Latest editorial
New releases from The Orb, Meredith Monk, and Marconi Union
Ace hand from Aaron Sorkin
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping tale about high-stakes poker from a first-time director
RITA DI SANTO draws attention to a new film that features Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn, and their personal experience of media misrepresentation
JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
MARJORIE MAYO welcomes an account of family life after Oscar Wilde, a cathartic exercise, written by his grandson
KEN COCKBURN guides us through a survey of Chekov’s early short fiction, and the groundwork it laid for his later masterpieces
ANDY HEDGECOCK revels in a hugely enjoyable but deadly serious examination of the 1930s, that is an indictment of our own era
The bard distills our hellish times into fiery words
Molly's Game (15)
Directed by Aaron Sorkin
THE RISE and fall of entrepreneur Molly Bloom — the “Poker Princess” — who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being apprehended by the FBI is depicted in this slick, stylish and absolutely engrossing directorial debut feature by writer Aaron Sorkin.
Based on Bloom's memoirs, it's a warning against the seductions of power and fame, and it's peopled by Hollywood A-listers, sports stars, business tycoons and, unbeknown to her, members of the Russian mob who attend her games.
There are $100 million losses, Mafia hitmen and FBI raids as the excitement and tension build, but Sorkin also highlights the pitfalls of greed and mingling with the rich, the powerful and the overprivileged.
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