Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit review: CIA you again
Why reboot remains a question, but this is a smart popcorn thriller with a surprisingly sensitive performance by Chris Pine, and a wonderfully badass one by Kevin Costner.
political
The Square review: power from the people
This is history firsthand, in progress, and unfinished.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom review
Bit of a shame that a man who looms so large in the hearts and minds of so many has been packed neatly away into a film that is handsome, respectable, and just a tad stodgy.
Parkland review (London Film Festival)
This poignant and painful ensemble drama about the lesser-known figures caught up in the JFK assassination reminds us that history happens to regular people, too.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire review: reluctant heroine
A devastating indictment of pop culture as propaganda — about its power and the limits of its powers — and an upending of the typical teen-girl romance movie.
Dallas Buyers Club review: the personal is political
There’s nothing the least bit sentimental here. Nothing flashy or showy in McConaughey’s rough-edged portrait. But there is enormous compassion. (new DVD/VOD US/Can, new cinemas UK)
Anno 1790 review: Sherlock in 18th-century Sweden
So awesome that I almost can’t bear it. And so relevant to today: Are the battles between rich and poor, science and superstition, freedom and repression actually endless?
Closed Circuit review: cheating in the War on Terror
Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall are as engaging as ever, and the film raises intriguing issues concerning the “War on Terror”; pity the plot descends into the ridiculous.
The Fifth Estate review: WikiWeak
Might be interesting if it had enough passion and guts to take a stand, but ends up in the mushy middle of the road, which surely sprang from a desire to be “fair” and “balanced.”
White House Down review: I’d rather be in Philadelphia
It lifts an embarrassing number of beats from Die Hard… but Channing Tatum is no Bruce Willis.
