All cinemas seats are not the same. Comfy or lumpy, there are some views of the screen that are more coveted than others. This weekend, Mark Kermode, the Observer’s chief film critic for 10 years, announces that he will vacate one of the best seats in the house and usher in Wendy Ide, who is to take up his place on the newspaper.
It is a post that was held for 35 years by the late Philip French, during whose tenure the film review pages became an esteemed place to set in context both popular and independent cinema; to praise its triumphs and to laugh at its cliches.
