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Joyful Noise
(2012)
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Glenn Dunks
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Sister Act meets Burlesque in the American south. As loglines go, Joyful Noise has a doozy.
Posted May 25, 2021
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Lasseter's Bones
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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Though varying little in style and structure from similar first-person investigative efforts, Walker's film is sustained not only by his intriguing take on an interesting topic, but by the filmmaker's personable presence.
Posted May 22, 2020
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Pokémon Detective Pikachu
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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Pokémon Detective Pikachu, despite the unwieldy official title, is an accessible movie. It skews young, but it never condescends to any demographic.
Posted May 10, 2019
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Avengers: Endgame
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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It would be accurate to say that a lot of the film is designed for crowd-pleasing, but that is nowhere near saying that it panders to fans. The film celebrates and revels in the franchise without seeming self-indulgent.
Posted Apr 26, 2019
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Shazam!
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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The greatest element of Shazam! is that it doesn't fall into the trap of earnestness. It is not ashamed to embrace the more outré elements of the comic book universe.
Posted Apr 05, 2019
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Pet Sematary
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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Shored up by confident performances and mostly impressive production design, Pet Sematary is not afraid to be pessimistic without nihilism.
Posted Apr 05, 2019
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Us
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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Either viewing it on a surface level or tunnelling deep into its mythos, Us is a richly composed film that succeeds on every level. Even its more contentious elements are still a sign of the victory that Peele exerts over the cinema-goer.
Posted Mar 29, 2019
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Fighting With My Family
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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A buoyant, sunny movie, driven by performances from a cast unafraid of charming vulgarity.
Posted Mar 25, 2019
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Captain Marvel
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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It is unfortunate that Danvers can fly effortlessly and Samuel L. Jackson can almost recapture his younger self, but the movie cannot stretch itself to make computer-generated cables and flying cats seem natural.
Posted Mar 08, 2019
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If Beale Street Could Talk
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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If Beale Street Could Talk is an evergreen movie that focuses not solely on the injustice that its characters face, but on the love that suffuses them.
Posted Feb 21, 2019
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Happy Death Day 2U
(2019)
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Alex Doenau
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Happy Death Day 2 U is the Super Mario Bros. 2 of movie sequels: it has many of the same elements, while adapting and changing enough to make a separate but still enjoyable experience.
Posted Feb 21, 2019
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The Hate U Give
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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The Hate U Give may never stop being relative, or it may one day be a quaint reminder of systematic injustice. Regardless of what the future holds, The Hate U Give stands for something worth considering.
Posted Feb 01, 2019
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Aquaman
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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With charismatic leads and some sublime visuals that overpower the ridiculous, Aquaman is DC's second good movie and first real statement piece since 2013.
Posted Dec 26, 2018
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Bumblebee
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Though his hand on the musical cues is heavy, Knight's touch is light on the film as a whole, and Bumblebee breathes.
Posted Dec 20, 2018
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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Showing a flawless understanding of the comic-book aesthetic and storytelling without sacrificing its cinematic qualities, Into the Spider-Verse is a deeply satisfying film for comic fans that has more than enough to offer everyone else.
Posted Dec 12, 2018
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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McCarthy is a powerhouse who isn't afraid to teeter between being deeply sympathetic and completely repellent. It's a performance that brings out the essential ambivalence that Israel, as written, feels about herself.
Posted Dec 05, 2018
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Grabbers
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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The ingenuity of the film's method of dispersing with the freakish interlopers may be its strength amidst evident simplifications and a predictable storyline, yet the antics are amusing and entertaining.
Posted Dec 04, 2018
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Compliance
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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The challenging but compelling feature is at all times exasperating and thought-provoking.
Posted Dec 04, 2018
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Antiviral
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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As a writer and director, Brandon utilises the familiar themes and aesthetics with ambition and assurance, making body horror his own grotesque but galvanising cinematic playground.
Posted Dec 04, 2018
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Wolf Children
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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With a bittersweet atmosphere and beautiful imagery - both of the detailed and delicate variety - Wolf Children proves a finessed, fantastical offering grounded in human emotion and experience.
Posted Dec 04, 2018
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Errors of the Human Body
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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As smart as it is suspenseful and as contemplative as it is creepily effective, the feature swarms with the potential of its competent helmer and commanding lead actor, even as it drifts towards an intriguing conclusion.
Posted Dec 04, 2018
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The History of Future Folk
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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Though competently performed and brimming with enthusiasm, the sweet but slight fable-based film that results is heavily reliant upon its idea and less cognisant of its wavering cinematic execution, however it does provide moments of heartfelt comedy.
Posted Dec 04, 2018
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Lean on Pete
(2017)
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Alex Doenau
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This is realism almost too gritty to take, but with just enough light mixed in so that we keep looking to the horizon.
Posted Nov 29, 2018
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Love at Least
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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A drama with many low points, but it allows room for hope. With a well-realised central performance that brings its lead a rare dimensionality, Love at Least is a relationship drama that makes the outlandish credible.
Posted Nov 26, 2018
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Ribâzu ejji
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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A two-hour drudgery that solves a mystery whose answer was never pressing with the silliest possible solution. There's a wide chasm between realism and misanthropy, and River's Edge falls on the wrong side of that gap.
Posted Nov 20, 2018
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One Cut of the Dead
(2017)
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Alex Doenau
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If you want something fun and slightly cerebral to chew on while your own brains are being chewed on, One Cut of the Dead is the intelligent zombie movie you need.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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The Old Man & the Gun
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Redford has said that he wanted to go out on a fun note, and that is an accurate description of this movie.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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A strangely charmless and excessively dingy film. Too long and static for anyone but the most die hard, with neither a richness of tone nor colour, this is a film guaranteed to sell tickets at the cost of its own soul.
Posted Nov 14, 2018
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The Girl in the Spider's Web
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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The Girl in the Spider's Web is a frozen techno-thriller that makes sense of all of the movies that were never made before it.
Posted Nov 09, 2018
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A Star Is Born
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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A drama with credible songs in it that elevates an outré personality into a legitimate actress, a vanity project with none of the vanity.
Posted Oct 19, 2018
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Bad Times at the El Royale
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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An imperfect movie, and one impossible to pigeonhole, but it offers more delights than many bigger films.
Posted Oct 15, 2018
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A Simple Favor
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Paul Feig saw the base elements of the mess that was A Simple Favour's original form and reassembled them into a stylish semi-thriller that places a high priority on entertainment, be it mild mystery and intrigue or intentional humour.
Posted Sep 17, 2018
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Crazy Rich Asians
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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You can celebrate Crazy Rich Asians for many reasons, and all of them are valid - it's an unambiguously well made and well intentioned movie that does not lead the viewer into hell.
Posted Sep 04, 2018
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On Chesil Beach
(2017)
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Alex Doenau
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On Chesil Beach balances idyllic pastoral scenes with the screaming awkwardness of a honeymoon, but when it catches up with itself it can't quite keep up.
Posted Aug 13, 2018
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The Spy Who Dumped Me
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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With only one and a half gadgets on display, there's at least one itch that it doesn't scratch, but McKinnon is so well utilised here that The Spy Who Dumped Me is more worth seeing than its 41-year-old reference gag title would suggest.
Posted Aug 13, 2018
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Mission: Impossible - Fallout
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Outside of his ambitious sci-fi movies, Cruise knows his Mission: Impossible. 22 years and six films in, he has perfected the art of convoluted international intrigue mixed with over-the-top stunts that he performs himself.
Posted Aug 03, 2018
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The Equalizer 2
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Washington brings nuance to an otherwise black-and-white scenario, which elevates The Equalizer 2 above so many other "nice guy/secret killer" films.
Posted Jul 20, 2018
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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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There is a pain threshold that you must have to survive a movie of this calibre; if you believe you have the endurance, take on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again - at the very least, it is never not fascinating.
Posted Jul 19, 2018
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Ant-Man and The Wasp
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Ant-Man and the Wasp is fun on a bite-sized scale, and it is everything that it wants to be.
Posted Jul 06, 2018
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Upgrade
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Upgrade is pulp, but if we've learned anything from the last 30 years, it's that pulp can be good for you - they keep it in orange juice for a reason.
Posted Jun 12, 2018
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Disobedience
(2017)
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Alex Doenau
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Weisz and McAdams are reliable as ever, and their interplay is almost electric enough to bring colour to the screen. Together they plumb unwritten depths to discover a mutual strength that prevents Disobedience from being completely depressing.
Posted Jun 12, 2018
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The Miseducation of Cameron Post
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Those that need it will never watch it, and those that watch it will most likely already agree with its thesis - but this is quality filmmaking regardless.
Posted Jun 12, 2018
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Ocean's 8
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Movies are supposed to contain event, and you'll be hard pressed to find any of that in the 110 minutes of Ocean's 8.
Posted Jun 11, 2018
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Tully
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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While this isn't a particularly cheery movie for an alleged comedy, it's a finely tuned work that provokes without tipping itself over the edge.
Posted May 16, 2018
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Deadpool 2
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Deadpool 2 is everything that it is supposed to rail against: a generic comic book movie that is only a step above the lesser entries in the Marvel/Fox continuum.
Posted May 16, 2018
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Unsane
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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Unsane is not much more than potentially dangerous boilerplate designed to make people fear the mental health profession.
Posted May 03, 2018
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Avengers: Infinity War
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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There's a lot to meditate on in this breathlessly told comic book adventure film.
Posted Apr 26, 2018
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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This is a sweet, well-shot and well-acted piece drawn from a thoughtful script.
Posted Apr 25, 2018
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Super Troopers 2
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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For fans of the original, Super Troopers 2 has enough of that Broken Lizard flavour that they've been craving for almost two decades.
Posted Apr 25, 2018
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Isle of Dogs
(2018)
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Alex Doenau
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You may not quite be able to put a finger on what you're watching, but Isle of Dogs is a hand-crafted adventure through garbage, fire, and bureaucracy. Certainly it has an all-star cast, but more importantly it has a Dog Star heart.
Posted Apr 13, 2018
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