News / Entertainment
A Star is Born Review
Now on its fourth remake, A Star is Born heads into a new generation with Bradley Cooper not just at the helm of this gut-wrenchingly emotional and epic version but also having a hand in co-writing the script and taking a rough and mentally damaged role. The history of this story goes as far back as 1937, it later...
The Favourite Review
Olivia Colman puts in an award-winning performance in this hilarious bat-shit crazy picture which is by far Lanthimos at his uninhabited finest. Not one to stick to the norm, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos follow’s up the cold and muted territory of The Killing of a Sacred Deer with a step back in time to the Royal Court of Queen Anne. A...
Mangrove Review – London Film Festival 2020
Steve McQueen kicks of his Small Axe Anthology with a whirlwind force of nature, a poignant, eloquent and electrically charged hotbed of British stark reality of racial tension. As the hotbed of racial tensions bubble over in the US and UK, filmmaker Steve McQueen’s first feature in the Small Axe anthology – which consists of five films – couldn’t feel...
Review – Oblix Restaurant at the Shard
Twas a dark and windy night walking through London Bridge, my destination wasn't that much further but the chill on the wind had made my pace increase from leisurely to hurried. I looked up at the night sky and towering above me was my destination, Oblix Restaurant in the Shard in all it's glory. The rooftop lighting up the skyline and the impressive design that...
Call Me By Your Name Review
Love is love no matter what gender it befalls; Luca Guadagino states this fact boldly and without repercussion in such a delightfully tender composition, elegantly sneaking up on the audience with a warmth that sings out with operatic audacity. Brokeback Mountain, this is not, the brashness of the relationship between the two men there was laden heavy with bigotry,...
Coco Review
Disney team up yet again with Pixar for their latest cultural offering with a tremendous amount of heart and vibrancy. Director Lee Unkrich’s vision of spectacular colour embodies the Disney template spicing up the picture with humour, sprinkling with a melancholic learning experience of cultural traditions and grief and filling its very core with catchy musical tinklings - especially with a touching ditto...
Journey’s End Review
RC’ Sheriff’s poignant war story has been adapted for the stage and film on numerous occasions over the years. In Saul Dibbs latest adaptation for the big screen, we are engulfed in a deeply affecting era of hope and despair on a personal and emotionally charged level. Stripping back to just the essentials and delving deep into the souls of those forced onto the front...
Phantom Thread Review
It’s almost criminal that Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread is Daniel Day-Lewis’s swansong. The award winning actor has taken method to levels of extremity and immersed himself into character after character with a passionate realism that embroils audiences to his pictures. In his final bow, Lewis brings to life Reynolds Woodcock’s 1950’s style and grace with an artist’s flair of confidence and disdain; giving a master class in believability in...
The Ivory Game Review
The Ivory Game is a groundbreaking documentary that tracks wildlife activists as they take on poachers in an effort to end the illegal ivory trade in Africa. It is a harrowing globe-trotting affair as we meet the people who put their lives on the line –entrenched in the deep heart of darkness fighting for the survival of the elephants. As...
Love/Me/Do Review
An unofficial but commonly agreed upon measure of how good a film is, is if it stays with you after the credits. Do you think about the characters, the story, a particular image? In some instances, you’ll tell people you know because it’s on your mind and you want to discuss it with someone. Even more so if there’s...
Embrace Review
With the phenomena of social media and the internet at the centre of global culture, it seems crucial that the discussion of body image is addressed. The conversation has actually been happening for a very long time, but without ever really managing to break the surface of the blanket of mass media that surrounds and dictates our lives every day....
John Wick Chapter 2 Review
John Wick is the type of action hero that cinema needs and deserves, which was demonstrated superbly in the original John Wick film. John Wick Chapter 2 solidifies this idea and provides a new standard of high-octane, gripping, gut-punching action. Any action film aims to create hair-raising thrills and blood-pumping combat scenes, though many feel flat and flashy. The world...
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...
How To Build A Girl Review
Caitlin Moran’s witty wordsmith wonder unleashes a whirlwind of ambitious thunder in Beanie Feldstein with a joyful trip to the 90s' sticking one finger up at sexist journalistic practices. Another of Caitlin Moran’s wordsmith wonders finds itself adapted in the name of Entertainment, at times semi-autobiographical, Beanie Feldstein’s Johanna takes a step into the 90s’ to unshackle the chains of...
Spider-man: Into The Spider-Verse Review
All we needed was another Spider-Man movie... or so we thought. After losing count on how many time’s Peter Parker stories can be told for the modern audience, The Lego Movie’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller have injected a delightful originality to the animated story of Miles Morales’s incarnation of Spidey that could have spouted the same old origin...
King Richard Review
Monsters and Men director Reinaldo Marcus Green returns for this warm-hearted delve into the breakneck tenacity of the Father of iconic Tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, Richard Williams. With Venus and Serena both serving as executive producers, this is a love letter to a father who would never give up on pushing their talents via his own agenda...
The Pyramid Texts Review
Stripped back and laid bare, the film adaptation of BAFTA award-winning writer Geoff Thompson’s stage play, The Pyramid Texts, is nothing less of a powerhouse of raw human emotion with an exceptional performance from its lone front man, James Cosmo.The Pyramid Texts is laced beautifully together with bouts of poetic dialogue that tear deep into a single man’s soul...
Booksmart Review
Hilariously smart, audaciously original and expertly performed this is a top contender for comedy of the year. In Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, female friendship complexities and high school humour reign supreme. Clever dialogue and teenage angst run wild for one night only vowing to bring the party down with tremendous fever, marking this brilliantly genius filmmaking.Nerdy best friends Molly (Beanie...
Leave No Trace Review
It’s been eight years since director Debra Granik presented Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone. With only two documentaries in that time, the filmmaker embarks on a delicately emotional feature with Leave No Trace; an adaptation of the novel My Abandonment by Peter Rock.Going back to nature and the fundamentals of parenthood, Granik produces a nuanced story of self-imposed homelessness; where one army vet Father’s love to protect his daughter from...
Les Miserables Review
Ladj Ly's feature directorial debut clings to the provocative nature of La Haine with empathy and ferocity. It may have the same title as Victor Hugo’s infamous story, but this French drama, apart from being set in the same area of Paris as a section of his novel, is in no way yet another adaptation. Doused in timely themes of...
Mary Poppins Returns Review
If you are going to wait long enough for a sequel, over fifty years will just about do it. Disney has dug deep into their vaults to recreate some classic on-screen magic, bringing its 1964 favourite live-action/animation hybrid, Mary Poppins, back to life with eye-popping colour and emotive storytelling all whilst maintaining its loyalty to its original.Set some 20...
Pirates Review
Reggie Yates – known for his hard-hitting documentaries – makes his feature directorial debut with feel-good verve and fresh eyes on young Black men. Straying away from the negativity and pouring nothing but feel-good positivity and garage vibes into the very foundation of a throwback story.Set on New Year’s Eve 1999, the story focuses on three 18-year-old best mates,...
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...
Toy Story 4 Review
Woody and co will make you heartily smile in the heartfelt and wholesome fourth outing. For years, the Toy Story franchise has been a much-loved saga for audiences young and old. You would be forgiven for being slightly apprehensive in the arrival of a fourth instalment after nine years of being off the grid. Was it really a good idea...
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...
The Forty-Year-Old Version Review
When life gives Radha Blank lemons, she makes lemonade and sticks two fingers up those who use age to stop you doing what makes you happy. Middle-age sometimes sneaks up and smacks you right between the eyes without you even realising and makes you question, what exactly have I done with my life? That’s the exact inspiration behind Radha Blank’s...
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...
Okja Review
The Cannes audience may have booed Okja back in May, but they got it wrong. This story of a genetically modified porker is much more than another pig in the city.The Okja of the title is a pig, but this is no ordinary porker. She’s the genetic creation of the Mirando Corporation – not to be confused with Monsanto...
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood Review
Tarantino's love letter to Hollywood is rife with heady brilliance and controversy that will suck you in and spit you out. Ever since the announcement of Tarantino’s ninth and penultimate film, assumptions this would be focused on the infamous Manson Murders of the late 60’s early 70s’, where rife. It’s worth remembering this is a Tarantino fairytale, a love letter...
Mission: Impossible – Fallout Review
There is absolutely no doubt as to why Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible is the strongest franchise Hollywood has to offer. In a world where CGI rules the roost, Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie perform their high aerial stunts in the real world. Delivering a thrilling ride proving every mission they undertake is certainly possible whilst not scrimping on its entertainment value.Events escalate no sooner as the picture opens; Ethan (Cruise) and his merry men, Simon Pegg’s Benji and the man-made wall,...