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3/5
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Infinity Pool
(2023)
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Neil Smith
|
Infinity Pool delights in finding fresh ways to disturb and nauseate the audience. You do start to wonder, though, if there’s anything more to it.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
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4/5
|
John Wick: Chapter 4
(2023)
|
Kim Taylor-Foster
|
A full-on fourquel whose attempts to up the action ante yield frequently blistering results.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
|
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4/5
|
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
(2023)
|
Kate Stables
|
A Pine-fuelled mix of humour, handsome settings and high-stakes action turns the beloved board game into a big-screen treat.
Posted Mar 11, 2023
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3/5
|
Scream VI
(2023)
|
Kevin Harley
|
Though Scream 6 doesn’t want for slash ’n’ splatter or tense set pieces, its half-baked meta-matter makes for a mid-ranking series entry, closer to a brusquely effective wallop with a brick than a clever killer jab.
Posted Mar 08, 2023
|
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4/5
|
Luther: The Fallen Sun
(2023)
|
Jamie Graham
|
It’s to Cross and Payne’s credit that, throughout, they walk the line between the low-key Luther we know and the event-movie Luther it might become.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
|
|
4/5
|
Creed III
(2023)
|
Matt Maytum
|
Jordan... makes some shrewd decisions – thematically, visually – that make Creed 3 thoroughly entertaining. No small feat, considering the potential pitfalls of diminishing returns.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
|
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2/5
|
Cocaine Bear
(2023)
|
Jamie Graham
|
There are highs, but a bear with an appetite for cocaine isn’t as snort-out-loud funny, or as thrilling, as you’d hope.
Posted Feb 23, 2023
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|
|
Godzilla
(1998)
|
Dean Evans
|
Watch the film in its entirety, and you’re no longer a slave to the studio image and media speculation. You can look beyond trailered glimpses of reptilian body parts to see Godzilla for what it really is -- a thrill-lite, plotless, multiplex misfire.
Posted Feb 14, 2023
|
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3/5
|
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
(2023)
|
Kevin Harley
|
Even as Ant-Man sizes up impressively and Kang makes an outsized entrance proper, Quantumania reminds us there’s value in sweating the small stuff.
Posted Feb 14, 2023
|
|
3/5
|
Magic Mike's Last Dance
(2023)
|
Kate Stables
|
The unstoppable Magic Mike franchise opts for romance over bromance in this glossy but fluffy Steven Soderbergh-directed threequel, which prioritises our hero’s bumpy road to love over bump ‘n’ grind.
Posted Feb 07, 2023
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|
|
Wild Things
(1998)
|
Dean Evans
|
Beneath its unassuming title hides a movie that is a mixture of film noir and dry comedy, and turns out to be very surprising, very nasty and very, very entertaining.
Posted Feb 02, 2023
|
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4/5
|
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
(2022)
|
Kate Stables
|
What really elevates this sophisticated sequel is Banderas’ rich voicework, which reveals that, under Puss’ suave bluster, there’s a moody moggie discovering fear for the first time.
Posted Jan 31, 2023
|
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5/5
|
The Fabelmans
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
The tale of how Spielberg’s personal values inform his every artistic decision, and how he became who he is: The Greatest Showman On Earth.
Posted Jan 23, 2023
|
|
5/5
|
The Big Lebowski
(1998)
|
Andy Lowe
|
The colder you go into this joyously unpredictable film, the better. This is the sight and sound of the Coens letting their hair down, and you really shouldn't miss the party.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
|
|
3/5
|
M3GAN
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
[Its] vein of knowing humour... sets the movie apart from the Annabelles and Chuckys of this world.
Posted Jan 04, 2023
|
|
4/5
|
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
It’s the filmic equivalent of a Penn and Teller magic trick: amaze, show the mechanics, amaze again.
Posted Dec 21, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Babylon
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
The style might cause whiplash, but it’s worth it for the thrilling momentum Chazelle brings to his revisionist filmdom fantasia.
Posted Dec 16, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022)
|
Kevin Harley
|
A sometimes surreal, always spectacular sensory hit with an undertow of gentle emotion, an overflow of ambition, and a pleasingly earnest thematic thrust.
Posted Dec 13, 2022
|
|
5/5
|
Aftersun
(2022)
|
Matt Maytum
|
This is an experience you won’t forget in a hurry.
Posted Nov 18, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Disenchanted
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
It would be unfair to diss this animated, El’s bells-and-whistles sequel, but it’s not quite as spellbinding as we’d hoped.
Posted Nov 18, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022)
|
Kevin Harley
|
Between a fallen king and a rising threat, Marvel’s cinematic Phase 4 ends on a tender and – mostly - triumphant high.
Posted Nov 08, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Enola Holmes 2
(2022)
|
Kevin Harley
|
With a rousing climax and some threequel seeds worked in, the result is an amiably all-ages mystery movie with a dark streak and a worthwhile message, made worthy of its winning lead.
Posted Oct 28, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Black Adam
(2022)
|
Kevin Harley
|
Fast, fierce, fuzzy: nicely unruly, naggingly undisciplined, Johnson’s live-action DC bow strains to entertain but struggles to breathe amid the noise.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Halloween Ends
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
Thankfully, this third/13th effort is an improvement, despite outbreaks of dire-logue and the kind of dumb behaviour that gives horror movies a bad name.
Posted Oct 14, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
Comes with oodles of charm – albeit of a kind likely to send anyone averse to precocious moppets sprinting for the nearest hill.
Posted Oct 06, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Amsterdam
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
It's a rocky, at times patience-testing ride that plays something like a screwball riff on The Plot Against America, but Amsterdam is ultimately worth the trip.
Posted Oct 04, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Empire of Light
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
Mendes’ direction is superior to his script in an elegant homage to the movies that doesn’t quite manage to move.
Posted Sep 12, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Pearl
(2022)
|
James Mottram
|
At its heart, Goth is fabulous, switching from her sweet-and-sunny persona to full-on raging diva.
Posted Sep 12, 2022
|
|
5/5
|
Blonde
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Uncomfortable viewing, then, but also engaging, unbridled cinema that will prompt discourse and divide opinions.
Posted Sep 08, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Pinocchio
(2022)
|
Fay Watson
|
Another enjoyable yet flawed addition to Disney’s live-action catalog, with stunning visuals that capture the magic of the original but ultimately fail to keep up the pace.
Posted Sep 08, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
The Son
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Classy but curiously empty, The Son may be a spiritual sequel to The Father, but it’s not its equal.
Posted Sep 07, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
The Eternal Daughter
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
This (will’o-the-)wisp of a film is a beauty depending on the eye of the beholder; frustratingly slender yet with moments of profundity.
Posted Sep 06, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Don't Worry Darling
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Don’t Worry Darling showcases a director with an assured hand and a commercial eye.
Posted Sep 05, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
|
Jordan Farley
|
Another acerbic, dangerous, darkly amusing, and heartbreakingly sad character drama from a modern master of shifting tones.
Posted Sep 05, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
The Whale
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Quibbles and conversation starters aside, The Whale is Aronofsky's kindest work to date, a film that asks its audience to practice acceptance, understanding, empathy, and forgiveness.
Posted Sep 05, 2022
|
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4/5
|
Master Gardener
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Though it’s not Schrader’s finest work and requires political leaps of faith that can be compared to American History X and could be called simplistic, Master Gardener is still an auteur operating at the top of the league.
Posted Sep 04, 2022
|
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4/5
|
Bones and All
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Beautifully lensed, with music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, it may not be Guadagnino’s best, but it showcases a director with a unique vision who’s willing to get some skin in the game.
Posted Sep 02, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
The sheer balls of putting such a film on Netflix and demanding steamers’ attention has to be admired, as does the technical aplomb with which the dreamlike scenarios are brought to life.
Posted Sep 01, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Tár
(2022)
|
Jane Crowther
|
Recalling the likes of All About Eve and Amadeus, TÁR asks pertinent questions about cancel culture, artistic integrity and gender, while also providing a primer on orchestral politics and musical history.
Posted Sep 01, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
White Noise
(2022)
|
Leila Latif
|
As a director who made his name on mumblecore indies, there’s often a true joy in seeing Baumbach operate on a much grander scale.
Posted Aug 31, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Prey
(2022)
|
Kevin Harley
|
Best post-Arnie Predator variant? Undoubtedly. Best Predator movie per se? Tough call, but trust this: Prey gets the job done.
Posted Aug 03, 2022
|
|
|
Bullet Train
(2022)
|
Paul M. Bradshaw
|
Buoyed by Leitch’s expert eye for action as well as one of the most hilariously disposable A-list casts around, the film has Friday night written all over it.
Posted Aug 02, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Nope
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
Peele is three for three. You’ll spill out into the night jawing with your friends and gazing at the stars.
Posted Jul 20, 2022
|
|
|
The Gray Man
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
The Gray Man comes out blasting, that’s pretty much the extent of it.
Posted Jul 14, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Thor: Love and Thunder
(2022)
|
Jordan Farley
|
Unashamedly absurd, wildly entertaining and face-achingly funny, Love And Thunder makes Ragnarok look like Bresson. Another classic Thor adventure.
Posted Jul 05, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Lightyear
(2022)
|
Jamie Graham
|
Does Lightyear take us to infinity and beyond? Sadly, no. But it does engage, thrill and amuse, and at times delivers an emotional wallop.
Posted Jun 13, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Jurassic World Dominion
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
Less triumphant send-off than passable retread, the newest Jurassic only approaches classic when it ventures into uncharted territory.
Posted Jun 08, 2022
|
|
3/5
|
Showing Up
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
Williams and Reichardt have forged a strong and intuitive connection...
Posted May 27, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Close
(2022)
|
Neil Smith
|
Guileless performances, understated direction and bucolic Belgian scenery combine to create a quiet gem of a film you Dhont want to miss.
Posted May 27, 2022
|
|
4/5
|
Elvis
(2022)
|
Jordan Farley
|
The toe-tapping beats of this full-throated biopic will be familiar in more ways than one but Baz Luhrmann, like Elvis, knows how to put on a great show. Butler’s Best Actor chatter starts here.
Posted May 25, 2022
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