Tom Jennings
Radical cultural critic analysing different elements within popular culture.
Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee, directed by Shane Meadows
Tom Jennings chuckles along with the pointed proletarian poignancy of Meadows’ latest chamber-piece.
Freestyle Manifesto. Film review – Tom Jennings
Film Fictions of the Iraq War
Tom Jennings examines television and cinema stories about the US/UK ‘war on terror’ in terms of the notion that ‘war is the health of the state’.
The Ill-Health of the State. Film review / essay – Tom Jennings
Another Life, by Andrew Vachss
Tom Jennings salutes the eyepatched crusader’s superhero child abuse revengers on their final outing.
Trojan Horse Noir. Book review – Tom Jennings
The Street, series 3, by Jimmy McGovern, BBC 1
The final series of The Street demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of its form – both of which may now disappear from television drama
Neighbourhood Nervous Breakdown. Television review – Tom Jennings
Frozen River, directed by Courtney Hunt
This heartfelt debut film about dodgy decisions prompted by force of circumstance is several cuts above standard American independent cinema fare
Borderline Psycho Sis. Film review – Tom Jennings
In the Loop, directed by Armando Iannucci
Venturing out of Westminster reveals the limits of The Thick Of It’s satire, concludes Tom Jennings
The Thin of It. Film review – Tom Jennings
Five Minutes of Heaven, by Guy Hibbert, BBC 2
Tom Jennings is disappointed, but not surprised, at this drama reducing the legacy of the North of Ireland Troubles to personal therapeutics.
Troubles Shared. Television review – Tom Jennings
The Wire, by David Simon and Ed Burns, BBC 2
Tom Jennings endorses the accolades accorded to ground-breaking American TV drama The Wire – but with reservations.
Wired for Sound and Fury. Television review – Tom Jennings
The Class, directed by Laurent Cantet - Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings attributes this film’s success to its subversion of educational orthodoxy veiled in high-liberal and Hollywood homilies.
Class Encounters of the Secondary Kind. Film review – Tom Jennings
Creating a Movement: The Struggle for Inclusive Education in the UK, 1990–2006, by Stefan Sczcelkun
Tom Jennings appreciates this snapshot of a campaign against the segregation of disabled people.
Anti-Ability Apartheid. DVD review – Tom Jennings
