Reviewed by GREG KING Stars: Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Noemie Merlant, Sophie Kauer, Mila Bogojevic, Adam Gopnik, Mark Strong, Allan Corduner, Julian Glover. Despite two Oscar nominations to his name Todd Field is not the most prolific of filmmakers. Tar is only his third feature in two decades, following In The Bedroom and Little Children, and is his first film in 16 years. Tar is a detailed, warts and all character study and psychological drama that charts the downfall of a world-famous conductor. But the film is also an examination of power, ambition, …
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Eli Roth Stars: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan, Sunny Suljic, Colleen Camp, Lorenza Izzo, Renee Elise Goldsberry. Lewis Barnavelt (played with charm by Owen Vaccaro, from the comedy Daddy’s Home and its sequel, etc) is a ten-year old orphan who is sent to live with his eccentric, kimono wearing uncle Jonathan (Jack Black, from Goosebumps, etc) in New Zebedee, Michigan. Uncle Jonathan lives in a creepy old haunted house with cobwebs, creaking doors, furniture that comes to life, and a magnificent stained- …
OCEAN’S EIGHT
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Gary Ross Stars: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham-Carter, Rihanna, Awkwafina, Minday Kaling, James Corden, Richard Armitage, Elliott Gould, Griffin Dunne, Dakota Fanning, Richard Robichaux, Marlo Thomas, Dana Ivey, Elizabeth Ashley. Last year we had the all-female remake/reboot of the 80s cult comedy Ghostbusters, which opened to lacklustre reviews and box office returns. And now we get this all-female reboot of the comic crime caper Ocean’s Eleven. …
THOR: RAGNAROK
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Taika Waititi Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taika Waititi, Rachel House, Clancy Brown, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Sam Neill, Luke Hemsworth, Matt Damon, Shari Sebbens. The 17th feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the third film in the Thor series is lighter in tone and lots of fun. For those who have grown a little tired on the usual formula and destructive set pieces of Marvel this will be …
SONG TO SONG
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Terrence Malick Stars: Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Holly Hunter, Iggy Pop, Val Kilmer, Patti Smith, Flea. I loathed the past couple of films from revered auteur Terrence Malick, particularly his To The Wonder and Knight Of Cups, with their frustratingly obtuse, indulgent and abstract experimental nature, existential meditations, impressionistic and unconventional approach to narrative, the mumbled and at times inaudible dialogue often delivered as internal monologues, the …
CAROL
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Todd Haynes Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy, Sarah Paulson, John Magaro, Kevin Crowley, Sadie Heim. Director Todd Haynes returns to the morally conservative America of the 1950s for this nicely observed, sensitive, insightful and introspective coming of age story and intimate exploration of a female relationship, gender, loneliness, and queer sexuality in conservative America. But this moody story of forbidden love is largely a character driven piece, and has a different texture and feel than Haynes' earlier …
KNIGHT OF CUPS
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Terrence Malick Stars: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Wes Bentley, Teresa Palmer, Joe Mangianello, Imogen Poots, Joel Kinnaman, Nick Offerman, Antonio Banderas, Isabel Lucas, Ben Kingsley, Jason Clarke, Nicky Whelan. Once upon a time Terrence Malick was a revered filmmaker, especially after his first two films - the powerful Badlands and the visually beautiful Days Of Heaven. But lately he seems to have become more obtuse in his filmmaking, churning out soporific and dull psychological claptrap. Since …
TRUTH
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: James Vanderbilt Stars: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Elizabeth Moss, Stacy Keach, Bruce Greenwood, Noni Hazlehurst, Dermot Mulroney, John Benjamin Hickey, David Lyons, Andrew McFarlane, Connor Burke, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Philip Quast, Steve Bastoni, Chris Mulkey, Martin Sacks, Nicholas Hope . All The President's Men stands as a touchstone procedural movie about investigative journalism. In that 1976 film, which was based on actual events, two dogged Washington Post journalists probed a burglary at the …