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‘Leviathan,’ big-canvas Russian epic.

If “Russian masterpiece” were a style, LEVIATHAN was filmed in it. Karamazov-like bravado and religious parables plus a nonstop flow of vodka. Unsubtle visual political symbolism (the Putin state as rotting Hobbsian whale’s carcass), this one has racked up more 10 Best Lists than anything in 2014 (despite not coming out until 2015). Definitely unafraid of the “pretentious” label – solemnly paced, big canvas compositions, detailed and novelistically epic, it’s an enthralling watch. Could have done without the dated Philip Glass music, however.

Unsubtle visual political symbolism (the Putin state as rotting Hobbsian whale’s carcass), this one has racked up more 10 Best Lists than anything in 2014 (despite not coming out until 2015). Definitely unafraid of the “pretentious” label – solemnly paced, big canvas compositions, detailed and novelistically epic, it’s an enthralling watch. Could have done without the dated Philip Glass music, however.

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‘Titane’ is a blast.

‘Titane’ is a blast.

TITANE is a blast. From the opening scene it just says: here's what I think of your sentimentality. Euro-cinema doing what it has always done best: being high fashion, provocative, and wildly innovative -- The Neon Demon, Irreversible, Enter the Void. A genre mash-up,...

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‘Dunkirk’: WWII fought by male models?

‘Dunkirk’: WWII fought by male models?

I did not realize until seeing DUNKIRK that WWII was fought entirely by male models from the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue. Nor that its commanders (like Kenneth Branagh) mostly stood around posing with binoculars, mouthing pieties through clenched jaws. Nor that...

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Another look at ‘Cecil B. Demented’

Another look at ‘Cecil B. Demented’

A film ahead of its time: I took another look at CECIL B. DEMENTED last night, a misunderstood film when it was released, still tragically neglected today. John Waters saw where movies were heading, and this futile rebellion is...

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