So you may think that a movie called Youth that stars Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda might just be taking the piss a little bit…

Set in a luxury Swiss Spa (in surely one of the most beautiful locations in the world), Caine and Keitel play old friends Fred and Mick. Fred is a composer, and is resisting coming out of retirement to play for the Queen of England, as well as dealing with the recent marriage break-up of his daughter Lena (Weisz). Mick is an active film director, and is trying to figure out an ending for his new film. They are joined at the spa by various eccentric characters, including a young actor (Paul Dano) who is starting to regret his choices of film roles, a couple who don’t speak to each other at dinner, and a morbidly obese South American who is so famous, no one has to speak his name.

Director Sorrentino made the wonderful Oscar-winning The Great Beauty and this film is very much in the same vein. And, despite the bleakness of the theme (dealing with old age), it is surprisingly comical in parts (it has two of the big laugh-out-loud moments of the year, although one of them requires a passing knowledge of who Paloma Faith is). Not to mention Fonda giving an Oscar-worthy performance, despite being in just one scene!

Youth is an exquisitely shot and directed piece of art, with a perfect balance of weirdness and beauty. Don’t miss it!

Millions of people tuned in worldwide to watch Lance Armstrong on Oprah admit to years of doping in order to win the Tour de France seven times in a row in what quickly became the biggest sporting scandal in recent history.

While many people know Armstrong’s general life story, Stephen Frear’s The Program, based on journalist David Walsh’s book “Seven Deadly Sins”, offers an insight into Armstrong’s fraudulent cycling career; his struggle with cancer, and his subsequent ruthless desire to win.

The result is a finely made film that recounts the well-known story of how Armstrong fraudulently rose to the top of the sporting industry using performance enhancing drugs. The film parallels this with Walsh’s attempts to expose his illicit activities to the world, as well as the concurrent story of Floyd Landis, a member of Armstrong’s cycling team who fell victim to his pressure to dope in order to win. Ben Foster shines as the ignoble Lance Armstrong, bringing a nuanced heroism to the immoral character, as well as a subtle sinisterness to the way he treats teammates.

The audience is afforded a journalistic tell-all biopic of not only Armstrong, but of the people around him; including his team, other racers, his lawyer and the news team that fought to expose his drug habits. Though it takes a close look at the heavy drug use by the cyclists, the film breaks up the dark topic with bouts of comedy too, combining to create both an informative yet entertaining film about the cyclist who shocked the world.