Film critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode writes a monthly column for the Observer. Twitter @kermodemovie
September 2023
Mark Kermode on film
Kermode on… Nicolas Roeg: ‘Nothing is what it seems’
In the first of a new monthly Observer column on his favourite film-makers, Mark Kermode salutes the elliptical vision of the director of Don’t Look Now, Walkabout, Performance and so much more
After 10 years, I’m stepping down as the Observer’s film critic. Here are my top films from the decade
As I leave the post, I look back on how cinema has changed since 2013 and, below, pick a favourite movie from each year of my tenure – as well as a turkey
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Brother review – brilliantly acted Canadian coming-of-age drama
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Past Lives review – a spine-tingling romance of lost chances
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Passages review – body language speaks volumes in seductive three-way love story
August 2023
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Blue Beetle review – superhero fun with immigrant survival subtext
How will a law graduate use beetle-based powers to help his beleaguered Latino family? Believable dynamics and boisterous comedy add charm to a familiar genre
My friend Billy: Mark Kermode remembers The Exorcist director William Friedkin
The Observer film critic on his hero, who died last week aged 87, a man dedicated to telling stories his way and who had a wicked sense of humour
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Gran Turismo review – gamer turned pro racing driver movie pushes most of the right buttons
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp’s true-life tale is unable to swerve the cliches yet delivers pedal-to-the-metal entertainment
July 2023
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Talk to Me review – an Evil Dead for the Snapchat generation
Australian YouTuber twins Danny and Michael Philippou’s feature debut is an entertaining chiller that mixes shrieking horror and psychological nuance
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Barbie review – a riotous, candy-coloured feminist fable
Barbie takes a ride from her dream house to reality as Little Women writer-director Greta Gerwig takes another cultural icon and lovingly subverts it
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Medusa review – body fascists on the loose in heady satire on Brazil’s police state
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One review – Tom Cruise is still taking our breath away
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review – Harrison Ford does the heavy lifting in lightweight sequel
June 2023
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Asteroid City review – smug Wes Anderson comedy falls to earth
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Pretty Red Dress review – toe-tapping London tale of desire and identity
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Chevalier review – entertainingly soapy portrait of a Black 18th-century maestro
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Reality review – palm-sweatingly tense whistleblower drama
May 2023
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Hypnotic review – preposterous tosh from start to finish starring Ben Affleck
Affleck is in full frowny mode as a haunted cop on the tail of a criminal mastermind in a thriller that seems to revel in its absurdity
The Little Mermaid review – bland but good-natured Disney remake
It doesn’t have the magic of the original, but Halle Bailey gives a winning performance, backed by a strong supporting cast
Mark Kermode's film of the week
Beau Is Afraid review – Ari Aster’s patience-testing shaggy dog story
Joaquin Phoenix plays a hapless middle-aged man on a tortuous journey to see his mum in the Midsommar director’s three-hour black comedy of Oedipal angst
