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Among this past year’s unexpected synchronicities, there’s now a shared space in the Venn Diagram that compares the American singer/songwriter Taylor Swift with the Indian writer/director Prashanth Neel. In 2023, both artists re-released their own re-recorded work, though Neel seems reluctant to describe his latest movie as a remake. Still, the pumped-up action fantasy “Salaar:…

It’s not easy to make an intense thriller about things that happen every day. But when one appears, it’s glorious.  Ilker Çatak’s “The Teacher’s Lounge” is glorious. It’s probably the best thriller of this type since “Uncut Gems,” another movie where just watching realistic characters making bad decisions was so nerve-wracking that it made you want…

“Santa Claus: The Movie” (1985) is back. British company Silver Salt Restoration has painstakingly restored the film and their sparkling 4K remaster is now showing on big screens across the UK. It’s also available as a digital download and on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD, with the home viewing options likely to prove popular presents…

“All of Us Strangers” opens with the fittingly ethereal image of its protagonist staring out the window of his high-rise apartment, the London sunset’s orange glow illuminating his reflection, his somber expression suspended above the skyline.  Adam (Andrew Scott), a gay screenwriter in his 40s living alone on the outskirts of the city, still mourns…

The surreal almost supernatural atmosphere of Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” is present from the first shots, where the sunset light streaming through the windows of the new apartment building seems piercingly gold, almost molten. There’s something weird about the light, like it’s sentient, reaching out for this building in particular. Then there’s the…