The Odyssey \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2bea<\/p>\n
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong\u2019o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron. 15A cert, gen release, 172 min<\/p>\n
Nolan follows up Oppenheimer with a thundering adaptation of Homer\u2019s epic poem following Odysseus\u2019s journey back to Ithica. Maybe the film, as is sometimes the case with Nolan, lacks an emotional core. But the sensory overload is so enormous that it proves hard to care. Shot fluidly on 70mm Imax cameras by Hoyte van Hoytema, scored with symphonic wit by Ludwig G\u00f6ransson, this take on a foundational text should wear away even the most passionate resistance. Standout performances from Morton as Circe and Hathaway as Penelope. At its best in properly weird fantasy episodes. Irresistible. DC <\/b>Full review<\/a><\/p>\n Animal Farm \u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n Directed by Andy Serkis. Voices of Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Andy Serkis, Kathleen Turner. PG cert, limited release, 94 min<\/p>\n Bizarrely appalling adaptation of George Orwell\u2019s indestructible (or so we imagined) 1945 allegory for the betrayals of the Soviet Union that abandons the original intent for a ham-fisted attack on contemporary capitalism in general and Donald Trump in particular. Orwell, an obsessive eulogist of English culture \u2013 \u201ca cut off the joint, two vegetables and boiled jam roll\u201d, he slavered in The Moon Under Water \u2013 would suffer apoplexy at the translation to the United States alone. The rapping and flatulence jokes offer further unforgivable offence. Not all films are equal, but few are less equal than this. DC<\/b> Full review<\/a><\/p>\n Cactus Pears \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606 <\/p>\n Directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade. Starring Bhushaan Manoj, Suraaj Suman, Jayshri Jagtap. No cert, limited release, 112 min<\/p>\n Following his father\u2019s death, Anand (Manoj), a call-centre worker in Mumbai, returns to his ancestral village in Maharashtra for the obligatory 10-day mourning ritual. Bereavement quickly becomes secondary to obligation: funeral customs dictate every aspect of daily life, while well-meaning relatives chastise. Manoj gives a beautifully internalised performance, carrying grief, exhaustion and decades of self-censorship in his hunched stances, while Suman provides an earthy, quietly confident counterpart. Parashuram\u2019s film, the first in the Marathi language to be selected for Sundance, resists melodrama throughout, puppeting heartstrings with intimate gestures and dreams. TB <\/b>Full review<\/a><\/p>\n Effi o Blaenau \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606 <\/p>\n Directed by Marc Evans. Starring Leisa Gwenllian, Tom Rhys Harries, Nel Rhys Lewis, Owen Alun, Carys Gwilym, Gavin Lee Lewis. No cert, limited release, 91 min<\/p>\n Never mind that Christopher Nolan film. This week\u2019s most compelling reworking of Greek mythology is Evans\u2019s robust Welsh-language drama. Adapted by Gary Owen from his well-regarded play Iphigenia in Splott, the film relocates the action from Cardiff to Blaenau Ffestiniog. A Euripides tale of sacrifice becomes a contemporary tragedy about poverty, inequality and criminally underfunded healthcare. Gwenllian is magnetic, mapping Effi\u2019s journey from vodka-swilling bravado to heartbreak with gusto. Defiant, abrasive and pained, she\u2019s the beating heart of a film that stares into the lens and says, \u201cWhat are you looking at?\u201d But in Cymraeg. TB <\/b>Full review<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Odyssey \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2bea Directed by Christopher Nolan. 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