Category: Film

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s new film, All We Imagine as Light, won the prestigious Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in May. The film exhibits an Indianness that is distinctive from the one most frequently represented globally. Within mainstream Hindi cinema, India is often presented as a homogenous Hindu, upper-caste, middle-class Hindi-speaking nation. In western… Continue reading Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ disrupts popular narratives of Mumbai

Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, struggled at the box office when it was released. It remains one of the director’s most under-appreciated films. Unlike 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Shining, which have been endlessly dissected in books and essays, Barry Lyndon has received relatively little scholarly attention –… Continue reading Barry Lyndon at 50: why Kubrick’s most overlooked masterpiece deserves another viewing

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight will write the script for the next James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios has announced. It marks the latest step in a major overhaul of the iconic British spy franchise, following Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson handing over creative control to Amazon as part of a lucrative deal. Knight… Continue reading Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight to write next James Bond film

Alice Lowe’s Timestalker is an inventive, genre-bending dark comedy that traverses time, love and existential questions with her signature sharp wit and emotional depth. Following her critically acclaimed debut feature Prevenge (2016), Lowe returns with a more ambitious and stylistically experimental project. In Timestalker, she once again demonstrates her unique voice, blending comedy with moments… Continue reading Timestalker: Alice Lowe’s darkly hilarious journey through love and time

Hours before the 2024 MUBI Fest in Istanbul was set to begin, the festival received notification from the Istanbul Kadıköy District Governorship that Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, scheduled as the opening night film, had been banned in Turkey. The official government statement cited the film’s “provocative content that could disrupt public order” and said the ban… Continue reading MUBI cancels Istanbul festival after Turkish government bans Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’

The Dr. Strangelove stage adaptation at London’s Noel Coward Theatre delivers a hilarious, engaging, and thought-provoking experience. Armando Iannucci’s adaptation, directed by Sean Foley, stays faithful to Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire while providing a fresh theatrical spin. Steve Coogan, taking on the roles of Captain Mandrake, Dr. Strangelove, President Muffley, and Major TJ Kong,… Continue reading Steve Coogan shines in Dr. Strangelove: a hilarious, faithful spin on Kubrick’s classic from Armando Ianucci

Ridley Scott’s 1977 debut, The Duellists, is often hailed as one of his most visually stunning films, and any list of the best Scott films would be incomplete without it. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, The Duellists received critical acclaim and won the prestigious Best First Film prize. However, according to Scott, it was… Continue reading Ridley Scott claims ‘The Duellists’ was supposed to win the Palme d’Or, but the jury was “bribed”

In Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho returns to the big screen with a sci-fi satire that combines biting social commentary with a hefty dose of dark humor. This film, a follow-up to his Academy Award-winning Parasite, is far from the subtle, intricately layered critique of class dynamics that won hearts and Oscars in 2020. Instead,… Continue reading Mickey 17: Robert Pattinson delivers a double dose of dysfunction in Bong Joon-ho’s darkly humorous Sci-Fi satire