Ridley Scott has made no secret of his preferred four-hour cut of Napoleon, and it seems that in chopping the film down to its current two-hours-forty, the elements sacrificed were primarily those of character and story.
What remains is a barely coherent spectacle of battles, negotiations and abruptly cold sex scenes with little in the way of arcs or development to give them meaning. Scott’s cinematic eye is as reliable as ever, but his images here feel hollowed out. Despite…
So, where were we?
There are a great many reasons behind the immortalising success of David Tennant’s first run as The Doctor, most of which can be traced back in one way or another to his head writer, Russell T Davies. For one thing, Davies had an uncanny ability to bait tabloids for coverage week-after-week, and for another his industry reputation played a key role in attracting A-List guest stars like Sir Derek Jacobi, Simon Pegg and, of course, Kylie.…
“You said it was a ghost story. It isn’t.”
“No?”
“It’s a love story.”
“Same thing, really.”
Memories don’t really work in the way movies would have you believe. There’s no linearity; we don’t remember things as they occurred, rather we remember them on the basis of a feeling. When we love, our minds are museums of fond faces. When we fear, we seek distractions. We can no longer be trusted alone with our thoughts. The Haunting of Bly Manor…
"I am happy. I've been happy all my life."
I got the chance to see this twice, and after a second viewing I feel a bit better equipped to address the growing criticisms of Blonde as victimising Marilyn Monroe and diminishing her legacy into a tragedy of abuse. I think this argument certainly has its place; as a biography, the film packs all of Marilyn's pain, and none of her power.
That said, I think there is also a case for…
