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Moon Man
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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The cheerfully-animated and jovially-toned feature engages in its nuanced narrative of understanding and acceptance, as its namesake tries to find his place in the world.
Posted May 01, 2020
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What Richard Did
(2012)
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Sarah Ward
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The director's devastating power resides in his ability to turn the before and after of his lead character's actions into a commanding and compassionate morality tale of cause and effect.
Posted Apr 30, 2020
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3.5/5
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Reflections in the Dust
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Sullivan's approach is bold, ambitious and primed to make an impact; however it's Houbolt and Queere's performances that ensures the film hits home.
Posted Jun 12, 2019
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3/5
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Aquaman
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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With Aquaman, the character, being one of the rare highlights of Justice League, it's reassuring to see Aquaman, the movie, build upon the half-human, half-Atlantean's momentum.
Posted Feb 22, 2019
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2.5/5
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Naked Normandy
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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While the film's template and clichés are always evident, it still radiates the charm inherent in its various components
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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3.5/5
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Creed II
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Heft and depth go far in this eighth franchise instalment. In the ring and on the screen, you can't connect without both.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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3.5/5
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Journey's End
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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A sober, grim and powerful war story.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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4/5
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First Man
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Painted in shades of melancholy and shouted through silence, it's as much a space movie as it is a psychological drama about grief, and it's an extraordinary effort thanks to its chosen approach.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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2.5/5
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The Seagull
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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As emotionally heaving and handsomely staged as it all is - and, crucially, never beholden to stage conventions - the end result often feels like a box-ticking exercise in meeting the requisite marks.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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2/5
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The Adventures of Errol Flynn
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Mulcahy may be aiming for a boisterous good time like the Flynn-starring classic Captain Blood, but the flat, template-like raucousness of the Pirates of the Caribbean series oft proves more fitting.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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1.5/5
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Night School
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Generic, messy, flat, over-extended and all-too-earnest, running for nearly two hours with sentiment and silliness where its scant narrative should be
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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3/5
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Venom
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Takes what it has, runs with it and bounces around within its parameters to mostly engaging effect.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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3/5
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Alpha
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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When Alpha hews close to its core focus, it howls with heart.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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3.5/4
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Overlord
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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While Overlord's premise screams B-movie and the feature knows it, [director Julius] Avery doesn't handle the narrative in a simple and senseless manner.
Posted Jan 17, 2019
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3/5
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Maleficent
(2014)
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Sarah Ward
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Maleficent looks the part in an effort pleasant to watch, but is, of course, unlikely to replace its predecessor as the version of record.
Posted Dec 14, 2018
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2.5/5
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The Predator
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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An '80s-style B-movie, and it wants to look and feel like one.
Posted Sep 24, 2018
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2/5
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The House With a Clock in Its Walls
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Truly haunted by languishing in derivation and mediocrity.
Posted Sep 24, 2018
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3/5
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The Merger
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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A by-the-numbers affair brightened up by palatable packaging and palpable passion - and with ample charm in its crowd-pleasing vibe and its cause.
Posted Sep 24, 2018
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2.5/5
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The Meg
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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When The Meg is fun, self-aware and proud to be both, it has an engaging comic spark.
Posted Aug 21, 2018
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4/5
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Mandy
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Rarely have a movie and its star felt as perfectly matched as this violent tale of abduction, destruction and revenge, and the man tasked with traversing its lurid depths.
Posted Aug 21, 2018
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4/5
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Island of the Hungry Ghosts
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Weaves its threads together in an astute, empathetic and impassioned manner, all while remaining cognisant that nothing within the film exists in a vacuum.
Posted Aug 21, 2018
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4/5
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Mission: Impossible - Fallout
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Filled with the kind of visual and technical mastery that most features are lucky to display in one scene, let alone in set-piece after set-piece after set-piece, all while conjuring an authentic, edge-of-your seat emotional reaction.
Posted Aug 21, 2018
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Beast
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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This tale of beasts and beauty claws through appearances, expectations, and the fine line between inviting and troubling - and victim and attacker - on a plethora of levels.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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The Equalizer 2
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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This follow-up is many things, and often chaotically tries to combine them all at once.
Posted Jul 20, 2018
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Skyscraper
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Even the film's hulking hero and its willingness to lean into its overblown nature can't keep this blockbuster alight, as much as Johnson, particularly, tries.
Posted Jul 16, 2018
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Madeline's Madeline
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Inimitable and immersive... builds slowly in command and confidence until its full force is felt.
Posted Jul 16, 2018
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2.5/5
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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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All growl and no bite, and all spectacle with little substance, Fallen Kingdom instead succeeds where most modern franchise instalments place too much of their focus: as a placeholder for the next movie.
Posted Jun 26, 2018
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3/5
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Solo: A Star Wars Story
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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A jovial jaunt with long-beloved figures, as opposed to a future-thinking continuation.
Posted Jun 13, 2018
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2/5
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Deadpool 2
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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When Deadpool 2 is boasting about great it is and claiming it's different, it's a slog.
Posted Jun 13, 2018
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3/5
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Midnight Oil 1984
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Perhaps it's Argall's efforts to weave in as much as possible that ultimately holds the documentary back rather than thrusts it forward; there are several movies that could be made, from several angles, from his wealth of materials.
Posted Jun 13, 2018
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2/5
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Alpha Gateway
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Less resembles a new take on its concept, and more a compilation of previously seen ideas.
Posted Jun 13, 2018
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3.5/5
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Avengers: Infinity War
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Like any culmination of a long-running series, there's purpose and emotion as this blockbuster intertwines its many strands, provides a gripping payoff and paves - as always - another path forward.
Posted May 03, 2018
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2.5/5
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Last Flag Flying
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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While primarily a slow, sombre affair by necessity, the film often draws its narrative out - and can't always find the balance between its dramatic, contemplative and occasionally comedic tones.
Posted May 03, 2018
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3/5
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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As a title, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society might be a mouthful, but it couldn't suit this warm, nostalgic post-war drama better.
Posted May 03, 2018
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1.5/5
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Super Troopers 2
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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There's a difference between moulding past glories into something similar and simply being content to even make a follow-up.
Posted May 03, 2018
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2.5/5
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Rampage
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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It's the rollicking barrage its title intimates, yet amounts to merely passable entertainment; a minor critter in its habitat, rather than a behemoth.
Posted May 03, 2018
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2/5
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Blumhouse's Truth or Dare
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Gleeful in a vapid soap opera-meets-gratuitous slasher flick way, favouring superficial thrills and gags over inventiveness, subversion or depth.
Posted May 03, 2018
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1.5.5
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Ready Player One
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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With its narrative slight and familiar, and its sense of drama and threat muted, it relies upon its roster of recognisable properties - and the affection everyone has for them, especially off-screen - to provide interest.
Posted Apr 10, 2018
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3/5
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Blockers
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Served up with equal portions of humour and heart, what sets Blockers apart is its perspective.
Posted Apr 10, 2018
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3.5/5
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Love, Simon
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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Love, Simon is filled with love and recognition as it takes the high school rom-com template into new Hollywood territory, and it charms in the process.
Posted Apr 10, 2018
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2.5/5
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Tomb Raider
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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In a feature that's primarily a formulaic reboot, rendering Lara Craft as flesh and blood instead of a cartoonish fantasy makes a difference.
Posted Mar 20, 2018
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4/5
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Menashe
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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[Boasts] an observational approach, naturalistic appearance, fly-on-the-wall feel and authentic air.
Posted Feb 06, 2018
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2/5
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Den of Thieves
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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The end result is a mess of elements that overstay their welcome, and a central caper that loses momentum.
Posted Feb 03, 2018
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4.5/5
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Jane
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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As moving and enthralling as it is informative and even astonishing.
Posted Jan 31, 2018
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3/5
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The Final Year
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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Presents rather than probes, letting its subjects and the contrast between them and today's state of affairs do the talking.
Posted Jan 30, 2018
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3.5/5
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I, Tonya
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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As an exploration of class and societal culpability, I, Tonya proves as smart as the questions it poses.
Posted Jan 30, 2018
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2/5
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Maze Runner: The Death Cure
(2018)
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Sarah Ward
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If the series' second effort felt like a placeholder for more to come, The Death Cure concludes the saga with little more than a box-ticking exercise.
Posted Jan 23, 2018
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3/5
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Mary and The Witch's Flower
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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Predictable though Mary's flight path may be, she soars through gorgeously, intricately realised territory.
Posted Jan 23, 2018
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3/5
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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Moving on from previous glories to start anew furnishes greater moments for the characters than the story, but it adds to a movie that's thoughtful, emotional and contemplative.
Posted Dec 14, 2017
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Justice League
(2017)
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Sarah Ward
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It still achieves its two aims - improving upon Batman v Superman, and leaving viewers intrigued for future Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg outings - but does so in a thoroughly choppy and dull fashion.
Posted Nov 22, 2017
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