REVIEW: Days of the Bagnold Summer

Director Simon Bird brings his own childhood growing up in Guildford to bear in a charming, low-key encapsulation of a long summer in the suburbs.

Based on the 2012 graphic novel by Joff Winterhart, Days of the Bagnold Summer follows teenage metalhead Daniel (Earl Cave), frustrated to discover that he won’t be spending the holiday in Florida with dad and dad’s pregnant partner, and his mum Sue (Monica Dolan).…

Eye in the Sky is a timely look at drone warfare (RIP, Alan Rickman)

 

Eye in the Sky is the type of film that lends itself to descriptors like “timely” and “prescient”.

It may not be the first drama to tackle the specter of drone warfare – Ethan Hawke-starrer A Good Kill did so through the lens of a character study – but it is certainly has the weightiest cast.…

I loved The Falling

 

How do we categorize ambition in a film?

It has to mean more than scope or scale — Avengers: Age of Ultron is big and bold but what new does it attempt in terms of storytelling, apart from maybe giving Hawkeye something to do?…

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a deliberately underwhelming affair

 

The thing about diminishing expectations is that after a certain point they cease to be worth meeting.

After almost two decades on and off the TV, Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan’s most popular creation, has made his way to the big screen.…