My Favourite Films of 2019

Last year, I stupidly said, "Let’s hope that sense and kindness prevails in 2019." Oh boy!   This year I'll only say, "Let's hope we just make it through 2020".   Anyway, there were lots of films I missed in 2019, but here are my favourites from those I saw, ordered alphabetically within each rating: …

My Favourite Films of 2017

It's been a pretty awful year in politics, so I find looking back at my year in film is a pleasant diversion. The following is a list of my current 2017 favourites, but before I go through them, there are a few special film-related highlights to mention: In January I hosted a Q&A with producer …

Special screening of Abbas Kiarostami’s THE TRAVELLER (1974)

This Bank Holiday Monday, 29th May 2017, we have a real treat in Cambridge. The Arts Picturehouse cinema, in conjunction with ourscreen.com, is presenting a screening of THE TRAVELLER, the debut feature of the great Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. The event will take place at 9 pm and tickets are only £5. Ehsan Khoshbakht, the film critic …

Lynch and Kiarostami

Two interesting articles with perhaps only a tenuous connection: they both feature critics talking about the cinema which excites them. In this Guardian piece Peter Bradshaw talks about Blue Velvet, and why 25 years after first seeing the film it still captivates him. There is much I admire in David Lynch's work (though certainly not …