Shaun De Waal

Shaun de Waal has worked at the Mail & Guardian since 1989. He was literary editor from 1991 to 2006 and chief film critic for 15 years. He is now editor-at-large. Recent publications include Exposure: Queer Fiction, 25 Years of the Mail & Guardian and Not the Movie of the Week.

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/ 11 February 2005

Ray of light

MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Ray is a likely contender for an Oscar this year — firstly, because the Academy can never resist a portrayal of a disabled person, and also because it adores a tale of truimph over adversity. And a worthy contender it is, writes Shaun de Waal.

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/ 4 February 2005

Still singing

Pascal Lamche’s documentary Sophiatown should be seen by all who have an interest in South Africa’s relatively recent past — especially those interested in the way politics and culture were necessarily entwined. Shaun de Waal reviews.

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/ 4 February 2005

The Bosman trail

<i>Life Sentence: A Biography of Herman Charles Bosman</i> is a 14-volume set restores to their most complete form the stories, novels, poems and occasional pieces that in Bosman’s lifetime and after his death were often published in less than perfect shape, writes Shaun de Waal.

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/ 21 January 2005

All about my childhood

MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Almodóvar’s plots are often soap opera, but the means are highly arty — movies-within-movies and complex flashback structures –his latest offering Bad Education does not disappoint. Shaun de Waal reviews.

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/ 17 December 2004

The world is not enough

<b>NOT MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> The best joke has already been made about Oliver Stone’s epic <i>Alexander</i>: it has many highlights, said one critic, but unfortunately they are all in Colin Farrell’s hair, reports Shaun de Waal.

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/ 22 October 2004

Mother courage

<b>NOT QUITE THE MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> What a weird movie. <i>The Forgotten</i> starts out as a heartbreaking melodrama, then morphs into an FBI-conspiracy/cop thriller, becomes an outsiders-on-the-run road movie, before suddenly going all <i>X-Files</i>, writes Shaun de Waal.

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/ 15 October 2004

Bourne again

<b>MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> Jason Bourne’s on the run again, this time from both the CIA and the Russian Mafia. The plot is fast; the tonal keynote is grim determination, but it’s well worth a look-see. Shaun de Waal reviews.

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/ 8 October 2004

Hell with heart

<b>MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> The lastest comic-book adaption for the screen, Hellboy blows its contemporaries Spider-Man and Catwoman right out of the water. It’s a huge orangey-red amount of fun, with a great deal of energy, style, intelligence and wit, writes Shaun de Waal.

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/ 1 October 2004

Men at work

MOVIE OF THE WEEK: In Collateral, Jamie Foxx is a taxi driver who takes pride in getting people to their destinations in good time; Tom Cruise is the professional hit man who is determined to finish his night’s roster of assassinations on schedule. Shaun de Waal reviews.