PODCAST: LFF 2021 – The Power of the Dog, Nitram, The Lost Daughter, Dashcam, Benediction, Petite Maman, Benedetta, & King Richard [Movie Robcast]

Episode 131 is our penultimate London Film Festival wrap-up episode, and it’s a bumper one.

At 2:55 we review the new Benedict Cumberbatch film The Power of the Dog.

At 11.20 we give our thoughts on the Cannes award-winning and hard-hitting drama Nitram.…

REVIEW: King Richard (London Film Festival 2021)

King Richard is an unconventional biopic about an unlikely sporting figure.

Having received his first Oscar nomination in Michael Mann’s Ali back in 2002, Will Smith may finally walk away with the little gold man for his performance as Richard Williams, father to Venus and Serena Williams.…

PODCAST: Bombshell, Bad Boys, & A Very Naughty Boy [The Movie RobCast]

The Movie Robcast reaches its 80th episode, so we have a fittingly bumper show in store, opening with a tribute to the late, great Terry Jones, who died on 21st January 2020, aged 77 after a long battle with dementia. The two Robs were raised on Life of Brian so have words of praise for the Python polymath.

Collateral Beauty gets it as right as it can in service of a bad idea

Collateral Beauty is a awards-baiting drama about three big-city advertising execs who come together to gas-light their grieving friend for the sake of a big payday.

Okay, so it’s not quite as a simple as that, morality-wise; a fact that the film is desperate to impress upon us.…

Suicide Squad is a toxic mess, but at least it’s more palatable than the last DC outing

Let me get the obvious comparison out of the way (at least for the first time): Suicide Squad, the latest addition to the DC Cinematic Universe, is a mess; choppy and lurid counterpart where Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice — God help us — was muggy and self-serious.

Focus is on the ball but only knows one trick

 

How invested can you get in a film where you can’t trust anything that’s on screen, let alone any of the characters’ motivations?

From The Sting through to American Hustle, the con-artist thriller is a genre known for its slickness, its unpredictability and slight-of-hand.…