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Maria Duarte
Treading Water / Pic: IMDb
Film of the week / 24 April 2025
24 April 2025

MARIA DUARTE recommends a tough love story that unfolds among mental health issues, drug addiction and inadequate housing

THE PERILS OF INTERNET DATING: (L) Ruaridh Mollica in Sebast
Cinema / 3 April 2025
3 April 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sebastian, Four Mothers, Restless, and The Most Precious of Cargoes
YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF PORT TALBOT, BUT: Toby Jones and
Film of the week / 3 April 2025
3 April 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a drama that explores the formative years of Richard Burton’s life
FATAL TIES: Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in Black B
Film of the week / 13 March 2025
13 March 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a deliciously dark thriller that explores the complex loyalties within a marriage
VALENTINE'S DAY BLUES: (L) Memoir Of A Snail; (R) Bridget Jo
Cinema / 13 February 2025
13 February 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE review Cottontail, Memoir of a Snail, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Captain America: Brave New World
TRUE STORY: Aram Sabbah and Mahmoud Bakri in Mahdi Fleifel's
Film of the Week: / 13 February 2025
13 February 2025
MARIA DUARTE recommends a tense thriller that uses Palestinian characters to explore the predicament of migrants in Europe
(L) Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbot in Bring Them Down;
Cinema / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews September 5, The Fire Inside, Bring Them Down, and Love Hurts
Niousha Akhshi in The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Film of the Week: / 6 February 2025
6 February 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is enthralled by a complex thriller, but advises caution in accepting its depiction of reality
AI AI AI WHATS GOING ON HERE? Sophie Thatcher in Companion
Cinema / 30 January 2025
30 January 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Companion, Saturday Night, The Tasting, and The Colours Within
VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCES: Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Au
Film of the week / 30 January 2025
30 January 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is dazzled by an extraordinary performance in a classic Mike Leigh film
Jude Law as Terry Husk
Film of the week / 19 December 2024
19 December 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an edge-of-your-seat film exposing uncomfortable truths
Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in Queer
Cinema / 12 December 2024
12 December 2024
Hallucinogenic homosexuality, a quantum thriller, airport shenanigans and feminist Tolkein: MARIA DUARTE reviews Queer, The Universal Theory, Carry On and Lord of the Rings: The War of The Rohirrim
(L) Nightbitch; (R) Porcelain War
Cinema / 5 December 2024
5 December 2024
Horror for young mothers and Western presidents, a one-legged wrestler and weaponised art; the Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Nightbitch, Rumours, Unstoppable and Porcelain War
DO THE RIGHT THING: Pierfrancesco Favino as the remarkable S
Film of the week / 5 December 2024
5 December 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is moved by a real-life story of rescue at sea that upturns easy assumptions about political motivations in times of war
(L) Conclave; (R) Your Monster
Cinema / 28 November 2024
28 November 2024
Papal tiffs, Reality TV torture, volleyball feminism and a monster in the closet; The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Conclave, The Contestant, Power Alley and Your Monster
London Recruits
Film of the week / 28 November 2024
28 November 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a documentary that reconstructs the part played by white activists in the struggle against apartheid
(L) Silent men; (R) Gladiator II
Cinema / 14 November 2024
14 November 2024
Emotional repression in Hong Kong, emotional repression in the UK, swords and sandals and a forgettable family reunion: reviews of The Last Dance, Silent Men, Gladiator II and Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point
No Other Land
Film of the week / 7 November 2024
7 November 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an unlikely tale of friendship between an Israeli and a Palestinian in the midst of West Bank ethnic cleansing
(L) The wild Robot; (R) A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
Cinema / 17 October 2024
17 October 2024
Serial killer dating; courtroom charm; synaesthetic inspiration and jungle book robotics - The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Woman of the Hour, The Crime is Mine, A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things and The Wild Robot
FATAL ATTRACTION: Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn and Sebastian St
Film of the week / 17 October 2024
17 October 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a biopic of the US presidential candidate that explores his relationship with gay communist-basher Roy Cohn
CHARITY INSTEAD OF HUMAN RIGHTS? Stan Brock surveys a tempor
Cinema / 3 October 2024
3 October 2024
Healthcare evangelism; Rajneesh child-abuse; an unwanted musical; and an un-Elephant man: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story, Children of the Cult, Joker: Folie A Deux, and A Different Man
The Battle for Laikipia
Film of the Week: / 3 October 2024
3 October 2024
Racial injustice, British colonialism and the climate crisis intersect to create the perfect storm in a new documentary, says MARIA DUARTE
(L) Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun; (R) Shia LaBeouf in Megalop
Cinema / 26 September 2024
26 September 2024
Decline and fall of the US empire, rehab in Orkney, the younger self, and lone wolves
SHADES OF DREYFUS: Arieh Worthalter as Pierre Goldman in The
Film of the week / 19 September 2024
19 September 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping courtroom drama