A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her 500-page manuscript to a "Star Trek" writing competition in Hollywood. How do we navigate confusing and unfamiliar spaces? What is it like to know that you're out of place and cannot understand the world around you? These thoughts haunt me. In my nightmares, I am confused because I can't make sense of what's going on. I sometimes feel that way when I'm awake. Please Stand By isn't a horror film - it's a gentle …
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I first saw cats when I was... 7? 8? Young enough for it to leave an impression on me. I couldn't have told you what was going on, but I was utterly mesmerised. Humans! Pretending to be cats! My parents used it to instil in me a love of West End musicals which persists to this day. A decade-or-so later, I saw one of the last performances on Broadway. By that time, the set was crumbling, the C90 cassette used to play the music was wearing thin, and the cast still gave it their all! I was old…
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A modern take on Charles Dickens's classic tale of a young orphan who is able to triumph over many obstacles. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, based on the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens. It stars Dev Patel as the title character. This is such a joyous movie. It is a fast, funny, and beautifully shot piece. I've no idea how faithful it is to the original. Frankly, I don't care. A movie is a separate type of art to a book and deserves separate treatment. One of the most lovely…
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How to Build a Girl is a 2019 coming-of-age comedy film directed by Coky Giedroyc, from a screenplay by Caitlin Moran and John Niven, based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Moran. The film tells the story of Johanna Morrigan, teenager living with her working-class family on a council estate in Wolverhampton, England, who grows up to become a popular but conflicted music journalist. Beanie Feldstein seems born to play awkward teenagers in coming-of-age comedies. Good! She's excellent…
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"A woman is boxed out by the male sports agents in her profession, but gains an unexpected edge over them when she develops the ability to hear men's thoughts. I remember taking a date to see "What Women Want" back in 2000. It was a lousy movie, but I ended up marrying the date - so it wasn't a totally wasted evening. What Men Want is a fairly lazy updating of the "classic" story. What if a high-powered business woman could read the minds of all the men around her? That's it. That's the…
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