Film Friday

No this is not a film about the accident-prone Frank, but rather ‘a fable of a true tragedy’ about Princess Diana. Her story is one that keeps on being retold, …

Having just completed a few days of speaking and using films to open up the theme of darkness and light, I’m struck again by the way these stories make great …

As Tom makes his final trip back to Land’s End from John o’ Groats there are many moments of courage and kindness. In fact, Tom goes viral as the unlikely …

I remember years ago coming across the phrase, ‘It costs to be honest.’ Subverting the saying, ‘It pays to be honest.’ Well, reformed bank robber Tom certainly discovers that when …

This biopic of Aretha Franklin charts her rise to fame, from the days when, as a child, she was already an extraordinary singer, to her 1972 gospel concert. But her …

‘Don’t have a good day – have a great day!’ So says Guy to those he meets each morning. Guy is living the perfect life – or so he thinks. …

London 1960. With the cold war humming away and the threat of it escalating into a nuclear event, the CIA need a little help. They are thin on the ground …

So, Mr Bond is back, and let’s face it, we’d been expecting him. For quite a while. And he’s up against Spectre once more, the evil organisation with another plot …

Rory O’Hara has his heart set on wealth and success, so much so that he often cannot see the wood for the trees, or reality for his delusions. He buys …

In a waterlogged and dystopian city, Nick and Emily offer the chance to revisit and replay past memories. However there is always the danger that clients will revisit too often …

In this romantic comedy there is a moment when young Sam tries to say farewell to the love of his life but is stopped in his tracks at airport security. …

I’ll be the first to admit that this film is strange in places, an unusual retelling of the life of Jesus. However, it also has some fantastic moments. Like the …

In this understated tale a quiet yet determined elderly gent, Tom, embarks on a mission, which takes him on the country’s longest bus ride, from John o’ Groats to Land’s …

There is a great light-hearted moment in this movie when Black Widow’s sister, Yelena, challenges her about why she adopts her dramatic fighting poses all the time. Yelena drops awkwardly …

John Grisham’s compelling tale of dastardly doings in a Memphis law firm is nearly 30 years old now, but it still looks as good as ever. Mitch McDeere is a …

When caveman Grug and his Crood family find a walled paradise, the home of the Bettermans, they think they have discovered the tomorrow they have been looking for, life will …

There is a telling moment early on in this film when Mia, working in a coffee shop, serves coffee to a famous movie star. We don’t know who it is …

On her way to becoming Cruella de Vil, the reckless and gifted Estella gets a job working at the Baroness’s elite dressmaking company. She quickly impresses the Baroness with her …

When Elliot Ness decides to take on Al Capone he discovers something – there is a shortage of trustworthy cops in Chicago. Corruption has seeped into all walks of life. …

Jan is bored and weary. Her life lacks spark. Then she notices a copy of Horse and Hounds and an idea is born. She is going to breed a racehorse. …

Bea’s tales of Peter and his friends are taking off, the books are selling like, well – hot cross bunnies. But when a big company comes knocking, wanting to take …

It is sometimes said that life in this modern world (or is it post-modern, or post-post-modern, or post-post-post-modern, I’m unsure) favours the young. So much is angled towards them. Well, …

The powerful thing about this film is the way it plunges the viewer into a confusing world of disorientation. Characters from one scene look different in another, conversations you thought …

We are what we eat. Didn’t somebody once say that? This week I managed to watch a couple of movies, both about that great place of worship – McDonald’s! We …

Do you have a favourite movie? It’s a question I sometimes ask when doing talks about film and faith. It’s a question I find hard to answer these days, I’ve …

When I first saw this in 1989 I thought it was interesting and okay. It was only years later, when life was collapsing around us, that I revisited the film …

Shrek wants to be alone. He has plans to build a wall around his swamp and keep all the other fairy tale creatures away. His life will be much easier …

The other night I caught the start of the Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy, my wife and older daughter were watching it. I’m less of a superhero fan but …

Another moment drawing on the forthcoming Movies & Me book… ‘Today I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect …

For all its bangs and crashes, and there are plenty of those in this Batman epic, the most telling and chilling scene occurs after the criminals have taken over the …

There is a great moment when Liddell is about to run the 400m final. As they line up for the race, one of the American athletes hands him a piece …

This is one of those movies that reminds me a film does not have to be PG rated and squeaky clean to communicate something really powerful about compassion and sacrifice. …

When Joan Stanley gets a knock at the door one day she opens it to find a huddle of cops on the doorstep. She is under arrest. For spying. Surely …

When the brilliant Ken Miles is asked to slow down in the 24 hour Le Mans race, so that his team mates can catch up with him and they can …

There is a saying – wherever you go, there you are. And it is certainly true of father and son Robert and Jack, when they head off to Italy to …

This remarkable true story is all about keys. And the way political prisoner Tim Jenkin secretly fashioned a whole set in his cell. He and his friend were incarcerated in …

When Monica and Henry ‘adopt’ the human robot David, they are given the option to programme, or imprint, him to love them. After a while Monica does just that, and …

In the new disaster movie Greenland a comet heads for the earth, and John Garrity receives a text telling him to take his family to an airbase in order to …

There is a strange and unexpected moment in this movie about two Texas Rangers on the trail of Bonnie and Clyde. One of the rangers, Maney Gault, is hanging around …

At one point in this satirical tale set in war-torn Germany, Jojo’s mother embarrasses him by jumping on a wall and dancing. She has of course no right to do …

Captain Kidd is an unusual news journalist. An ex-soldier he now travels the far flung towns and communities of post-civil-war America telling recent news stories to those who have not …

Ralph Fiennes perfectly embodies the deferential, self-taught excavator Basil Brown, in this true story of the sensational archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo in the late 1930s. As war looms, he …

At one point in this mind-bending, reality questioning movie the hero Neo goes to visit the all-knowing Oracle, to see if he may be the one to free the earth …

In Run Fatboy Run, as Dennis attempts to run a marathon he has not really trained for, he hits a wall. And he can’t break through it. So he is …

Not a film this time, but a three part series (currently showing on BBC iPlayer) about the remarkable story of the founding of the SAS in North Africa, in 1941. …

There is a moment towards the end of Book of Eli when Eli is asked about the nature of the Bible he is carrying. He says this, ‘It’s beat up, …

There are a few surprising happenings in this bitter, brutal film about a mother crying out for justice. Not least when the local advertising guy, Red Welby, finds himself in …

In the festive favourite It’s a Wonderful Life George wishes he’d never been born, and when an angel grants him that wish, he discovers how precious life is and what …

Not exactly a Christmas film, but one that features two Christmases in it! I love the 1995 version of this tale, and find it deeply moving. Not least the scene …

When a couple of pesky burglars do their utmost to break into young Kevin’s house, our optimistic hero has to do battle with them, using any means at his disposal, …