The Penguin Lessons: an unlikely friendship leads to personal and social transformation
Peter Cattaneo, “The Penguin Lessons” (2024) At first this film appears no more than a light, gentle comedy about a teacher upstaged by a penguin. In…
British Films
British Films, Middle Eastern Films
Ceaseless Fire: where visuals say 1,000 words about moral depravity on display
Craig Murray, “Ceaseless Fire” (2025) Continuing his tour of Lebanon, UK citizen journalist Craig Murray visits southern Lebanon to find that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)…
British Films, Middle Eastern Films
What the Hell is that? – what US imperial projection looks like in Beirut, Lebanon
Craig Murray, “What the Hell is that?” (2025) Currently visiting the Middle East as a citizen foreign-correspondent journalist, British ex-diplomat Craig Murray chanced to see part…
British Films, North American Films
Lee: a tired and flat biopic that does its heroine no justice
Ellen Kuras, “Lee” (2024) An earnest biopic, “Lee” follows the career of US photographer / photojournalist Lee Miller (played by Kate Winslet) during two periods in…
British Films, French and French-language Films
The Substance: devastating satirical critique of Western culture’s obsession with surface appearances and material worth
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” (2024) It may be called “The Substance” but this film’s style – in its boldly colourful (and confrontational) visual style, its minimal…
British Films, North American Films
Love Lies Bleeding: interesting character study left bleeding at the end
Rose Glass, “Love Lies Bleeding” (2024) A surprisingly entertaining film, spoilt only by a cartoonish climax of wishful female empowerment in which love, even lesbian love,…
British Films, German and German-language Films
The Zone of Interest: a disturbing film of ordinary people involved in, and denying evil
Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest” (2023) As films about the Nazi Holocaust go, “The Zone of Interest” is one of the most disturbing I have…
British Films, North American Films
Poor Things: a male-centred fantasy of a child-like heroine’s sexual liberation and personal empowerment
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things” (2023) A visually sumptuous feast, set in an alternative late Victorian steampunk world, “Poor Things” is a science fantasy concoction revolving around…
British Films, North American Films
Die Another Day: overloaded plot, silly science fantasy and variable acting turn early darkness into cartoon frivolity
Lee Tamahori, “Die Another Day” (2002) For the twentieth movie in a film franchise celebrating 40 years, the scriptwriters were tasked to come up with a…
British Films, North American Films
Saltburn: black comedy thriller send-up of British elites and modern British culture
Emerald Fennell, “Saltburn” (2023) Arriving in Sydney with little fanfare, “Saltburn” initially presents as a more contemporary variation of “Brideshead Revisited” with the latter’s hints of…