Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette and David Thewlis in I'm Thinking of Ending Things,  NETFLIX © 2020

I’m Thinking of Ending Things [film review]

Charlie Kaufman’s latest film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, adapted by him from Ian Reid’s book of the same title, has stirred a lively discussion in critical circles, regardless of[ . . . ]

Emily Beecham in Little Joe, dir. Jessica Hausner, 2019

Little Joe, dir. Jessica Hausner [film review]

One of the best pictures in the history of sci-fi, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (dir. Don Siegel, 1956) has just gained a new rendition, this time authored by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, so far only known[ . . . ]

Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, dir. Marielle Heller, 2019

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood is one of those feel-good yet intelligent movies that everyone should see. Dedicated to Fred Rogers, the legendary host of the endearing and highly educational children’s programme Mister Rogers’[ . . . ]

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker, dir. Todd Phillips, 2019

Joker, dir. Todd Phillips [review]

Todd Phillips’s attempt at subverting expectations of both DC Comics fans and arthouse audiences with Joker has proven beyond successful. The film, which comes as a rather surprising offering from the[ . . . ]

Kuba Więcek

Kuba Więcek Trio, Multitasking [review and interview]

Kuba Więcek is a 24 year-old Polish sax prodigy and the first debutant in nearly three decades included in the renowned Polish Jazz series by Polskie Nagrania, the country’s longest-running[ . . . ]

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Where Does The Time Come From [Sweet Williams; album review]

Thomas House, frontman and creative brain of the Brighton outfit Sweet Williams, recently seen lending his vocal talents to Haress, is due to release the third album in the band’s[ . . . ]

Ezekiel Doo, photo: Cole Flynn Quirke

Ezekiel Doo – Hallway Song [review]

Brighton outfit Ezekiel Doo have just officially released their first 7″ single, Hallway Song, via their home label Twitcher Records. Self-assured, intriguing and nuanced, it is a solid debut from[ . . . ]

Thomas House, Sweet Williams

Interview: Thomas House (Sweet Williams) + exclusive track

Sweet Williams’ new LP, Where Does The Time Come From, is due for release on 20th September via Gringo Records. Thomas House, who conceived and recorded the whole album by[ . . . ]

Robert Pattinson in High Life, dir. Claire Denis, 2018

High Life, dir. Claire Denis [review]

High Life, the first English-language film by French director Claire Denis, is far removed from the typical sci-fi tropes, such as the glorification of space exploration, praise of the human[ . . . ]

Mésange: Luke Mawdsley and Agathe Max; photo by Steve Gullick

Mésange – Gypsy Moth [review]

Mésange are an instrumental duo formed by contemporary violinist Agathe Max (Kuro), originally from Lyon, France, and guitarist Luke Mawdsley (Cavalier Song) from Liverpool. Two years after the release of[ . . . ]

"Haress" by Haress, album cover, Lancashire & Somerset Records, 2019

Haress – Haress [album review]

Formed by David Hand and Elizabeth Still from Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire, Haress are a guitar duo drawing freely from blues, folk and drone musical traditions in order to create[ . . . ]

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Kogumaza – Fugues [review]

Kogumaza, instrumental outfit from Nottingham celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, have just announced the release of their third album, a double LP titled Fugues. Officially out on 19th March[ . . . ]

Roma, dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2018

Roma – Beauty on the Outside

There are films whose universal critical approval can only be explained with the stifling power of canonical thinking. A given work is regarded a masterpiece on the basis of a[ . . . ]

Sissy Spacek and Robert Redford in The Old Man & the Gun, dir. David Lowery, 2018

The Old Man & the Gun

Robert Redford chose to end his acting career with a remarkable performance in a role which suits him like no other. Having read The New Yorker piece by David Grann[ . . . ]

Neurotic Fiction, photo: Luke Penny

Neurotic Fiction

Neurotic Fiction, a south-western outfit consisting of Jessie Pfundner, Livi Sinclair, Rory Matthews and Sean Langdon-Dark, have just released their debut album on the Bristol label Specialist Subject Records. It[ . . . ]

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Wildlife

Paul Dano, talented actor acclaimed for his remarkable performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s tour de force There Will Be Blood and a successful collaboration with a variety of auteurs, including Richard Linklater, Paolo[ . . . ]

Grey Hairs, photo: Simon Parfrement

Grey Hairs

No feeling compares to the excitement of discovering a new outstanding band. Especially if it happens in a live context, and you are caught unprepared, wide-eyed and stupefied by the[ . . . ]

Evan Peters (Warren Lipka) in American Animals, dir. Bart Layton

American Animals

Existential vacuum is a subject that hits home with many film directors of the now quickly maturing generation X. Their interest in the age-old phenomenon, which tends to gain importance each[ . . . ]

Hou Hsiao-hsien, portrait

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Meditations on Time

As the long wait for the European release of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin is coming to an end, the London audiences’ appetites have been whetted by the fascinating retrospective of the acclaimed Taiwanese director’s oeuvre[ . . . ]

Steve Gunn with Erik Heestermans (drums) and Tommy DenNys (bass) @Cafe oto, London, November 2014 ©Anna Bajor-Ciciliati

Ways of The Master: Steve Gunn

So far known to the broader audience mostly as a former touring member of Kurt Vile‘s backing band The Violators, Steve Gunn, a formidable finger-picking guitarist, has recently taken a new[ . . . ]

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Birdman

It is interesting to notice that at least three among this season’s Oscar contenders, Birdman, Foxcatcher and Whiplash, deal with the problem of self-creation and the resulting psychological duplicity. Coincidence?[ . . . ]

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Interstellar: A Journey to the End of Time

I must admit I wasn’t immediately inclined to see the newest Christopher Nolan film on the big screen. Not particularly acquainted with the director’s previous work, I almost made up my mind[ . . . ]