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James Mangold's 'Ford versus Ferrari' is about the battle between two brands.  But it could just as easily be called 'USA versus Italy' or, more accurately, 'Corporate Politicians versus The Experts'. Like any Oscar winning movie worth its salt, Mangold's film (known as 'Le Mans '66' in some countries) is more than just a tale about motorsport. 'Ford versus Ferrari' is also about the battle to prevent corporate politics from suffocating creativity. Mangold's movie, written by brothers Jez and John Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller, begins with Matt Damon's American racer Carroll Shelby winning the gruelling Le Mans 24-hour race in 1959. The effort takes it out io him and he never races again, managing the Shelby American racing team instead and a car dealership. Shelby is drawn to Christian Bale's English émigré Ken Miles who dazzles as a driver but has an explosive temper off the track. Miles has a garage but is a disast

Is it possible to be neutral about Hillary Clinton? In the shrill world of US politics, the former Secretary of State, Senator and First Lady is either liked or loathed. You either respect her intellect and considerable experience or you buy into the pantomime villain that some on the right have painted. There's little scope for lying somewhere in-between. Sitting on the sofa watching 'Hillary,' Hulu's four part retrospective on her career, you will bring a lot of baggage with you just as you would to a programme about the Kennedys, Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, Obamas and Trump. So for the sake of honesty and the avoidance of any doubt, let me state where I sit. I believe Hillary Clinton was the sane choice for the Presidency in 2016. However, as a result of the passions she stirred, she was the Democratic Party candidate who was probably most susceptible to a shock defeat by Trump.  And so it turned out. Had she won, her first term as President would have probably been b

On first consideration, releasing 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' in June seems like a missed opportunity. After all, in the absence of a song contest this year because of Covid-19, surely May would have been the perfect month to launch it on Netflix? On second thoughts, it seems perverse to release David Dobkin's feature film on the weekend that Brits are mourning the loss of Glastonbury, by  gorging on highlights of great live music from previous years' festivals. However it might be a genius move because 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' has generated a lot of debate on social media. Opinions of the comedy among those who have already caught it differ sharply. 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' is, however, like most films starring Will Ferrell. It has no pretensions other than to be relentlessly silly. And given the cheese fest that is Eurovision, then clearly you have got to have some crackers? Dobkin

Joel Schumacher wanted to be involved in movies from the age of seven. Realising his ambition as a costume designer, he eventually became a writer and would go on to direct some of Hollywood's best known films of the 1980s and 90s. 'St Elmo's Fire,' 'The Lost Boys', 'Flatliners,' and 'Phone Booth' saw him work with some of Hollywood's up and coming names. He was rarely the darling of film critics. But his film, television and music video work was notable for its heightened sense of a striking image and a tendency not to shy away from material that explored the darker recesses of the soul. Born to a Southern Baptist father from Tennessee and a Swedish Jewish mother in New York in 1939, Schumacher suffered loss at an early age. His father passed away when he was four. Schumacher's first interest was design and he studied at Parsons The New School for Design and New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. However his ambition was to desi