Contributions from Michael Leader | Little White Lies

Contributor Michael Leader

Review

Arco review – primary-colour, major-key storytelling

by Michael Leader

Ugo Bienvenu’s feature debut is equal parts polished and particular, whimsical and weird.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

One to One: John & Yoko review – another day, another Beatle doc

by Michael Leader

Macdonald and Rice-Edwards immerse in the famous power couple’s lives in NY, but this estate-approved doc struggles to deliver intriguing insight.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Review

Starve Acre review – all texture and no teeth

by Michael Leader

Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark play a couple who move to an isolated Yorkshire Dales estate in Daniel Kokotajlo’s folk horror.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Interviews

Iain Softley: ‘I had this idea in my mind, “What would the story be if these weren’t The Beatles?”’

by Michael Leader

As Sam Mendes gears up to make his behemoth Beatles biopic, the director of 1994 early-Beatles drama Backbeat reflects on the story of Stuart Sutcliffe – the Beatle who wasn’t.
Review

Robot Dreams review – a wordless wonder

by Michael Leader

A dog creates a robot friend for himself in Pablo Berger’s intricate, amazing silent animation.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

by Michael Leader

Nintendo and Illumination team up to give everyone’s favourite fictional plumber an animated makeover, with soulless results.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Review

Marcel the Shell with Shoes on

by Michael Leader

A sentient shell sets out to find his family with help from a documentary filmmaker in Dean Fleischer-Camp’s effortlessly charming feature debut.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

The Velvet Underground

by Michael Leader

Todd Haynes directs this definitive chronicle of the fabled avant-garde rock group, taking in everything from doo wop to pop art.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Festivals

The Velvet Underground – first-look review

by Michael Leader

Todd Haynes’ first documentary takes a thrilling, cautiously ambivalent look at the NY art-rock demigods.
Review

The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

by Michael Leader

Fists and bullets fly in this amped-up, consistently entertaining action thriller from Korea’s Lee Won-tae.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Festivals

The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil – first look review

by Michael Leader

A welcome dose of crooked cops and violent crims spices up the dying days of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
Festivals

The Lighthouse – first look review

by Michael Leader

Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are on top form in Robert Eggers’ stark maritime nightmare.

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