Xan Brooks Articles

Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, The Iron Lady Oscar veteran Meryl Streep may have her name already engraved on the Best Actress statuette for the 2012 Academy Awards — well, barring a Glenn Close upset — but those associated with former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher are none too pleased with Streep's performance as the free-marketeering Thatcher in Phyllida Lloyd's The Iron Lady, as reported [...]

Tintin (Jamie Bell), Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), Snowy, The Adventures of Tintin Despite a number of positive reviews and solid box office receipts, some in the United Kingdom, where Tintin is apparently a cultural icon, haven't been at all pleased with the way director Steven Spielberg and screenwriters Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish have brought Hergé's intrepid reporter to the big screen. See [...]

Michael Fassbender, Shame Steve McQueen-Michael Fassbender's SHAME: Sex Addiction at the Movies Directed by Steve McQueen (no relation to the star of Bullitt and The Getaway), and written by McQueen and playwright Abi Morgan, Shame was screened at the Venice and Telluride film festivals. Its next stop is the Toronto Film Festival later this month. McQueen's drama revolves around the dangers of sex addiction and [...]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception Christopher Nolan's sci-fi/thriller Inception opens Friday. Initially hailed as a masterpiece, Inception has now received several negative reviews that have lowered its Rotten Tomatoes score down from near 100% to 83%. Among RT's top critics, the score is even lower: 74%. For comparison's sake: The Dark Knight's overall score is 93% positive; 91% among top critics. Batman Begins got 84% [...]