Concrete Playground

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
2/5 Dark Phoenix (2019) Tom Glasson It's never a good sign when your main character is also your least interesting one. EDIT
Posted Jun 6, 2019
2.5/5 Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) Tom Glasson A convoluted plot and constant exposition dumb down this live action Pokemon film to a level that even kids will find silly. EDIT
Posted May 14, 2019
4.5/5 Avengers: Endgame (2019) Tom Glasson Where Infinity War was all bombast, Endgame offers reserve. Where Infinity War wrought intergalactic devastation and destruction, Endgame delivers intimacy and an examination of grief, loss and very private regret. EDIT
Posted Apr 26, 2019
1.5/5 Hellboy (2019) Tom Glasson With its R-rating, Hellboy gleefully dials up the gore. If only it had dialled up the story, too. EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
Son of a Gun (2015) Sarah Ward Son of a Gun may be another gritty Australian crime offering, but it is also an enthusiastic, expressive and engrossing example of its genre. EDIT
Posted Apr 12, 2019
3.5/5 Shazam! (2019) Tom Glasson Shazam! is the kind of carefree superhero film that reinvigorates the fantasy of actually being a superhero. EDIT
Posted Apr 4, 2019
2/5 Dumbo (2019) Tom Glasson Tim Burton's darker take on the Disney classic boasts a gorgeous star given far too few opportunities to soar. EDIT
Posted Apr 2, 2019
3/5 Captain Marvel (2019) Tom Glasson 21 Marvel films to get our first female-led offering was an unforgivable delay, especially for something that plays it so safe. EDIT
Posted Mar 11, 2019
3/5 Alita: Battle Angel (2019) Tom Glasson Lack of originality notwithstanding, Alita still delivers an engaging experience thanks to Rodriguez's nimble and full-throttle direction. EDIT
Posted Feb 18, 2019
3/5 The Mule (2018) Tom Glasson Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this true story of an elderly drug runner, but can't quite settle on a tone. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2019
2.5/5 Glass (2019) Tom Glasson The conclusion to M. Night Shyamalan's unexpected superhero trilogy feels like a wasted opportunity. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2019
Roma (2018) Sarah Ward For all of the highlights on Cuarón's resume, Roma sees the director enter another realm. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Climax (2018) Sarah Ward Epitomising the idea that style can equal substance (as he has across his entire filmography), it's how Noé spins this story that mesmerises. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) Sarah Ward Heller may only have two movies to her name, however she's a perceptive, probing and generous director, giving her characters the space they need to shine and fail and experience everything in-between. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Sorry to Bother You (2018) Sarah Ward Refuses to be shrugged off, ignored or overlooked. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (2018) Sarah Ward Doesn't judge or dismiss or play up stereotypes, because everyone is a fangirl (or boy) for something, including the director herself. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
The Children Act (2017) Sarah Ward Ponders faith and medicine among Jehovah's Witnesses to stunning effect - and with heart-wrenching delicacy. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Widows (2018) Sarah Ward A slick thriller with much to show, just as much to say and plenty of grim, purposeful swagger. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Manbiki kazoku (2018) Sarah Ward Kore-eda's rich and poignant new family drama is almost disarmingly affecting (and effective), showcasing the height of the Japanese filmmaker's prowess. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
The Old Man & the Gun (2018) Sarah Ward A gorgeous and entertaining ode to not just one cinema legend, but two. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) Sarah Ward Less concerned with serving up an engaging new chapter that stands on its own merits, and more interested in prolonging the series. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Suspiria (2018) Sarah Ward The feverish nightmare you might have after letting the initial film needle its way into your brain and mix with your own subconscious. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) Sarah Ward There are a few things that The Girl in the Spider's Web definitely isn't: entertaining, thrilling, or anything other than bland and generic, narrative-wise. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Boy Erased (2018) Sarah Ward Sensitive, earnest, sombre and understated. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Sarah Ward A greatest hits movie. It's the neat, easily digestible version of Queen's career, and of Mercury's professional and personal ups and downs along with them. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Wildlife (2018) Sarah Ward Wildlife is a film of haunting pain that's often left unspoken, but that crackles with inescapable force and feeling. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Ghost Stories (2017) Sarah Ward An unnerving anthology that perfects the nuts and bolts of haunted storytelling, and yet also subverts expectations, offers enjoyable nods to horror greats gone by, and builds towards a big finale. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Beautiful Boy (2018) Sarah Ward Chalamet's work is exceptional once more, inhabiting rather than performing his troubled character, but the film doesn't do its star justice. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Halloween (2018) Sarah Ward 2018's Halloween does present a conundrum. It's the perfect culmination to the long-running franchise but, more than any other chapter, it leaves the audience pumped for more. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
1 Percent (2017) Sarah Ward Never feels like its motoring down a new path, and yet never feels like it's blindly sticking to the expected route either EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
A Star Is Born (2018) Sarah Ward With Gaga leading the charge this time around, it's easy to see why A Star Is Born keeps glowing. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) Sarah Ward Has devilish fun taking both its sharp narrative and its motley crew of characters on a twist-filled ride - and taking the audience along too, for that matter. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
American Animals (2018) Sarah Ward A spectacularly playful and entertaining film that blurs the line between documentary and drama. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018) Sarah Ward A sincere yet never sentimental movie that endeavours to provide a sense of its subject - including his careening, freewheeling ways - rather than adhere to the standard biographical format. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
Custody (2017) Sarah Ward As strained civility is replaced by deep-seeded turmoil, the film turns the trauma of a dissolving marriage and the accompanying fallout into an unwavering portrait of horror. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2019
2.5/5 Aquaman (2018) Tom Glasson The fix is easy: Mo Momoa, Fewer Problems. EDIT
Posted Dec 26, 2018
3.5/5 Overlord (2018) Tom Glasson The patience with which Overlord delays its monster reveal is impressive, albeit let down by how little they're then used for the remainder of the film. EDIT
Posted Dec 11, 2018
3.5/5 Creed II (2018) Tom Glasson Creed II ramps up the nostalgia in a story that's as much a family drama as a boxing movie. EDIT
Posted Nov 29, 2018
3.5/5 Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018) Tom Glasson Michael Moore returns to form with a bleak and unsettling take on the erosion of American democracy. EDIT
Posted Nov 4, 2018
2/5 Venom (2018) Tom Glasson An entirely squandered opportunity. EDIT
Posted Oct 14, 2018
4/5 First Man (2018) Tom Glasson An intimate and breathtaking character study that reminds us exactly why we still love going to the movies. EDIT
Posted Oct 14, 2018
2/5 The Predator (2018) Tom Glasson Predator's original screenwriter is back, but not even he can recapture the thrill and surprise of the 1987 classic. EDIT
Posted Sep 27, 2018
Ladies in Black (2018) Sarah Ward Lovely to look at from afar, but boasting extra detail when seen from a closer vantage. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
Christopher Robin (2018) Sarah Ward Simply wants viewers to delight in the big-hearted pleasures of its gorgeous world. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
A Simple Favor (2018) Sarah Ward Slick, smart, slightly sleazy and ruthlessly entertaining, and remains thoroughly committed to making viewers eat up every moment. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
McQueen (2018) Sarah Ward As a depiction of life splattering and changing something luminous, it's vivid, almost violent and certainly intoxicating. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
L'insulte (2017) Sarah Ward Doueriri knows how to unpack a moral quandary, sometimes bluntly but always effectively. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
Slender Man (2018) Sarah Ward This flimsy horror effort doesn't have a knack for much, other than sticking to the dullest of formulas EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
The Happytime Murders (2018) Sarah Ward A stitched-together film that can't survive on a rote noir storyline, some human energy and too many gags about puppets gone wild. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Sarah Ward Glimmers with emotion, exuberance and cultural specificity, engagingly and enjoyably so. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2018