The successful biopic is something that takes a truly masterful hand to accomplish, but not many movies do it well. This week’s Culture Warrior asks why.

Brian Gibson loves to buy DVDs. Come with him on his weekly journey into the depths of credit card debt as he tells you what to buy, rent and avoid.

A biopic about Ian Curtis, the long lost lead singer of British rock group Joy Division, could easily be named “Love will tear us apart”, go for the easy tear, build another rock myth and get the easy buck. Photographer Anton Corbijn instead, names it Control and makes a movie about gradually losing exactly that. Until there is no myth to hang on to.