Contributions from Mark Asch | Little White Lies

Contributor Mark Asch

A woman with dark hair and red jacket smiling in a dimly lit room.
Festivals

Empire of Light – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Olivia Colman channels her inner Anna Karina in director Sam Mendes’ mawkish ode to the magic of the movies.
Man with moustache wearing a checked shirt and leaning against a wall.
Festivals

The Greatest Beer Run Ever – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Zac Efron goes on a mission to bring tinnies to the troops in this banter‑y Vietnam War movie misfire from Peter Farrelly.
Two men, one in a flight suit and the other in a leather jacket, talking beside an aircraft.
Festivals

Devotion – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell star as Navy pilots in JD Dillard’s superficial rendering of America’s forgotten war.
Smoky industrial chimneys emitting flames against a grey winter sky, with a lone person walking on a snowy beach in the foreground.
Festivals

How to Blow Up a Pipeline – first-look review

by Mark Asch

A group of activists take radical action against climate change in Daniel Goldhaber’s eco-thriller.
A well-dressed man and woman sitting at a table, smiling and enjoying a meal together in a cosy, dimly-lit restaurant setting.
Festivals

The Fabelmans – first-look review

by Mark Asch

This bittersweet rummage through the Spielberg family album sees the maestro deliver a late-career masterwork.
A man in a red and grey hooded jacket stands holding a microphone, speaking to a young boy in a blue jacket.
Festivals

Tori and Lokita – first-look review

by Mark Asch

The Dardenne brothers return with a harrowing story of human trafficking in Belgium, centring on two young migrants.
Close-up of three people, a woman wearing a scarf and two young children, against a blurred background.
Festivals

The Super 8 Years – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Annie Ernaux and her son David piece together a magical home movie essay on marriage, motherhood and the whole damn thing.
Black-and-white image of a man in a suit playing the piano on stage, his arm raised in a performative gesture.
Festivals

Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Ethan Coen’s solo debut effort is a ribald and energising archive montage on the life of taboo-busting rocker, Jerry Lee Lewis.
A grey donkey with large ears stands in a grassy field, wearing a garland of carrots around its neck.
Festivals

EO – first-look review

by Mark Asch

A donkey in a travelling circus grapples with cruel fate in Jerzy Skolimowski’s strangely captivating drama.
A young girl with dark hair wearing a black coat, standing by a window and looking contemplative.
Festivals

Tchaikovsky’s Wife – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Kirill Serebrennikov focuses on the relationship between one of Russia’s greatest composers and his adoring, but unloved, partner.