Category Archives: Reviews

THEATRE REVIEW: Raymond Chandler’s ‘The Big Sleep’

Posted on October 28, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – As Alvin Rakoff’s production of Adam Rolston’s “A Sentimental Journey”, about the life of Doris Day, opens in Los Angeles, the British-based filmmaker and stage director takes on another Hollywood icon with the World Premiere … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Raymond Chandler’s ‘The Big Sleep’

THEATRE REVIEW: Mark Rylance in ‘Jerusalem’

Posted on October 18, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “We are an unruly people,” Queen Elizabeth I warned the King of Spain, by which she meant the likes of Johnny “Rooster” Byron the Romany outlaw who cries freedom from his little patch of English … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Mark Rylance in ‘Jerusalem’

THEATRE REVIEW: Mike Leigh’s ‘Grief’ at the National

Posted on September 24, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON (The Hollywood Reporter) – Mike Leigh’s new play “Grief” is the complete opposite of his film “Happy-Go Lucky” with a family rendered almost cataleptic by personal loss and the gloom of post-World War II England. Given … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Mike Leigh’s ‘Grief’ at the National

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Roland Emmerich’s ‘Anonymous’

Posted on September 18, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – It’s curious that the lives of many creative men, e.g. Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, are so uninteresting, and in the case of William Shakespeare there is also a distinct lack of information. So you … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: Roland Emmerich’s ‘Anonymous’

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Paddy Considine’s ‘Tyrannosaur’

Posted on September 18, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Joseph is the kind of man you wish never to encounter in a pub. Played with savage intelligence by Peter Mullan in Paddy Considine’s gripping if hard to watch drama “Tyrannosaur”, Joe’s default setting is … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: Paddy Considine’s ‘Tyrannosaur’

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Michael Fassbender in ‘Shame’

Posted on September 16, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – If Turner Award-winning artist turned film director Steve McQueen focussed less on Michael Fassbender’s naked willy and more on character and plot then his second feature “Shame” might be much more interesting. The title is … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: Michael Fassbender in ‘Shame’

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Michael Hazanavicius’s ‘The Artist’

Posted on September 15, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The word irresistible is bandied around a lot in reviews but it is the only way to describe Michael Hazanavicius’s marvellous black-and-white silent movie “The Artist”. A treat for film lovers, it is set in … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: Michael Hazanavicius’s ‘The Artist’

TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘The Forgiveness of Blood’

Posted on September 13, 2011 by admin

Joshua Marston’s “The Forgiveness of Blood” offers the Hatfields and the McCoys Albanian style taken seriously with a good deal of suspense. It screens tonight and Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, and at the BFI London Film Festival … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘The Forgiveness of Blood’

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Gus Van Sant’s ‘Restless’

Posted on September 12, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – “Restless” is a regrettably lame title for Gus Van Sant’s little film about a love affair that flourishes in the face of death, which against the odds is insightful, witty and charming. Annabel is beautiful … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: Gus Van Sant’s ‘Restless’

TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Moneyball’ starring Brad Pitt

Posted on September 10, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – “Moneyball” is very much about baseball, a traditional sports yarn about trying to beat the odds, but it is much more about family, breaking with tradition and economics, and it allows Brad Pitt to show … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Moneyball’ starring Brad Pitt