Author Archives: admin

FILM REVIEW: Natalie Portman in ‘Vox Lux’

Posted on May 3, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Just as in ‘Jackie’ two years ago, Natalie Portman gives a scintillating performance of a driven and complicated woman in a not very successful picture. Director and screenwriter Brady Corbet’s ‘Vox Lux’, which opens today … Continue reading →

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Cheers to our Will, not sorry old George

Posted on April 23, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett Today is St. George’s Day named for the patron saint of several places  such as Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal and Russia. Oh, and England. We English, of course, don’t mark April 23 in … Continue reading →

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Argentina’s Daniel Tarrab takes time to tango

Posted on April 20, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Argentinian composer Daniel Tarrab, who has had a long and successful career writing film scores, has released an album of jazz-influenced tango pieces titled ‘Otra Mirada (Another Look)’ on Silva Screen Records.

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Film Review Brief: Trevor Nunn’s ‘Red Joan’

Posted on April 19, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Trevor Nunn’s slightly old-fashioned espionage drama ‘Red Joan’, which opens in the United Kingdom today, won’t set any box-office records but it is an absorbing drama. Sophie Cookson (pictured above with Stephen Campbell Moore) is … Continue reading →

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On Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’

Posted on April 5, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Stanley Kubrick’s controversial ‘A Clockwork Orange’ starring Malcolm McDowell is re-released in the United Kingdom today. As always with Kubrick, it is a striking combination of visual power, evocative music and powerful drama. Now controversial … Continue reading →

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Michael Caine: recalling a class act at the 2000 Oscars

Posted on March 14, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett Spending time with Michael Caine is always a pleasure and since today is his 86th birthday, here’s one of my favourite encounters from 2000. LOS ANGELES – It’s ironic that the word on everyone’s lips following Michael Caine’s … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: Cruz and Bardem in ‘Everybody Knows’

Posted on March 8, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Married Spanish Oscar-winners Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem have become a reliable partnership onscreen and their latest feature together, ‘Everybody Knows’, is a bright addition to their canon. It opens today in the United Kingdom.

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BAFTA 2019 Film Awards: picks and pans

Posted on February 10, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Lots of good films and performances this year but some disappointing omissions among the BAFTA Film Awards nominations … good luck to all, especially ‘Roma’ (above) and ‘Cold War’.

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FILM REVIEW: Adam McKay’s ‘Vice’

Posted on January 27, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – American writer-director Adam McKay’s political satire ‘Vice’ does for Washington what his 2015 film ‘The Big Short’ did for Wall Street with the same mix of techniques that includes sharp humour, characters speaking to camera, … Continue reading →

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Russell Baker: a gift ‘for fooling around with words’

Posted on January 23, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The great New York Times columnist Russell Baker, who has died aged 93, was one of my journalistic heroes and when I interviewed him in 1989 he turned out to be everything I’d hoped. He … Continue reading →

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