15 Jan 2021
MLK/FBI review – vital corrective to the history of Martin Luther King
Sam Pollard's essential documentary explores the brutal FBI campaign against Dr. King and finds a villain in J. Edgar Hoover
Articles by Jack Blackwell
Favourite films: Apocalypse Now, The Social Network, No Country For Old Men
Favourite actors: Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Willem Dafoe
Favourite filmmakers: Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan
11 Jan 2021
Dear Comrades! review – bleak study of Russia’s brutal history
Andrey Konchalovsky's black-and-white reconstruction of a state-sponsored massacre is rigorous and powerful, but very hard to love
07 Jan 2021
Robin’s Wish review – heartfelt doc reclaims Robin Williams’ last days
This look at the comedian is compassionate and considered, rebuking the "sad clown" cliché that dominated headlines
02 Jan 2021
Mayor review – moving, surprisingly funny look at Palestinian politics
David Osit's doc follows Ramallah mayor Musa Hadid as he attempts the impossible juggling act of fixing up a city under occupation
23 Dec 2020
Sylvie’s Love review – outrageously charming retro romance
Eugene Ashe's sweet and earnest melodrama about Black love in '50s New York is at once fresh and comfortingly familiar
22 Dec 2020
Un Film Dramatique review – the world through the eyes of French middle-schoolers
Filmmaker Eric Baudelaire hands his camera to a class of Parisian teenagers with experimental and intermittently inspiring results
20 Dec 2020
The Macaluso Sisters review – perfectly acted but gruelling family tragedy
Exceptional performance and production design make this grim play adaptation from writer-director Emma Dante worthwhile
18 Dec 2020
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart review – insightful doc will be heaven for superfans
Though a pacier runtime might have helped, this exhaustive, bittersweet rundown of the group's career offers compelling access
13 Dec 2020
The Midnight Sky review – Arctic sci-fi hampered by glacial pacing
George Clooney's first movie appearance in almost five years ends up as a long walk to nowhere, baffling and boring in equal measure
09 Dec 2020
iHuman review – staggeringly bleak look at our digitised future
This AI documentary presents a compellingly terrifying future, but its belief that this future is inevitable makes it a rather myopic piece
06 Dec 2020
The Prom review – Ryan Murphy’s relentlessly energetic musical is hard to resist
An uncomfortable performance from James Corden withstanding, this glittering Broadway adaptation hits most of the right notes
06 Dec 2020
I’m Your Woman review – Rachel Brosnahan shines in a punchy pulp thriller
70s paranoia meets first-time parental jitters in Julia Hart's tense, subversive and masterfully-directed crime drama