Author Archives: Sam S-P
Review in Brief: Good Time (2017)
For those of you still in denial: Robert Pattinson is a really good actor, given the right material. GOOD TIME, the tale of a robbery gone wrong and good and bad brotherly influence, comes from the ridiculously talented Safdie Brothers … Continue reading
Review: Black Panther (2018)
As thrilled and enthralled as I was by BLACK PANTHER, I can’t imagine what it must be like to watch this if you’re black. Newly-crowned Kind T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to secretive high-tech African nation of Wakanda to rule. … Continue reading
Review in Brief: American Made (2017)
In AMERICAN MADE, Tom Cruise turns in his most beguiling performance in years, and much like Leonardo DiCaprio did in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, he does it by playing a complete and utter bastard. In an exaggerated take on … Continue reading
Valentine’s Day Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Spoilers ahead for HELLBOY II. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY is one of my absolute favourites: a beautiful, unique and kick-ass fantasy superhero movie that builds and expands on the solid foundation of its predecessor and ends up, in style … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX is bad, but not bad enough to be interesting. It’s weird, but not weird enough to be memorable. A few neat visuals and tech demonstrations aside, it mostly amounts to 100 minutes of bad exposition, unanswered questions … Continue reading
Review: Darkest Hour (2017)
DARKEST HOUR left me cold. Yes, Gary Oldman will probably win the Oscar for portraying Winston Churchill. Yes, he probably should. And yet, something about the presentation of the film around him left me feeling pretty empty and disconnected. May … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Leatherface (2017)
Well, I’ve certainly seen worse TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE reboots. The last one, for instance. Asylum horror and hillbilly horror are both thoroughly outdated scare sub-genres, and LEATHERFACE tries a bit of both, approaching neither with any more subtlety than power … Continue reading
Review: The Open House (2018)
My first new movie of 2018 is a Netflix Original, mostly because between moving house and being ill, I haven’t managed to get to the cinema to see any Oscar Bait in January. OPEN HOUSE has a lot we’ve seen … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Big Sick (2017)
I’ve seen THE BIG SICK twice now, and both times it got me at exactly the same moments. These weren’t particularly emotionally manipulative or maudlin scenes, but the weight of emotion that had built up over the two hours of … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Limehouse Golem (2016/17)
THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM is an odd, inconsistent beast. I liked that this murder-mystery takes place in a gritty, nasty vision of Victorian London: children being sold and horrifically abused, seedy backstreet businesses, no desirable place in society unless you’re lucky … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 