Category Archives: Film

‘Roma’, ‘The Favourite’, ‘Cold War’ top London critics awards

Posted on January 21, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – There were few surprises at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday as Alfonso Cuaron’s black-and-white Spanish drama ‘Roma’ won best picture and he was named best director while costume romp ‘The Favourite’ picked … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, News | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Roma’, ‘The Favourite’, ‘Cold War’ top London critics awards

FILM REVIEW: Josie Rourke’s ‘Mary Queen of Scots’

Posted on January 14, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Josie Rourke’s pedestrian costume saga ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ offers a revisionist and modernist view of the would-be monarch who threatened Elizabeth I’s reign and was executed aged 44 in 1587 but it fails to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: Josie Rourke’s ‘Mary Queen of Scots’

FILM REVIEW: Jon S. Baird’s ‘Stan & Ollie’

Posted on January 11, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Jon S. Baird’s ‘Stan & Ollie’ appears well intended but it has two central problems. One is the decision to portray the great silent comics Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as sad clowns and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: Jon S. Baird’s ‘Stan & Ollie’

‘The Favourite’ set to clean up at the Bafta film awards

Posted on January 9, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – This year’s Bafta Film Awards nominations are predictably conventional but it hardly matters as the immensely popular ‘The Favourite’ (pictured) is a shoo-in for many of its 12 nominations including the actress prizes, Brits Christian … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film, News | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘The Favourite’ set to clean up at the Bafta film awards

A critic’s lament: Do you see what I see?

Posted on January 2, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear? Those imponderables challenge a critic with every review. For me, Alfonso Cuaron’s ‘Roma’ is the best film of 2018 but a friend has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film | Tagged , | Comments Off on A critic’s lament: Do you see what I see?

‘Roma’, ‘Cold War’ lead my Top 10 film picks of 2018

Posted on January 1, 2019 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – One of the great advantages of being a member of the Critics’ Circle and BAFTA is that distributors send out dozens of screeners of films for which they seek consideration in the annual awards. It means … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Roma’, ‘Cold War’ lead my Top 10 film picks of 2018

‘The Favourite’ leads London critics’ nominations

Posted on December 18, 2018 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Yorgos Lanthimos’s costume romp ‘The Favourite’ has picked up 10 nominations for the 39th annual London Critics’ Film Awards including best film followed by Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’, Rupert Everett’s ‘The Happy Prince’, Alfonso Cuaron’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, News | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on ‘The Favourite’ leads London critics’ nominations

FILM REVIEW: Yorkos Lanthimos’s ‘The Favourite’

Posted on November 23, 2018 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Fasten your corsets, it’s going to be a bumpy night. Yorkos Lanthimos’s costume romp ‘The Favourite’ is a cartoonish depiction of the fiery relationships between 18th century Queen Anne, her best friend and senior courtier … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: Yorkos Lanthimos’s ‘The Favourite’

FILM REVIEW: Billy Wilder’s ‘Some Like It Hot’

Posted on November 4, 2018 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Billy Wilder’s 1959 comedy ‘Some Like It Hot’, which is running in selected theatres in the United Kingdom ahead of its 60th anniversary, is the funniest comedy you’ll see this year, or any year. Restored in 4K … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: Billy Wilder’s ‘Some Like It Hot’

FILM REVIEW: Drew Goddard’s ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’

Posted on October 11, 2018 by admin

By Raymond Bennett  LONDON – A priest, a traveling salesman, and two young women walk separately into a hotel-casino on the California/Nevada border and all hell breaks loose. They aren’t who they seem to be and neither is the exotic … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: Drew Goddard’s ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’