In Praise Of | Little White Lies

In Praise Of

Three young people, two men and one woman, sitting in a vintage car against a scenic cloudy sky backdrop.
In Praise Of

American Graffiti and the lasting impact of nostalgia on cinema

by Daniel Allen

Half a cen­tu­ry on, George Lucas’s sem­i­nal teen movie casts a long shad­ow across both the com­ing-of-age genre and film­mak­er autofiction.
Three women in pink monochrome; dark-haired woman in purple dress, blonde woman in pink suit, curly-haired woman in pink scarf.
In Praise Of

The uplifting, transformative coming-of-age cinema of Greta Gerwig

by Mallory Blair

A writer reflects on how watch­ing Gre­ta Ger­wig’s Lit­tle Women led to a life-chang­ing rev­e­la­tion, and the com­fort found in her cin­e­ma of girlhood.
Shirtless martial artist making a defensive stance against a bright, abstract yellow background.
In Praise Of

The hero dies at the beginning: Enter the Dragon at 50

by Micah Nathan

The film that intro­duced Bruce Lee to the Amer­i­can main­stream was sad­ly his last – but its pow­er is still pal­pa­ble five decades later.
Colourful, whimsical toy animals on a toy train, including a penguin and a creature with a mesh net.
In Praise Of

Why I love the train chase scene in The Wrong Trousers

by Eleanor Brady

Tom Cruise and Mar­vel can’t hold a can­dle to Aard­man Ani­ma­tion’s nail-bit­ing stop ani­ma­tion sequence in the clas­sic Wal­lace and Gromit adventure.
Woman wearing a dark hooded top, sitting at a table with a glass in hand.
In Praise Of

The Counselor was Cormac McCarthy’s unflinching portrait of the consequences of desire

by Evan Helmlinger

In his only pro­duced screen­play, the Amer­i­can titan of lit­er­a­ture paint­ed a bleak pic­ture of the log­i­cal end­point of greed.
Two people - a woman in a white top and a man in a striped shirt - sitting on a bed covered in a zebra-print blanket, looking at each other and smiling.
In Praise Of

Why I love The Watermelon Woman

by Robyn Quick

Cheryl Dun­ye’s debut fea­ture broke the mould with its wit­ty blend of fact and fic­tion – and remains a queer clas­sic to this day.
Group of five individuals wearing predominantly bright pink clothing and dark sunglasses against a colourful patterned background.
In Praise Of

In defence of The Bling Ring

by Katie Tobin

A decade since its release, Sofia Cop­po­la’s take on teen thieves and celebri­ty obses­sion is as sharp as ever.
Police officer in uniform holding a fish inside a bus.
In Praise Of

Why I love Edward Woodward’s performance in The Wicker Man

by Barry Levitt

As the stead­fast Sergeant Neil Howie, Wood­ward becomes a com­pelling audi­ence sur­ro­gate in Robin Hardy’s sem­i­nal folk horror.
Shirtless man wearing American flag-patterned shorts standing against a dark background with smoke.
In Praise Of

Coming to you live from the apocalypse: The potent paranoia of Gregg Araki’s Nowhere

by Aryan Tauqeer Khawaja

As Gregg Arak­i’s Teen Apoc­a­lypse series receives a 4K restora­tion, his take on the tri­als and tribu­la­tions of LA teenagers is still as sharp as ever.
A woman in a yellow sequinned dress and feather boa, standing in front of a black and white background with a large yellow circle behind her.
In Praise Of

The musical magic of Gold Diggers of 1933 at 90

by Julia Mueller

Mervyn LeRoy and Bus­by Berke­ley’s clas­sic pre-Code musi­cal still delights almost a cen­tu­ry lat­er – and its suc­cess is down to a key change in how the sto­ry was bookended.