Author Archives: Sam S-P
Review in Brief: Bloody Milk (2017)
It really has been the year for depressing farming dramas hasn’t it? First-time UK filmmakers gave us THE LEVELLING and GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, now comes France’s offering, BLOODY MILK. Director Hubert Charuel must have drawn on some of his own … Continue reading
Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2017, Part 1
2017 has been an…interesting year in Hollywood. For all the high points, the last 12 months will be remembered for the low. But if we’re considering the films themselves, well it’s far more positive. As I say every year, I … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND is a must-see for fans of Jim Carrey, Andy Kaufman and especially Milos Forman’s superlative oddball biopic MAN ON THE MOON. Impossible as he’s shown to be going “method” throughout filming, the only thing … Continue reading
Review: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
There was a lovely little moment in THE FORCE AWAKENS where Leia (Carrie Fisher) after reuniting with Han (Harrison Ford) comments with a wry smile, “Same jacket” and her paramour responds, with mock hurt in his voice, “No, new jacket”. … Continue reading
Review in Brief: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Guy Ritchie can’t do the fast-slow-fast-slow thing in every film. Like everything else he’s done, KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD is grey and self-serious but with breaks for “banter”. There are modern street clothes, dialect and hairstyles in the … Continue reading
Review: Marjorie Prime (2017)
MARJORIE PRIME took me by surprise. It’s a very well-acted, thoughtful chamber piece and dialed-back sci-fi has had great form over the last few years, but I wasn’t quite expecting the emotional content to hit me like a train. It’s … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Luc Besson has never been short on ideas, and what a story to carry those ideas, the one that inspired much of the aesthetic of both THE FIFTH ELEMENT and STAR WARS. VALERIAN opens with a hypnotic and feel-good montage … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT somehow feels like an arse-achingly long sit but incredibly rushed at the same time. I don’t blame Michael Bay and his writers room for putting out the silliest Transformers movie yet, but maybe cutting the amount … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
Yep, it’s definitely an S Craig Zahler film. Much like his Western BONE TOMAHAWK, BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 is intense, drip-feedy in its pacing and almost cartoonishly ultraviolent. Also like Tomahawk it seems to become an entirely different film … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 
This does put a smile on my face…
There’s a palpable crackle in the atmosphere, enough to make a teenager’s Spidey-sense kick in. That can only mean one thing: Marvel have given us an early Christmas present with the first trailer for next year’s AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. So … Continue reading →