Author Archives: Sam S-P
Review in Brief: Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018)
The only implausible thing about Ben Wheatley’s latest jet-black dramedy is that any family would willingly submit to everyone being in the same location at the same time for anything other than a wedding or a funeral. We are sent … Continue reading
Review: Aquaman (2018)
How do you make the oft-mocked “silly” member of the Justice League work? You embrace the more out-there elements of the mythology and combine it with tried-and-tested tropes of the day. Someone’s been watching GAME OF THRONES intently. And HOW … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Tomb Raider (2018)
The quest for the great, even good video game movie (as opposed to a few decent examples of movies about video gaming) continues. The latest TOMB RAIDER is unengaging, lifeless and features a depressing amount of obviously fake jungle sets. … Continue reading
Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2018, Part 2
Before I get down to looking at the very best and the very worst films of 2018 (Part 1 of this list can be found here) I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple more that weren’t necessarily my … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Thoroughbreds (2017/18)
THOROUGHBREDS is made in its script. It’s deliciously dark and full of wittily pragmatic musings on humanity like “I have a perfectly healthy brain, it just doesn’t contain feelings”, and “The sawdust smells fantastic, but you’re still in a hamster … Continue reading
Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is awesome. An awesome animated feature, an awesome superhero movie, an awesome coming-of-age story, an awesome film. Did I mention it was awesome? When a extra-dimensional portal is opened in New York, recently superpowered Spider-Man Miles … Continue reading
Review in Brief: An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (2018)
I never did review THE GREASY STRANGLER. I’m not even sure I could. I think I might struggle to talk about AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN as well. Jim Hosking’s follow-up is populated by similarly freakish characters and a … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Night Comes for Us (2018)
I never thought I’d say this about any martial arts movie, but THE NIGHT COMES FOR US makes THE RAID films look tame. It’s not just the lead who’s a mostly unstoppable killing machine but his friends as well. The … Continue reading