10), director (10), through (10), never (10), down (10), point (10), september (9), november (9), little (9), time (9), another (9), self (9), story (9), almost (9), been (9), says (9), any (9), three (9), everyone (9), 2010 (8), life (8), place (8), old (8), make (8), over (8), playing (8), oldman (8), john (8), scorsese (8), too (8), such (8), them (8), mother (8), even (8), these (8), where (8), could (8), fun (8), sound (8), curtiz (8), set (7), white (7), post (7), silent (7), people (7), makes (7), also (7), own (7), close (7), then (7), war (7), himself (7), comes (7), spielberg (7), kureishi (7), really (7), some (6), every (6), hollywood (6), day (6), james (6), author (6), being (6), williams (6), between (6), think (6), might (6), those (6), great (6), always (6), thriller (6), off (6), still (6), billboards (6), mildred (6), turn (6), light (6), around (6), herself (6), shot (6), waldo (6), much (6), quiet (6), anderson (6), casablanca (6), 2012 (5), 2013 (5), posts (5), scenes (5), real (5), good (5), young (5), making (5), actors (5), big (5), home (5), years (5), starting (5), head (5), got (5), work (5), scene (5), king (5), lost (5), end (5), see (5), sharp (5), american (5), sam (5), actor (5), last (5), anyone (5), must (5), very (5), both (5), kind (5), without (5), joe (5), find (5), know (5), audience (5), things (5), same (5), scott (5), likes (5), characters (5), seems (5), boy (5), jan (5), release (5), rather (5), house (5), days (5), wright (5), get (5), camera (5), wins (5), blood (5), minute (5), until (5), free (5), someone (5), favorite (5), death (5), phoenix (5), said (5), something (5), marina (5), 2009 (4), 2011 (4), 2019 (4), blog (4), taking (4), eyes (4), wouldn (4), wish (4), used (4), arrive (4), truth (4), star (4), born (4), city (4), our (4), act (4), writer (4), small (4), daily (4), thing (4), writing (4), voice (4), friends (4), part (4), back (4), take (4), took (4), country (4), page (4), funny (4), clever (4), smart (4), eye (4), far (4), order (4), side (4), rockwell (4), michelle (4), ben (4), bogart (4), michael (4), bellow (4), follow (4), read (4), books (4), line (4), want (4), critical (4), critic (4), career (4), taxi (4), driver (4), beautiful (4), picture (4), rich (4), stories (4), doesn (4), turns (4), writers (4), better (4), don (4), nolan (4), class (4), entire (4), son (4), did (4), probably (4), getty (4), mcdonagh (4), sense (4), outside (4), police (4), business (4), daughter (4), come (4), coming (4), tears (4), script (4), hour (4), words (4), made (4), opposite (4), cast (4), bit (4), third (4), brothers (4), detective (4), other (4), before (4), wants (4), body (4), wade (4), sawyer (4), 2008 (3), 2014 (3), 2000 (3), 2002 (3), atom (3), svelte (3), emily (3), blunt (3), chaplin (3), case (3), evening (3), ava (3), gardner (3), snow (3), gosling (3), spring (3), whispers (3), why (3), care (3), player (3), popular (3), 1976 (3), pop (3), vanity (3), fair (3), feel (3), change (3), including (3), well (3), two (3), peter (3), national (3), beloved (3), happy (3), birthday (3), elliott (3), gould (3), rule (3), cult (3), lehrer (3), peace (3), roll (3), debut (3), witty (3), wise (3), literary (3), humor (3), stephen (3), human (3), lose (3), strange (3), gary (3), acting (3), cinema (3), hanks (3), ethan (3), ryan (3), martin (3), herzog (3), original (3), history (3), word (3), subject (3), french (3), beautifully (3), critics (3), year (3), telegraph (3), stuff (3), view (3), filmmaker (3), shows (3), coffee (3), table (3), tells (3), language (3), woody (3), unexpected (3), treat (3), once (3), upon (3), now (3), write (3), together (3), look (3), trying (3), car (3), instead (3), whether (3), brings (3), let (3), against (3), figure (3), nothing (3), found (3), father (3), black (3), husband (3), putting (3), playwright (3), violence (3), mcdormand (3), ebbing (3), missouri (3), although (3), many (3), hard (3), politics (3), going (3), based (3), right (3), chief (3), imagine (3), dirty (3), version (3), sight (3), high (3), secretary (3), sent (3), ever (3), crazy (3), nobody (3), anti (3), company (3), decision (3), kay (3), press (3), should (3), closest (3), men (3), spoken (3), court (3), conference (3), call (3), living (3), room (3), takes (3), imagination (3), possible (3), suspicion (3), reader (3), different (3), reality (3), title (3), further (3), reynolds (3), max (3), winter (3), sure (3), character (3), short (3), whose (3), threatened (3), presence (3), thread (3), acts (3), break (3), feb (3), russia (3), zvyagintsev (3), tower (3), child (3), wife (3), ice (3), harding (3), lavona (3), shocked (3), gently (3), night (3), door (3), violent (3), corridor (3), others (3), gone (3), hair (3), space (3), road (3), apr (3), noah (3), writes (3), theory (3), charge (3), brigade (3), hungarian (3), stalin (3), roma (3), dec (3), 2010s (2), 2001 (2), 2003 (2), 2004 (2), 2005 (2), 2006 (2), 2007 (2), subscribe (2), 2000s (2), 1990s (2), 1980s (2), 1970s (2), blue (2), manner (2), interview (2), charlie (2), thought (2), accidentally (2), per (2), moon (2), neko (2), station (2), lee (2), seven (2), awful (2), iron (2), actresses (2), godfather (2), fat (2), 1972 (2), stars (2), mix (2), joke (2), elizabeth (2), catapult (2), caught (2), 1967 (2), 1975 (2), pictures (2), wolcott (2), criticism (2), ago (2), wrote (2), following (2), andrew (2), ten (2), josh (2), ritter (2), finding (2), fuel (2), today (2), music (2), street (2), letter (2), neal (2), cassady (2), jack (2), kerouac (2), auction (2), headed (2), again (2), cuts (2), support (2), clients (2), stop (2), reassuring (2), east (2), 1924 (2), greats (2), cool (2), gun (2), drove (2), saw (2), hurst (2), culture (2), hands (2), play (2), political (2), satire (2), variations (2), turner (2), rooms (2), few (2), gives (2), true (2), reviews (2), examination (2), recovery (2), prose (2), bombs (2), laugh (2), toby (2), north (2), helen (2), fielding (2), full (2), everything (2), else (2), click (2), dark (2), online (2), effect (2), return (2), girls (2), bad (2), johnny (2), philip (2), hoffman (2), west (2), raymond (2), chandler (2), wood (2), ian (2), hawke (2), harry (2), saul (2), carey (2), mulligan (2), roth (2), matthew (2), nuanced (2), kid (2), dozen (2), yorker (2), turned (2), phrase (2), wit (2), phillip (2), narrative (2), knowledge (2), audiences (2), walks (2), fine (2), kirkus (2), written (2), didn (2), yet (2), intelligence (2), blockbuster (2), personal (2), connecticut (2), eyed (2), biography (2), insights (2), beauty (2), cobra (2), danger (2), packed (2), put (2), calls (2), draw (2), text (2), behind (2), gift (2), edge (2), clive (2), worth (2), however (2), excellent (2), reading (2), industry (2), allen (2), fans (2), guy (2), toy (2), ford (2), marriage (2), irishman (2), master (2), meticulous (2), inside (2), directors (2), expansive (2), each (2), older (2), half (2), expect (2), voight (2), kampff (2), test (2), fully (2), extraordinary (2), fierce (2), pushes (2), panic (2), gallows (2), knows (2), role (2), does (2), crafty (2), ridley (2), ruin (2), perfect (2), hannibal (2), shadow (2), blade (2), surrounded (2), kidnappers (2), besides (2), centre (2), cloud (2), powers (2), bruised (2), family (2), catharsis (2), date (2), london (2), isn (2), exact (2), explodes (2), shrug (2), barely (2), seemingly (2), dialogue (2), bag (2), grief (2), female (2), avenging (2), torturing (2), dixon (2), asks (2), person (2), willoughby (2), harrelson (2), dying (2), played (2), motion (2), extreme (2), shots (2), course (2), busy (2), gravity (2), dracula (2), count (2), bloody (2), bacon (2), whiskey (2), toil (2), sweat (2), lot (2), type (2), belt (2), english (2), battle (2), anthony (2), mccarten (2), essentially (2), offering (2), weeks (2), prime (2), minister (2), solo (2), government (2), fact (2), came (2), 1940 (2), europe (2), george (2), mendelsohn (2), finds (2), wears (2), wildness (2), historical (2), called (2), alike (2), maybe (2), darkest (2), enjoyed (2), looks (2), soul (2), quick (2), suits (2), caftan (2), designed (2), streep (2), walking (2), ceiling (2), finally (2), possibly (2), adventures (2), inspired (2), bradlee (2), pay (2), dangling (2), next (2), sequence (2), justice (2), mindedness (2), opens (2), ellsberg (2), defense (2), robert (2), greenwood (2), top (2), secret (2), study (2), moving (2), schindler (2), dangerous (2), paddock (2), carefully (2), least (2), saint (2), under (2), jealousy (2), citizen (2), sisters (2), enjoying (2), killer (2), driven (2), obsession (2), degree (2), zero (2), tip (2), square (2), devoted (2), pages (2), zee (2), anita (2), done (2), sexual (2), exactly (2), pulled (2), piece (2), reports (2), woman (2), runs (2), met (2), past (2), wind (2), humbert (2), evokes (2), hanif (2), given (2), less (2), souls (2), major (2), told (2), tender (2), seemed (2), suddenly (2), kane (2), terrible (2), paul (2), joaquin (2), sailor (2), skips (2), lewis (2), phantom (2), loves (2), hovering (2), rebecca (2), dead (2), forbidding (2), grey (2), extended (2), missing (2), yourself (2), fears (2), since (2), portrait (2), block (2), search (2), bring (2), team (2), whole (2), society (2), shoot (2), selfies (2), monster (2), loveless (2), robbie (2), owes (2), gillespie (2), trash (2), issue (2), duckling (2), onto (2), gets (2), janney (2), mom (2), skate (2), despite (2), vega (2), punching (2), orlando (2), physical (2), almodovar (2), lelio (2), nature (2), mixed (2), anger (2), streets (2), mar (2), damage (2), cut (2), ramsay (2), wasn (2), during (2), using (2), floor (2), drive (2), impossible (2), harm (2), oasis (2), fleet (2), declaration (2), goes (2), van (2), remains (2), nightclub (2), artemis (2), rush (2), olivia (2), supplying (2), ready (2), nuts (2), entirely (2), foy (2), fury (2), bitch (2), pointed (2), soderbergh (2), insurance (2), mistake (2), serve (2), kasinski (2), whom (2), sign (2), cinematic (2), sarris (2), merely (2), auteur (2), america (2), fault (2), curtis (2), frequently (2), rode (2), players (2), learn (2), kertész (2), summer (2), jail (2), system (2), cafe (2), bohemian (2), murray (2), burnett (2), refugees (2), german (2), countries (2), germany (2), asians (2), delights (2), skip (2), 287, 429, 534, 251, 212, 116, 2015, 2016, 2017, archive, followers, barack, trilogies, sequels, scores, 1960s, lists, screen, wide, cleft, chin, blithe, gung, reminds, betjeman, heroine, 1919, fleas, opened, matchbox, tramp, odyssey, goodbye, live, alison, krauss, union, thousand, miles, vanessa, hills, server, dwarves, grand, illusion, races, 1937, anticipated, 29th, beyond, pine, cianfrance, 3rd, downey, screengrab, cries, deliverance, doc, bes, seyfried, syndrome, producer, describes, increasing, trend, damn, certain, age, irksome, add, ballad, fan, videos, willing, forgive, band, alert, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, popjustice, briefing, arts, letters, ideas, debate, clivejames, com, thirteen, experiment, blogging, speed, reaches, dangerously, dish, sullivan, pearl, jam, homecoming, weather, decade, toda, means, amends, consists, finest, parade, champ, vidor, file, bogdanovich, legal, wrangling, offered, paper, afford, behave, abhorrently, use, weapons, provided, commit, atrocities, rec, reckless, middle, eunomia, wednesday, sept, 2021, forum, celebrating, screening, allan, dwan, manhandled, styled, siren, coolest, beverly, sunset, patty, emma, multiplex, bremerton, glow, sean, baker, mikey, madison, anora, sergio, leone, infield, fly, captured, public, rituals, santa, muerte, everyday, amount, homoeroticism, michel, impassioned, vision, mexico, photo, booth, staple, household, raunch, songbook, became, obsolete, henry, kissinger, awarded, nobel, prize, sheila, splash, cynicism, dash, doubt, measure, humour, entertaining, humanity, plenty, hilarity, economist, novels, manhattan, ultimately, touching, novel, library, journal, acerbic, warm, geoff, nicholson, footsucker, cutting, comic, superb, celebrity, anglo, mystification, sparkles, detonates, amidon, capital, loud, alienate, deft, casts, absurdities, addiction, contemporary, marcel, theroux, cocktail, bite, downed, bridget, jones, diary, sweet, savvy, valentine, fiction, pleasures, tall, glass, matters, shteyngart, absurdistan, super, sad, novelists, sober, dating, incredible, shrinking, beefcakes, special, golden, globes, beatles, alien, academia, auterism, jaws, 35th, anniversary, misc, jeff, bridges, depp, walt, disney, seymour, zwick, mae, franco, stiller, kirsten, dunst, irving, berlin, darren, aronofsky, salman, rushdie, anne, tyler, joel, coen, wodehouse, taylor, francisco, goldman, ballard, humphrey, donald, sutherland, mcewan, roddy, doyle, evan, rachel, sarsgaard, cheever, justin, timberlake, werner, belafonte, haneke, turturro, benedict, cumberbatch, jennifer, lawrence, marion, cotillard, mcconaughey, profiles, tom_shone, observant, conversation, couple, adult, handful, sufficed, chris, tamarri, village, wars, caring, louis, menand, spectator, startlingly, ability, sum, reminiscent, pauline, kael, interested, exhilarating, style, deal, cheeky, scorn, opinions, liberal, intellectuals, supplement, bien, pensant, impressively, learned, approachable, enlightening, evinces, intuitive, respond, rare, populist, tub, thumping, sky, falling, sontag, esque, screed, loved, weirdly, humane, prizes, entertainment, boredom, nick, hornby, believer, enthralling, groundbreaking, relishes, energetic, winding, riffs, reminiscence, kate, muir, apposite, fascinating, doherty, admiring, clear, heft, arguments, strong, fresh, oversized, matched, brains, rte, guide, describing, having, stillness, pithy, appreciation, expertly, guides, mere, former, drifting, blandness, format, vigorous, fight, heartbreaking, missed, masterpieces, raging, wounded, incomplete, galvanised, sallies, wild, invention, lots, jazzy, thumbnail, unfathomable, essence, capable, tim, robey, gangs, grace, rarest, creatures, helluva, jason, bailey, flavorwire, prospect, speaking, derision, precious, carried, away, sensible, begin, celebratory, setting, teeth, whatever, aspect, talks, orthodoxies, argument, brain, food, deserves, freer, empire, meyers, level, discernment, tart, dissent, abounding, nonchalantly, exquisite, lodge, observer, sama, astra, ferrari, parasite, apollo, souvenir, simply, eloquent, acute, teddy, jamieson, herald, heilemann, magazine, columnist, attributes, often, instagram, immersive, detailed, privileged, dope, craig, raine, successful, erudite, extensive, discussions, accomplish, art, architecture, influenced, revealing, invaluable, starred, mordant, heartsore, roots, harrison, hover, empathy, answer, alternately, fragile, paparazzi, focussed, laser, getting, suppressing, rage, beneath, brittle, kennnedyesque, diction, unable, stifle, absurdity, situation, begging, richest, spare, penny, grandson, cry, neither, spacey, villainy, wink, plummer, avuncular, twinkle, sly, reptile, narrowed, slits, cold, blooded, provocatively, unsentimental, rascally, relative, prodding, reaction, gilt, framed, masterworks, crepuscular, gloom, estate, purity, able, saying, decades, chilly, midas, shoring, vermeers, ming, vases, embodiment, fascinated, eldon, tyrell, sat, atop, ziggurat, collecting, owls, chess, pieces, lecter, poring, dante, manuscripts, palazzo, capponi, objets, sometime, memorable, androids, replicants, sleek, fit, corleone, runner, treasures, greed, quaint, law, toughest, negotiations, unfurls, morality, tale, opium, marrakesh, gail, harris, resolve, entanglements, estranged, alone, money, fear, wicked, satisfying, bard, ozarks, ventriloquism, construction, hasn, shed, traces, stage, escalates, leaving, town, flames, chooses, shaggy, dog, note, landscape, helped, notice, ages, mcdonaugh, yard, zesty, profane, prickly, quarrelsome, bound, mutual, exasperation, nipping, biting, ferrets, snarls, viperish, jokes, sub, literacy, wilde, quoted, hearing, mistaken, dressed, overalls, bandana, face, stony, narrow, accusation, marches, freedom, giving, rat, ass, kicks, classmates, groin, firebombs, thrilling, risen, angry, disenfranchised, trump, voting, rural, unconscious, though, skew, left, nigger, departments, racist, dim, witted, screw, lives, jives, listening, abba, chiquitita, walkman, blissful, duly, corrects, color, wayne, effective, croak, replies, attacking, local, sees, inaction, raped, arrests, pitch, revenger, comedy, samuel, beckett, catches, throat, sturdy, decent, happens, cancer, rethink, psychopaths, bruges, frances, plays, hayes, grieving, rented, https, www, thetimes, directs, hellbent, refuting, nice, shame, usually, thrown, biopics, slow, swish, pans, ups, elaborate, tracking, spiraling, booms, endless, aerial, yoing, clouds, fall, directorial, equivalent, selfie, robs, quite, literally, impending, threat, anna, karenina, atonement, pride, prejudice, appetites, stranger, adaptations, bram, stoker, licking, razors, sid, nancy, bespoke, distinctive, voodoo, scarfing, eggs, breakfast, rock, rotten, windmilling, bass, rhetorical, bluster, fancy, angles, route, commons, slings, underneath, keys, hit, hoists, rafters, looping, swooping, match, intercuts, delivery, conveyor, breakdown, speech, genesis, typed, lily, revised, bath, amendments, scribbled, mobilized, climactic, run, speeches, anthem, centered, five, office, 9th, evacuation, dunkirk, 4th, covers, effort, shore, rally, british, conflict, revelations, britain, negotiating, hitler, swept, mainland, newly, installed, distrusted, cabinet, chamberlain, lord, halifax, dillane, pressure, constantly, petition, belligerence, scary, talk, victory, cost, delusional, arrows, badges, honor, happily, copping, moment, argues, delusion, courage, looked, needed, forget, within, price, parliamentary, foe, implied, mouthfuls, scotch, heavy, wadded, suit, prosthetics, feels, sprightly, feet, quoting, macbeth, hamlet, padding, dressing, gown, cheeks, plump, jowls, low, cigar, stub, jutting, aircraft, barking, rewrites, scatter, publish, nowhere, surprised, momentous, sneak, jumping, tracks, outwit, ingrained, habit, second, guessing, champion, wearing, milky, wear, reinforces, impeccable, timing, explicitly, feminist, superhero, modulates, seen, roomfuls, hmms, haws, gradually, lends, strength, locating, steel, feathery, realises, caretaker, late, prowls, circling, hawk, thoughts, demanding, supreme, prison, awaits, advisors, awaiting, graham, gathers, civics, enjoyable, industrious, humming, bird, particular, nixon, issued, blocking, publication, remarks, god, pounding, journalists, shouting, excitedly, killing, lemonade, phones, receivers, moves, domino, cascade, image, impelling, irresistible, larger, pattern, revealed, liz, hannah, bromides, defending, framing, keeps, heel, rhythms, urgent, camerawork, 1966, jungles, vietnam, analyst, daniel, rhys, hears, mcnamara, bruce, complaining, watch, airport, washington, sickened, disparity, secretly, copy, volume, 000, department, leaders, admitted, spookiest, photocopying, shadows, bar, walls, papers

Text of the page (random words):
alike from russia without love shoot the same thing east of the volga in luxembourg say or croydon and all you have is a movie about a bad marriage with selfies zvyagintsev has pulled off something similar before in 2014 he electrified cannes with his 2014 film leviathan a family drama that grew into a hobbesian portrait of the boozy corrupt provincial life the new movie is even more pitiless if that were possible but also more beautiful shot with pristine dismay by director of photography mikhail krichman who photographs the characters through car windshields and tower block windows in which the russian winter is always reflected and creeps like a prowler through tower blocks frozen forests and best of all a ruined complex with crumbling conference rooms movie theater and basketball court that looks as if it has been rotting there since the days of tarkovsky s stalker if as the camera pushes through those decrepit corridors you find yourself pulling back in your seat zvyagintsev has you exactly where he wants you your fears for the worst just out paced by your desire for the truth he isn t the only thing that s missing we surmise by the end of the movie an extended shot of zhenya running on a treadmill the word russia printed on her sweatshirt is she trying to avoid the tv reports of the war in the ukraine outrun some inner restlessness or follow in the footsteps of her son maybe he had the best idea all along from my sunday times review 10 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest feb 6 2018 review phantom thread dir anderson the film a distant cousin of this fervid gothic romances including alfred hitchcock s rebecca suspicion sleeping with the enemy and yes fifty shades of grey in which women first submit to and then break free of the clutches of an over controlling svengali figure like scorsese anderson loves those old melodramas to the point of limbic entrancement without wishing to abide by their rules or deliver on their narrative satisfactions we get a ghost of that dead mother a lush franz waxman inspired piano score while lesley manville s cyril evokes the forbidding shade of mrs danvers in rebecca hovering in the wings of her brother s meticulous routine are you sent here to ruin my evening and possibly my entire life explodes reynolds at one point after alma has prepared his asparagus with butter rather than oil and salt the way he likes it she further tells him she loves him he acts as if ambushed it s a film in short about emotional fascism someone whose very identity is threatened by the presence of another and whose idea of a relationship requires the complete subjugation of that person s will phantom thread is about right in what day lewis has said will be his last performance he summons the ghosts of performances past marrying the epicene manners of his aesthete cecil in room with a view the adamantine psychic furnace of a bill the butcher while anderson skips merrily at his side in secret mischievous league with his leading man just as he was with with day lewis s oilman in there will be blood paul dano s preacher barely registered the same with joaquin phoenix s sottish sailor in the master drawn into queasy stockholm syndromish thrall to hoffman s cult leader like a mongoose hypnotized by a cobra anderson seems to love these great terrible iron willed men they are the stuff of masterpiece cinema but is so far incapable of creating an antagonist of sufficient stature to challenge or oppose them his films are versions of citizen kane in which kane wins krieps probably comes closest of anyone to redressing this imbalance she s a terrific find calm and imperturbable with a both pretty and plain depending on the light if you want to have a staring contest with me you will lose she tells reynolds with an eagle eye for his weakness when sick he is as open and tender as she could wish from this springs the film s major third act twist both perverse and more than a little preposterous it wouldn t have seemed out of place in a 30 minute episode of roald dahl s tales of the unexpected and joins anderson s growing collection of bizarro endings like the raining frogs at the end of magnolia or the rant about milkshakes that capped there will be blood his films don t develop so much as circle intensify and then suddenly derail like someone crashing a bike into a ditch i m not sure anderson believes in plot or character development per se there is an air of quiet death in this house reynolds says and the film is as expert airless and monomaniacal as he is the max de winter story as told by max de winter free spirits need not apply from my sunday times review 19 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest jan 27 2018 on my ipod january 2018 1 motion in field tom rogerson brian eno 2 release me inara george 3 kaleidoscope nils frahm 4 heartworms the shins 5 fireworks first aid kit 6 house of woodock jonny greenwood 7 875 dollars de lux 8 say you love me remastered fleetwood mac 9 afterglow jose gonzalez with the bride lites 10 the presses roll john williams 24 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest jan 26 2018 review nothing by hanif kureishi the idea of a celibate hanif kureishi hero tormented by the very urges he once indulged is an excellent one think phillip roth in a chastity belt given the current cultural and political climate in fact that idea may have even more than usual appeal the more or less unfettered license that male writers have enjoyed when it comes to holding up every stain in the bed sheet as a palimpsest of their smarting solipsistic souls may be time for an overhaul sexual jealousy has produced many a major and minor classic from saul bellow s herzog to patrick hamilton s hangover square and julian barnes s before she met me but the trick of these books lies in the skill with which the writer evokes through the heat haze of their protagonist s obsession the bobbing horizon line of reality however fleetingly glimpsed there must be more to lolita than just humbert humbert s lust here kureishi runs into trouble there s really nobody in the book besides waldo the other characters existing mostly to ferry congratulatory bouqets to his much garlanded imagination waldo you ve got the filthiest imagination of anyone i ve met says zee who nevertheless supplies him with sordid stories of eddie s past involving sodomy and rape your mind is like a roaring wind tunnel admonishes his movie actress friend anita not a woman a man can look at for long without wanting to put his penis in her mouth but she too brings him further reports of eddies affairs pecadilloes and orgies with in his school uniform with important people but what a stroke of luck the world is exactly as florid as the fantasist first imagined it to be the book is a little like one of those fake knots that once pulled turn out to be just a piece of string even paranoiacs can be plotted against of course but there s a word for the kind of writing in which too neat a sense of reality is made to line up with loamy sexual fantasy pornography i suspect kureishi knows this that pre emptive shrug of a title almost defies us to take his book seriously as a reader i m done with literature declares waldo as he asks anita to read him one of his favorite detective stories again i only want fun but fun for a writer and fun for a reader are different things and while it may have been fun for kureishi to write of zee when i could still rim her little hole or halo as i call it and push inside she d almost slice the tip of my tongue off it is rather more arduous work for the reader to square that with the devoted nurse they had been picturing a few pages previously one minute a florence nightingale the next a lithe vixen who slaps waldo and attempts to smother him with a pillow the behavior that might have driven her to such an act is carefully elided if not hard to imagine for all his self obsession waldo shows little instinct towards the kind of degree zero self appraisal to which bellow subjected moses herzog to his country an indifferent citizen to his brothers and sisters affectionate but remote with his friends an egotist with love lazy with brightness dull with power passive with his own soul evasive satisfied with his own severity positively enjoying the hardness and factual rigor of his judgment he lay on his sofa that final sentence is a killer with bellow dinging him for the complacency and self congratulation of even accurate self knowledge can breed ouch compared to that kureishi is still on the beginner s slopes practicing his snow plough whether you enjoy it is very much down to how much of a jolt you can get from his epigrams most of them loitering in the 25 watt range the libido like elvis and jealousy never dies a saint is only someone who has been under researched boring people are always popular they never do anything unexpected all of which have the requisite cynical snarl but collapse at the gentlest inquiry the imagination is the most dangerous place on earth asserts waldo but kureishi has supplied him with the safest possible paddock in which to roam a world carefully waldoized confirming his every suspicion and offering his steamy imaginings the least possible pushback where s the danger in that from my new york times review 19 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest jan 21 2018 review the post dir spielberg the story opens in 1966 in the jungles of vietnam where government analyst daniel ellsberg matthew rhys hears the secretary of defense robert mcnamara bruce greenwood complaining that the war is being lost only to watch him turn around and say the exact opposite at an airport press conference upon their return to washington sickened by the disparity ellsberg takes it upon himself to secretly copy the top secret 47 volume 7 000 page department of defense study of the war which u s leaders admitted was lost from the get go after the spookiest of photocopying scenes with shadows cast by the moving bar walking up the ceiling and walls the papers arrive on the desk of the post s rakish editor ben bradlee tom hanks in nothing more ceremonious than a shoe box a detail of surpassing spielbergian ordinariness when it comes to presenting us with the extraordinary historical or otherwise spielberg likes his paperwork it brings out the rockwell in him close encounters of the third kind and e t both took their names from snippets of officialese schindler s list took its theme not from the the horrors of the holocaust but its bureaucracy private ryan is plucked from the battlefield by a bit of sharp eyed admin liz hannah s script has it s share of bromides defending truth justice and the american way but by framing the story as a business story spielberg keeps any high mindedness at heel with its busy rhythms and urgent camerawork the post moves like a thriller or a domino cascade each image impelling on the next in irresistible sequence until the larger pattern is revealed from pay phones with dangling receivers to pounding type writers and the sight of journalists shouting excitedly with one another in bradlee s living room while his daughter makes a killing on lemonade my god the fun hanks remarks at one point and it is fun spielberg has finally found a way to make his civics class movies as enjoyable as his adventures used to be his shot making is as industrious as a humming bird these days but one shot in particular is inspired nixon has issued a court order blocking publication the supreme court and possibly prison awaits half a dozen advisors are on conference call awaiting graham s decision and as she gathers herself the camera prowls the ceiling like a circling hawk or a cloud of thoughts demanding release finally a decision comes let s publish she says out of nowhere almost as surprised by herself as everyone else is as if such a momentous decision could only sneak up on her a last minute jumping of the tracks designed to outwit kay s ingrained habit of second guessing herself that this champion of the free press should be wearing a milky white evening wear caftan only reinforces your sense that with impeccable timing spielberg has made his first explicitly feminist film it s also the closest streep will probably ever come to making a superhero movie she modulates her performance beautifully first seen walking into roomfuls of men where she is surrounded by dark suits kay hmms and haws is spoken over or for but gradually streep lends her strength locating the steel behind her feathery voice as kay realises that she s not just the caretaker of her late husband s company it s her company now the suits scatter the caftan wins from my sunday times review 21 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest jan 14 2018 review darkest hour dir wright here he comes padding around in his dressing gown cheeks plump jowls low cigar stub jutting like an anti aircraft gun barking rewrites to his secretary in between mouthfuls of scotch gary oldman s churchill looks heavy wadded in his fat suit and prosthetics but he feels light a sprightly soul quick on his feet quoting macbeth and hamlet an actor in love with the sound of his own voice in the words of one parliamentary foe nobody enjoyed playing churchill like churchill it is implied so we get a performance within a performance two for the price of one oldman playing churchill playing himself and such fun is had by all that you could almost forget there s a war on one of the revelations in fact of both joe wright s darkest hour and the book on which it was based by anthony mccarten is how close britain came in spring of 1940 to negotiating for peace even after hitler had swept through mainland europe newly installed as prime minister churchill is distrusted by most of his war cabinet including chamberlain and lord halifax stephen dillane who pressure him constantly to petition for peace king george vi ben mendelsohn finds churchill s belligerence scary the french finds his talk of victory at any cost delusional churchill himself wears these arrows almost as badges of honor happily copping to wildness in the blood if ever a historical moment called for a little wildness argues the film it was the spring of 1940 when delusion and courage looked a lot alike maybe the country needed a little crazy centered on the five weeks between churchill taking office as prime minister on may 9th until the evacuation of dunkirk in june 4th the film covers churchill s seemingly solo effort to shore up support in his government and rally the british people for the coming conflict how did he do it he mobilized the english language and sent it into battle in the film s climactic line anthony mccarten s script is essentially a run through of the big speeches starting with his battle anthem offering blood toil tears and sweat wright intercuts ...