MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
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Film: Lost dramatic threads
Spider-Man returns to take on abandonment issues in a gripping sequel, says MARIA DUARTE
MATTHEW HAWKINS rakes through un-fancy words and flair-free summaries to find who and what might be flamboyant
PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument
Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (12A)
Directed by Marc Webb
4/5
Two years after his hugely successful Spider-Man reboot, which raked in more than $750 million worldwide, comes Marc Webb’s sequel. Overloaded with super villains, its dramatic thread is shockingly moving for a superhero film.
Peter Parker, now wrestling with abandonment issues, embarks on resolving the mystery of his parents’ disappearance after dumping him with his aunt and uncle. And he is haunted — literally — by his girlfriend’s dead father (Denis Leary) who he promised he would keep safe by staying away from her, a promise which Parker battles with throughout the film.
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