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BlacKkklansman Review

Renowned filmmaker, Spike Lee is back with full force. Never one to shy away from racial issues, Lee tackles a watered-down true story of Ron Stallworth, the African American detective who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 70’s with Blackklansman. Falling fiercely at an appropriate time where open racism is undoubtedly on the rise, it’s a timely reminder that civilisation really hasn’t evolved from its blind stupidity.Infused with comedy and sometimes questionable actions of the US...

Tully Review

Post-natal depression is no laughing matter. Even in 2018 we hardly hear the cries of those mothers finding it a struggle to cope with day to day life after the birth of their bundle of joy. It’s a struggle many men dismiss as poppy-cock (as experienced from a fellow male critic at this particular screening); as they turn a blind eye to carry on with their conventional lives without the upheaval to their...

Deadpool Review – Reynolds Anti-Hero is twisted but Engagingly Lovable.

Deadpool may be a typical origin story from the world of the Marvel’s superheroes but Ryan Reynolds anti-hero and the scriptwriters bring an abundance of hilarity and gruesome violence from the opening credits where no one actor is listed but a spoof line has ironically been used to describe the cast and crew. We embark on Deadpool three-quarters of the...

Loving Review

While Loving is part of the wave of the ‘true stories told on film’ trend we’ve seen lately, its sense of quiet and carefulness with every scene differentiates itself and makes for such a wholly understated film. A lot of films, when taking this approach, cannot maintain an engaging and engrossing picture, so to see Jeff Nichols tell this story...

Supernova Review – London Film Festival 2020

Supernova

British director, Harry MacQueen has melancholy on point, first with Hinterland, now with a beautiful and tender love story in which dementia dictates the rules and unearths truly flawless performances from both its leading men.The film follows Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) as they take a road trip in their cosy little campervan over the visually stunning...

Robinson Crusoe Review – 3D Animation at its best.

Robinson Crusoe has had an animation make-over to bring to life the classic age-old story.  This time, it’s the animals of the island that tell this tale, with the aid of vibrant and eye-popping 3D – the kids are going to love this. This version of the shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe however, isn’t told from his viewpoint but those of the...

Incredibles 2 Review

It’s been 14 years loyal fans of the Pixar superhero caper have had to wait for the Incredibles sequel.  In a time when superhero movies are ten a penny and the looming sequel curse hangs heavy over its head; can its charm and appeal still hold up? With Brad Bird back at the helm, the family animated feature deservedly...

Green Book Review

A charming road trip which is truly affecting. Farrelly's has delivered a touchingly tender bromance story in the face of adversity. Controversies aside, Peter Farrelly's latest is not quite the hard-hitting film you would expect from a based on a real-life story set amongst the racial tensions of 60’s America. Instead, he uses this opportunity to offer a feel-good drama...

The Big Short Review – Exhaustingly Wordy but Outstanding Performances Bring Home the Bacon

Hollywood has done it again, taken, what at the time, was a devastating period of financial crisis and adapted it for the big screen and tied in a number of A-List actors in order to draw the crowds but does this make it any the more watchable? The Big Short is based on a true story and is an adaptation...

Studio 54 Review

In the late seventies, amongst the Manhattan elite comprising of mostly celebrities, the number one nightclub to be associated with was Studio 54. At its height, the hedonistic disco inferno was the place to be. Even to this day, those that were lucky enough to be let through the front doors of a former CBS TV Studio, dreamily cloud over in the excess of their memories of...

A Bigger Splash Review – Stunningly Filled with Anticipation

With the British weather diving into the wintery cold and damp abyss, the warmth and stunning location of a beautiful mountainous Sicilian landscape in A Bigger Splash will transport you to another world. This French-Italian made film (don’t worry it is in the English Language) which stars two British actors is charged with erotic and strange behaviour, and at...

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies Review

With the school holidays forced upon stressed-out parents, there truly is no better movie to bond over with your little darlings. Teen Titans Go! To The Movies – a feature-length movie spawned from the animated Cartoon Network series – is naturally silliness personified which instantly connects with both adults and the kids it’s aimed at. An active part of the cinematic DC universe, this is one route that finally works its fun magic.Whilst the rest of the DC superhero...

Logan Review

Are you sick and tired of the numerous superhero, superpower monopoly that is flooding the cinematic universe? Logan may very well be one of those aforementioned characters but the grisly, mean and moody Wolverine has hardly ever followed the conventional suit of the superhero. With Hugh Jackman delivering his last stand of the beloved Logan/Wolverine we get an X-Men spin-off...

The Invisible Man Review

Leigh Whannell kicks off the re-envisioned Monster Universe with a hyper-intense modern-twist on a classic story. These days it’s not hard to trip over a reimagining, remake or whatever you want to call it at your local cinema.  Universal Pictures are taking advantage of their catalogue of classic monster movies and sprucing them up for modern-day audiences, the latest to...

Chicken Review – Beautifully Gut Wrenching.

Every now and again British Independent films produce a beautiful little gem that needs to be shouted about from the rooftops, and in Chicken, we have just that. Low budget but huge on heart and exceptional performances from its virtually unknown cast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1e-d57_7kgThe feature length directorial debut for Joe Stephenson, Chicken is already causing a stir and has had the...

City of Tiny Lights Review

Based on the 2005 novel of the same name, author Patrick Neate brings modern-day noir City of Tiny Lights to the big screen with Dredd director Pete Travis at the helm, and hot commodity British star Riz Ahmed in the leading role as P.I.Tommy Akhtar. After a local escort visits him asking for his help, Tommy sets off on what...

Green Room Review – Gruesomely Gripping and Brutal.

For only his second outing, Director Jeremy Saulnier has cranked up the heat in Green Room not only has he shown a flare for gruesome brutality but has landed the likes of legendary veteran actor Patrick Stewart along with Imogen Poots and Anton Yelchin to deliver a skinhead vs rockers horror that will shake you to your very core. The...

Stan & Ollie Review

A touchingly poignant journey focusing on the twilight years of the legendary comedy duo. Iconic comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were once the darlings of Hollywood but money issue’s and contract negotiations became a contributing factor to their strained relationship. Director John S. Baird respectfully focuses not on the highs of the career, but the dwindling twilight years...

You Were Never Really Here Review

Since 2017’s Cannes film festival, acclaimed director Lynne Ramsey’s You Were Never Really Here has bounced off the lips of many a cinephile with riotous respect. It’s a psycho-drama that evokes the splendour of Martin Scorsese’ Taxi Driver with a broodingly paced plot, relying heavily on suggestion than any real brutality and an eerily haunting and atmospheric score from...

One Night in Miami Review – London Film Festival 2020

One Night in Miami

Regina King makes her directorial debut with the latest in great black cinema, an adaptation of Kemp Powers' 2013 play marking a pivotal night in 1964. Lead by an eloquently laden dialogue-heavy storyline, its mere presence of its four leading men is nothing but mesmerizingly captivating.Set mainly in a hotel room after Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree)...

Don’t Breathe Review

Sometimes simplicity goes a long way, with Don’t Breathe we get just that in this horror/thriller which has buckets of originality in a genre that just churns out the same story over and over again. With nerve-jangling and stomach churning moments it provides a refreshing unpredictability. Coming from the director who remade Evil Dead back in 2013, which was also...

We Go On Review

As we become more spoilt with methods of watching films, the act of actually choosing anything to watch is quite unbearable.New streaming service Shudder aims to cut through the noise and reach those on the hunt for the best of a wide range of horror films, consisting of platform exclusives as well as general releases. Unable to see anywhere...

Thor: Ragnarok Review

It’s been four years since the burly Norse god and friends last graced our screens, with a complete change in direction in a choice of a director with Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s Taika Waititi taking the helm, an air of anticipation arose how the third in the saga would pan out. Fear not, Waititi and his slapstick sense of...

Us Review

Freakishly fun but ultimately clunky and frightening, Lupita Nyong'o is a complete a badass. After the stand-out success of Get Out, audiences have been waiting with bated breath to experience what else lies in Jordan Peele’s arsenal and his latest Us proves the actor turned director was not a one-hit wonder. A thinking person’s horror that doesn’t flow as smoothly...

Avengers: Endgame Review

Epic and spectacular, an emotional rollercoaster that none of us will ever forget. For the past 11 years, Marvel’s Avengers characters of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and so many more have dominated the box office worldwide as well as opening up a pathway for a jubilant fandom igniting an...

Remembering The Man DVD Review

A real-life gay love story set in 80s Australia was one of the most moving cinematic experiences of last year.  But can a documentary about the same couple cause a spike in tissue sales?  Just under a year ago, cinema audiences clutched their tissues as they watched Holding The Man, the deeply moving true story of two gay Australians, Timothy...

The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case Review – Refreshing Creepy Supernatural Scares.

Back in 2013, Director James Wan brought us The Conjuring, a horror based on one of the real life stories of renowned demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren – it had the largest opening for an original horror movie and has been one of the highest grossing horror films to date next to The Exorcist. 2016 see’s Wan deliver us a...

Anthropoid Review

Jamie Dornan films are like buses, His face hasn’t graced the big screen since Fifty Shades of Grey kicked up a storm now just a week after the release of The 9th Life of Louis Drax, and Dornan takes the joint lead alongside Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) in an epic war story Anthropoid. Directed and co-written by British filmmaker Sean...

Youth Review – The Struggle of Old Age and Youth Told Through the Lens of Pretension.

Written and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, Youth is only his second English language film but has already created a lot of critical acclaim. It has also seen Sir Michael Caine win Best Actor for his role as retired maestro Fred Ballinger at the 28th European Film Awards but is this film worth all the praise it has been receiving? Set...

Ralph Breaks The Internet Review

Five years after Ralph wrecked all animations in its path, Disney has returned the muscular meathead head and his best friend Vanellope for an overstuffed exploration inside the internet with smile-inducing humour and heart with a dash of social relevance.John C. Reilly returns as the voice of bad-guy turned good, Ralph, along with Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope. Where Ralph is...