Xan Brooks is a freelance writer and broadcaster specialising in cinema
September 2023
The Palace review – Roman Polanski’s tacky hotel farce is the worst party in town
Set in a hotel on New Year’s eve in 1999, this dismal comedy finds room for John Cleese, Mickey Rourke and Fanny Ardant, but you’ll want to run for the hills
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar review – Wes Anderson’s short and sweet Roald Dahl tale
Anderson’s second Dahl adaptation is a droll 40 minutes of beautifully composed nested stories, with Benedict Cumberbatch as a gambler who learns how to beat the house
Hollywoodgate review – a fascinating insight into the Taliban’s insular world
It’s no surprise that Ibrahim Nash’at’s documentary lacks in-depth interviews – his subjects barely tolerate his presence as he reveals the fighters’ lack of purpose after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan
August 2023
‘My legacy? I’m Ferris Bueller’: Matthew Broderick on life, love and opioids
From storming the West End with his wife Sarah Jessica Parker, to playing the architect of the US opioids crisis in dark new Netflix drama Painkiller – the star is taking a bold new direction
July 2023
Book of the day
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah review – criminally entertaining
Prisoners fight for survival on reality TV in an exuberant dystopia of doomed love and industrialised racism
June 2023
Bryan Cranston: ‘My dad wanted to be a star. How futile is that?’
Michael Caine’s novel will most likely be rubbish, but I’m glad he’s found his happy ending
Xan Brooks
May 2023
Cannes 2023 week two roundup – still a country for old men?
‘They wanted their accounts to be heard’: the film-maker who drove 400 Ukrainians to safety
Killers of the Flower Moon review – Scorsese’s magnificent period epic is an instant American classic
May December review – fraught drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore promises more than it delivers
Cannes 2023 week one roundup – from Depp to Godard, the chaotic circus rolls on
Johnny Depp on comeback trail in Cannes amid criticism of festival organisers
‘Consensus is boring’: Cannes jury president Ruben Östlund opens ‘wild’ festival
Book of the day
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng review – tragedy in the tropics
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece review – crying out for an editor
April 2023
Suede’s Mat Osman: ‘The biggest difference between Richard and me is that he has no interest in being cool’
Loving Highsmith review – a thorough profile of the Ripley author, one issue aside…
Assassin Club review – idiotic action thriller
Cairo Conspiracy review – taut, textured political thriller
