Writing

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The Miss France ‘Woke’ Short Hair Controversy

I’m not sure why beauty pageants still exist. I get the idea that they can provide recognition and national identity to women who would otherwise be in a much poorer economic position. It can provide a nice little narrow idea of what ‘beauty’ should be. It can probably make a decent bit of money for the organisers. But ultimately, these events feel hollow in the contemporary landscape, and frequently bizarre.

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Review: Ferrari

The loner is a staple of the Michael Mann vehicle, whether it’s Neil McCauley evading cops, Frank trying to avoid slipping back into a life of crime or Hawkeye taking out bad guys. The director’s leading men are driven by a solitary urge, even when a woman comes along to threaten their sacred individuality. Speaking of driving, one of Ferrari’s main promotional posters, which features Adam Driver’s single-minded businessman, bears a striking resemblance to the central poster of Nicolas Winding Refn’s cult classic Drive. Not that Drive holds the mantle for having the first poster of a guy standing in front of a car in a film poster, but it’s an interesting link between the silent hero concept, even though that’s a pretty difficult idea to get your head around in this particular joint.

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Elf: 20th Anniversary

I went to see Elf for the first time at a preview screening my dad took us to back in the day, but my memory of it is pretty vague, unfortunately. Probably because I was quite young combined with the fact that myself and my brothers were frequently grooving out of the cinema with my pa to go to the toilet, which wouldn’t have helped. I’d never commit such a cardinal sin these days. Even if my bladder was at the point of bursting like when I was watching Avengers: Civil War. Oof. That was a close one.

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