Carey Mulligan

Review: #LFF: Shame

My uptake of films from the London Film Festival has been pretty slow so far – curse you, day job! – but with Shame marking another notch on my metaphorical bedpost, I'm three for three for excellent movies so far. If I were a Radio 1 DJ, I might describe it as "a non-stop hit parade of massive club bangers", but I'm not, so I'll just say I've seen three cracking films in a row, and hooray for that.

Trailer for Michael Fassbender's Shame, aka Sir Nobs-A-Lot

In X-Men: First Class his special ability was attracting metal; now in sex drama Shame, Michael Fassbender is a full-time fanny magnet.

Review: Drive

That Ryan Gosling: so hot right now. It's easy to forget he started his career as a Disney Mouseketeer in the same stable as Britney, Christina and Justin, but today Baby Goose finds himself with two critically-acclaimed movies out on the same day and a Clooney Oscar-grabber still to come. Ladies, if you thought he was hot stuff in Crazy Stupid Love as a spray-tanned, six-packed womaniser, then prepare for your ovaries to implode when you see him play a strong-and-silent getaway driver with a penchant for deep, meaningful gazing sessions. "Hey girl," he seems to say. "I'm capable of astonishing violence, but I'll make a good makeshift father for your son, too." Make no mistake: he's husband material.

Review: Never Let Me Go

It's difficult to know where you stand with Never Let Me Go. It's dystopian sci-fi, yet it's set in the recent past, not the future. There's a timeless quality to the film: it could just as easily be the 1960s as the '80s or '90s - how many sci-fi films are there where the protagonists look like they've tumbled out of a 2-for-1 jumper sale at Oxfam? - but at the same time, it taps into something very contemporary. It contains by no means a far-fetched concept; the technology and knowledge exist to make what happens in this movie a reality. At some point the ethical barrier holding us back will crumble, and then what?

Review: Brothers

Is it just me, or has there not been a good comedy out in months? Thanks very much, Oscar season, for a series of thoughtful, harrowing dramas that put you right off your popcorn in the harsh, cold light of day. Yeah gang, let's all go to the movies on a Friday night! That'll be fun! (*sigh*)

Review: An Education

When we meet Jenny (Carey Mulligan), she lives a regimented existence of Latin homework and lectures from her father (Alfred Molina) about the importance of getting the grades to make it to Oxford University. This is 1960s Britain and the education Jenny and her peers receive shows them how to bake cakes and walk in a straight line with a book balanced on their heads.