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2/5
|
Marlowe
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It can only graft and cobble together some setpieces and a vaguely familiar story to make something that is, ultimately, underwhelming when considered against the talent on-screen and behind the camera.
Posted Mar 15, 2023
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3/5
|
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
There's a sense when you watch 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' that even if you walk out of the cinema and half of the movie is gone from your mind by the time you get to your car, you'll have still enjoyed yourself.
Posted Mar 15, 2023
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4.5/5
|
Rye Lane
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
If you walk out of 'Rye Lane' and your face is a little sore, don't be alarmed. That's because you've been smiling at the screen for 82 minutes and you didn't realise it.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
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2.5/5
|
Scream VI
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Scream VI' is serviceable stuff, nothing particularly spectacular and slices off enough of its own past to keep it lean and moving forward.
Posted Mar 08, 2023
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3/5
|
What's Love Got to Do with It?
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ is reasonably enjoyable fare and skirts a sensitive topic with some deft moves and competent direction.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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3/5
|
Luther: The Fallen Sun
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Fans of the original series will undoubtedly get a kick out of seeing the character back in action again with a big budget, but ‘The Fallen Sun’ has little to offer anyone else beyond flashy visuals and stock characters doing their thing.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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2/5
|
The Son
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'The Son' disappoints because it does nothing to speak to the reality of the subject matter. Its mawkishness, its insincerity, and the stageyness - deliberate or otherwise - just underline how much of a failure it truly is.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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3/5
|
Cocaine Bear
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Cocaine Bear' is a temporary high, but you should still do a bump.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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4/5
|
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
(2021)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
For a slight, ninety-minute stop-motion animated movie to grapple with something like grief, community, and family and to do it so well, to so keenly observe all of that, is something special.
Posted Feb 15, 2023
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2/5
|
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It's not actively awful in any kind of meaningful way, because it's not remarkable enough to be that. Instead, it's a filler episode in the TV-ification of the MCU. It's fine if you miss it, because the next episode / movie will catch you up on it.
Posted Feb 15, 2023
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3/5
|
Magic Mike's Last Dance
(2023)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
The chemistry between Hayek Pinault and Tatum is so powerful on screen that, with a scientific breakthrough, it could be harnessed to provide clean, renewable energy for generations to come.
Posted Feb 08, 2023
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5/5
|
The Fabelmans
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
In the end, ‘The Fabelmans’ does not talk of art and movies as a healing thing, but rather that it’s a vocation because it’s formed you in a deep, personal way.
Posted Jan 11, 2023
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4.5/5
|
Living
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Living' is a moving, deeply affecting story of gaining purpose in existence, even for the briefest of moments.
Posted Dec 14, 2022
|
|
3.5/5
|
Nocebo
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Eva Green and Chai Fonacier's on-screen dynamic, the message and themes behind 'Nocebo' as it relates to colonialism and capitalism, and the beautiful cinematography - it all weaves together to create a classy horror experience.
Posted Dec 14, 2022
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4/5
|
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Far too often adaptations, especially those of fairytales and children's stories, feel the need to burden the audience with more of everything. Instead, 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' sculpts what's there into something fresh and original.
Posted Dec 14, 2022
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4/5
|
Bones and All
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Calling 'Bones and All' an acquired taste might seem like a cop-out, but the sharp distinction between affecting romance and road trip drama with unsettling body horror can be too much for some to handle.
Posted Dec 14, 2022
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3/5
|
The Silent Twins
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
There are such gorgeous shots in this, both in the starkness of the hospital where the second half of the movie is set, but also in the dream scenes where it's all about vibrancy and contrasting colours.
Posted Dec 14, 2022
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|
2/5
|
Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It's a three-hour nature documentary with some action sequences thrown in. It's beautiful but shallow.
Posted Dec 14, 2022
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|
3/5
|
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Yes, it's trying to process loss and grief, but is a Marvel blockbuster really going to be able to grapple with it effectively? Whether it is or not is debatable, but the fact is that it is forced to try.
Posted Nov 09, 2022
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|
2/5
|
Black Adam
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Should really be called 'Bland Adam'.
Posted Oct 24, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Bros
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Bros' is a gay rom-com playing it straight, with abundant references to Nora Ephron and Hallmark romances.
Posted Oct 24, 2022
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|
4/5
|
The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'The Banshees of Inisherin' digs through the black soil of Irish history and finds gold, along with blood feuds and treachery.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
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|
1/5
|
Halloween Ends
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Halloween Ends' deserves to be buried under a landfill, covered in cement, left to rot forever, and never spoken of again.
Posted Oct 13, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Emily
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Emily' is a swirling, gothic romance worthy of its subject.
Posted Oct 12, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Hocus Pocus 2
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Enjoy it for what it is - another helping of a disposable and familiar seasonal treat, nothing more and nothing less.
Posted Sep 29, 2022
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|
3/5
|
Ticket to Paradise
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
The failings with 'Ticket To Paradise' are equally its strengths - it's incredibly predictable, it's utterly unbelievable, and it's following a rigid structure with little or no deviation from it.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
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|
4/5
|
See How They Run
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Everything works a charm - and the delightfully playful tone of it keeps things nice and frothy.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
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|
2/5
|
Don't Worry Darling
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Ultimately, 'Don't Worry Darling' will fade away like its nostalgia-dripped setting until it's all just a dream or a half-forgotten memory. It's pretty, it's got some good performances, but everything else just turns into vapour.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
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3/5
|
Beast
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Beast' isn't burdened with brains, but it's still effective.
Posted Aug 24, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Mr. Malcolm's List
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
A a well-made, handsome addition to a genre that's had more than its share of its failures in recent years.
Posted Aug 24, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Nope
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Yup.
Posted Aug 09, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Prey
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
To call 'Prey' the best 'Predator' movie since the original is damning with faint praise. It's so much more. It is lean, sharp, and relentless.
Posted Aug 04, 2022
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|
2.5/5
|
Bullet Train
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Bullet Train' runs on manic energy and cliches, arriving at the station twenty years too late.
Posted Aug 03, 2022
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|
2/5
|
Where the Crawdads Sing
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Where The Crawdads Sing' drowns itself in shallow waters.
Posted Jul 19, 2022
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|
3/5
|
Thor: Love and Thunder
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It might not be quite as sharp as 'Thor: Ragnarok', but the addition of Natalie Portman's gun show, the flying goats (it'll make sense when you see it), and the hard rock soundtrack gives it enough of an edge to make it enjoyable.
Posted Jul 05, 2022
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3/5
|
The Black Phone
(2021)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'The Black Phone' might be a standard enough horror, but Hawke's performance is anything but and just about saves it from forgettable mediocrity.
Posted Jun 20, 2022
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4/5
|
Elvis
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It's a lot like his later works. It is flinging everything at you. It tries to do too much and takes too long to get there. But underneath all the flourishes and the indulgence, there is still a vitality that cannot be denied.
Posted Jun 20, 2022
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3.5/5
|
Lightyear
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
The premise is that 'Lightyear' inspired a young kid's imagination with dreams of space rangers, evil emperors, and far-off planets more than a quarter-century ago. It can do it again.
Posted Jun 14, 2022
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4/5
|
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It's witty and sexy, funny and touching, and explores the topic of sexuality and acceptance in later life with grace and gentleness without losing any of its incisiveness.
Posted Jun 14, 2022
|
|
1/5
|
Jurassic World Dominion
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'Jurassic World Dominion' is a disaster 29 years in the making.
Posted Jun 08, 2022
|
|
2/5
|
Father Stu
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
There is unquestionably a good story to be told here, but not by any of the people who set out to do it.
Posted May 12, 2022
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4/5
|
Top Gun: Maverick
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Like Maverick implores his pilots, you think in this world, you're dead. 'Top Gun: Maverick' requires you to let go of good taste and instead enjoy the flight into fantasy. If that happens, it'll take your breath away.
Posted May 12, 2022
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5/5
|
The Quiet Girl
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'An Cailín Ciúin' is quite simply the best Irish-language movie ever made.
Posted May 11, 2022
|
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4/5
|
Everything Everywhere All at Once
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
It's a mother-daughter story. It's a story about acceptance and rejection. It's a story about intergenerational trauma. It's a metaphysical treatise on nihilism. It's a comedy. It's a romance. It's a sci-fi action movie. It's a kung fu movie.
Posted May 11, 2022
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3.5/5
|
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Never quite a full-blown horror or as weird as it could be, but nowhere near as rote as the first one, 'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness' is a swirling mixture that only Sam Raimi could possibly concoct and make this good.
Posted May 04, 2022
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4/5
|
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Movies about actors rarely have wide appeal. Yet, 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' offers up such an entertaining treat that it really does deserve a far bigger audience than initially might seek it out.
Posted Apr 19, 2022
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4/5
|
Benedetta
(2021)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
While the sexiness and the salaciousness are what will initially attract audiences to 'Benedetta', it slips a wickedly cynical and witty story about power and hypocrisy under the sheets and makes it all the more appealing for its presence.
Posted Apr 14, 2022
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3/5
|
Operation Mincemeat
(2021)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
Despite its limitations and lack of courage in the script department, 'Operation Mincemeat' is nevertheless well-crafted for what it is.
Posted Apr 14, 2022
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2.5/5
|
The Lost City
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
'The Lost City' isn't what you want it to be, but it's trying to be. It's not 'Romancing The Stone', but then again, what is?
Posted Apr 14, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
The Northman
(2022)
|
Brian Lloyd
|
The most metal adaptation of 'Hamlet' you're ever likely to see.
Posted Apr 12, 2022
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