Sundance London: Beatriz at Dinner (2017)
★★★★☆
Trump-era America is under an unforgiving spotlight in Miguel Arteta’s visually beautiful dark comedy Beatriz at Dinner, starring a luminous Salma Hayek.
Americas
Sundance London: The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
★★★★☆
The Incredible Jessica James is director Jim Strouse’s irresistible rom-com vehicle for rising star Jessica Williams.
Sundance London: The Big Sick (2017)
★★★★☆
The Big Sick by director and comedian Michael Showalter is a culture-clash rom-com set in Chicago that’s genuinely moving and funny – what’s more, it’s based on a real-life love story.
Cannes review: The Desert Bride (2017)
★★★★☆
The Desert Bride (La Novia del Desierto) is a charming Argentinian road move about a late-life blossoming.
Cannes review: Wind River (2017)
★★★★☆
Taylor Sheridan’s heart is on his sleeve in his directorial debut in gripping, atmospheric Native American thriller Wind River.
Cannes review: Good Time (2017)
★★★★☆
A manic night of nonstop motion ensues as a small-time bank robber tries to free his brother in the Safdie brothers’ ironically titled thriller Good Time.
Cannes review: The Beguiled (2017)
★★★★☆
Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled is compelling Southern Gothic, richly textured and deeply feminine.
Cannes review: How to talk to girls at parties (2017)
★★★★☆
John Cameron Mitchell’s How To Talk To Girls At Parties is a weird mixture of punk and aliens in the British suburbs – and it works.
Cannes review: The Meyerowitz Stories (new and selected) (2017)
★★★★☆
Noah Baumbach’s verbose comedy-drama The Meyerowitz Stories for Netflix is solid mainstream entertainment with a wry taste.
Cannes review: Okja (2017)
★★★★☆
Netflix’s Okja is Bong Joon-ho’s and Jon Ronson’s satire-cum-expose of the genetically modified food industry through the adventures of a delightful Korean girl and an outsize giant pig.
Cannes review: Wonderstruck (2017)
★★★★☆
In Wonderstruck Todd Haynes opens a cabinet of cinematic wonders as two deaf children’s stories interlink 50 years apart in the magic of New York.
Miss Sloane (2016)
★★★★☆
Jessica Chastain powers through John Madden’s political lobbyist thriller Miss Sloane.
A Quiet Passion (2016)
★★★★☆
A portrait of the poet as a young revolutionary, Terence Davies’ Emily Dickinson biopic A Quiet Passion sees a fiercely independent woman martyred.
Neruda (2016)
★★★★☆