Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story documentary review: beauty is a beast
The infuriatingly tragic true story of the Hollywood superstar whose brain was ignored because she was beautiful. A stupendous tribute to a remarkable woman.
1930s
Murder on the Orient Express movie review: strangers on a train
Doubly dated, lacking in humor and subtext, its impressive cast deliberately underutilized, this is little more than an exercise in gorgeous production design.
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women movie review: secret identities (LFF 2017)
A sweet, romantic story about the polyamorous triad that created a beloved superhero… and about the power of comic books to speak to our inner lives.
The Handmaiden movie review: the women pushing back against misogyny, thwarted by their own film
The intrigue, shifting alliances, and twisted revenge? Delicious, pulpy fun. The male-gazey soft-core porn that undermines the female protagonists? Not so much.
Swallows and Amazons movie review: a free-range kiddie adventure
Behold a time before helicopter parenting, when children roamed free, ate cake for dinner, and played with fire. A delightfully old-fashioned treat.
classic film through a feminist lens: Baby Face (1933)
It’s easy to see an anti-feminist “Just look what happens to women who break the rules” underneath what is most obviously simply straight-up salaciousness.
13 Minutes (aka Elser) movie review: the ultimate what-if
This intense dramatization of the true story of a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1939 is an unpleasant experience but a provocative one.
Forbidden Films: The Hidden Legacy of Nazi Film documentary review: the power of propaganda
A frustrating movie in some ways, but an important reminder of the power of cinema to manipulate and seduce us, and not always for the better.
Woman in Gold movie review: more than just a pretty picture
A deeply moving and very satisfying piece of entertainment that knits up seemingly disparate elements in a tapestry of family pain and pride.
The Grand Budapest Hotel movie review: best exotic nonsense
A grownup storybook of a movie spun out of candy-colored nonsense that challenges you to embrace its falseness and deny its romance.
