Reviews

Based on Sergey Fetisov‘s memoir, Firebird – appropriately screening this week in relation to International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – is an achingly romantic, though still not entirely ground-breaking tale of forbidden love set in a time when same-sex affairs were met with severe punishment. In the midst of 1977 Cold War in…

One of those true story tales that is so intricately outrageous it couldn’t possibly be fiction, Operation Mincemeat details a WWII espionage plot that centres itself around a heightened take on the classic Trojan Horse malware that so successfully aided the Greeks in their invasion of Troy. There’s a background story to the titular operation…

When Stephen King published Firestarter in 1980 it was celebrated for its complex, character driven storyline, accolades that shouldn’t have really come as a surprise given the impressive body of work he had achieved in the 6 short years he was a published novelist; 1974’s Carrie was his first release. With that and The Shining…

Lending an air of femininity to the western genre – one so often entangled with a masculine temperament – without compromising its rooted personality, Leah Purcell‘s The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson is the cinematic incarnation of her penned 2016 stage play and 2019 novel, all inspired by Henry Lawson‘s short story, “The…

Given how crucial Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Doctor Strange was to the events of both Avengers: Infinity War and last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s easy to forget that he hasn’t had all that much time dedicated to solely earning his own spotlight.  And whilst he earns titular rights in Sam Raimi‘s bonkers sequel – Doctor…

After his more theatrical (and unrecognizable) turn earlier in the year in The Batman, Colin Farrell brings a more natural, introspective quality to After Yang, Kogonada‘s poignant science-fiction drama that evokes memories of Her, Ex-Machina, and Blade Runner 2049 throughout. An adaptation of Alexander Weinstein‘s 2016 short story “Saying Goodbye to Yang”, Kogonada’s film throws you…

2019’s Downton Abbey, a filmic continuation of the long-running upstairs/downstairs television series that very much played to its strengths of catering to its devoted fans, was a product that very much felt like it had little interest in truly introducing a new dynamic. For Downton Abbey: A New Era, its bi-line is particularly apt, with…

“I will avenge you, Father; I will save you, Mother; I will kill you, Fjölnir.” These muttered, repeated words by Viking prince Amleth (played by Oscar Novak as a young boy, and a hulking, angry Alexander Skarsgård as an adult) are essentially summarising Robert Eggers‘ narrative intentions in The Northman, an ugly, brutal, at-times Shakespearean drama….

In the lead-up to the release of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage spoke of the countless VOD titles he had littered his filmography with over the last decade-or-so – film choices made primarily to pay off serious debt – with a positive tongue.  Whilst such trashy thrillers as Inconceivable, Trespass, and Left…

Living in 2022 it is easy to take reproductive rights for granted. But as Happening shows, it wasn’t long ago that this wasn’t the case. This film serves as a timely reminder of how tortured a situation could become when a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy. It’s a difficult and devastating situation that…

Whilst The Cellar won’t exactly be riding high on viewers’ lists of must-see scary movies, Brendan Muldowney‘s haunted house horror effort at least conjures an atmosphere and an unlikely climax to earn it valid points for trying. Muldowney’s script initially plays into the genre tropes we expect when Keira Woods (Elisha Cuthbert) and her family…

Javier Bardem knows how to play men with a charmingly evil demeanour, and in The Good Boss (El Buen Patrón) – which reunites the actor with his Loving Pablo director Fernando León de Aranoa – his confident walk and solid grey quaff of hair lend themselves to a disarming character who uses his good standing…

The idea of a multiverse isn’t a new faction within the science-fiction film realm, but because the comic book movie has become more and more prominent in the last decade – and last year’s biggest film took the idea and ran with it to the most epic of proportions – no doubt something like Everything…

Despite both Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton proving their worth as action figures within the spy genre previously – Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Newton in Mission: Impossible II – All The Old Knives steps away from the action-driven physicality of the genre and opts for proceedings more in tune with a John…

There’s a certain amount of baggage and controversy that comes with the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, additives that, for the sake of the film itself, I won’t delve into; a swift google will catch you up to speed though. From the off, Fantastic Beasts was always a series that seemed a…

Reminiscent of the studio mentality of days (years, even) gone by of when the star-driven comedy was enough of a draw to reel audiences in, Adam and Aaron Nee‘s throwback romp The Lost City serves as a healthy reminder that not all playful, high-concept comedies have to exist solely for the streaming services. Resuscitating the…

Say what you will about Michael Bay, but the man knows how to craft an action sequence.  Sure, throughout his career, said action sequences have been featured in the type of blockbusters that so often favour spectacle over substance, but he’s great at what he does and, really, no one is watching a Transformers movie…

Whilst certain studio efforts saw their initial releases delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, few films were as hard done by as Sony’s latest Marvel entrant, Morbius.  With no less than 7 release dates to its name – it was first intended to be released in July 2020 – the living vampire can at least…

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 picks up after the events of the first film as the titular character (voiced by Ben Schwartz) has taken the mantle of being the hero for the people in the town of Green Hills. But his recklessness and overeager bravado has consequences as he wreaks unintentional havoc while trying to do…

Selling itself as “Tarantino for kids” may give parents valid reason to pause on The Bad Guys, but it’s an ultimately safe and reliable child-friendly affair that more circles the neighbourhood of the adult-aimed heist film rather than being an all out animated edition of Pulp Fiction; though its opening sequence certainly brings that effort…

Taking it back to the basics of the horror genre – i.e. sex and blood sprawled out on a big cinema screen – Ti West‘s return to the fray (his last horror effort being the 2013 found footage outing The Sacrament) indulges in the slasher mentality of eras gone by whilst fusing it with a…

Blending his knack of humour, tenderness, and dramatic stakes that speaks to his strength as a storyteller, there’s a bittersweetness to Roger Mitchell‘s The Duke.  Sadly passing away prior to the film’s release, his swan song couldn’t seem more perfect as it encapsulates his talents in all the best ways possible. And The Duke just…

Sporadically seen but frequently heard throughout via storytelling-like narration that speaks to the throwback era of filmmaking Panama adheres to, Mel Gibson waltzes in and out of Mark Neveldine‘s action effort with little care as to how his scene chewing is going to disrupt the heavy lifting supplied by co-star (and actual lead) Cole Hauser….

Whilst it’s not uncommon for usually reliable, oft-Oscar celebrated actors to slip into filmic mediocrity, Melissa Leo must’ve really needed a healthy paycheck when she opted to commit to Measure of Revenge.  Perhaps at one stage offering a script worthy of her talents, but the final 92 minute result – one which mysteriously omits a…

To call Homesick bizarre would be a colossal understatement.  And that’s meant in the most complimentary of fashions. Born – and that’s quite the fitting term when the film’s narrative is uncovered – from director Will Seefried‘s fascination with society’s urgency in recreating their childhood, Homesick takes a unique look at how one could submit…

Viewers are likely to know Timothy Spall even though he’s no household name. The actor is famous for his many character roles such as Mr. Turner and in many supporting roles. In his latest film he plays an everyday man in what is a quiet and slow-burning drama. The film is written and directed by…

Weaving together both historical and current events, how those events pertain to the savagery of racism over the years, and the juxtaposition of his own calming musicality, Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is a stunning documentary about Kishi Bashi‘s own personal journey in exploring his past as he looks for inspiration for his…

Whilst he never exactly went off the grid to warrant this a “comeback”, Channing Tatum certainly reminds us just why his likeable, some may say limitedly ranged persona was such a staple in the mid 2010’s with Dog.  Not only does it see the actor step back into leading man territory – somewhere he hasn’t…

For such a scrappy little feature, Eli Horowitz‘s The Cow has some impressive calibre that will no doubt help earn it some extra eyes beyond the unique indie crowd this seems tailor made for. Headlined by Winona Ryder (always a treat to see taking charge these days) and a suitably disarming Dermot Mulroney, The Cow…

A somewhat standard high-school comedy and a campy dark mystery are fused together in Maureen Bharoocha‘s ambitious offering The Prank.  Whilst much of the film rides on the fact you have to root for unlikeable archetypes – either outcast students Ben (Connor Kalopsis) and his feisty bestie Tanner (Ramona Young) or their evil-incarnate teacher (a…