Category Archives: Film Review

Review in Brief: Hostiles (2017)

Posted on September 19, 2018 by

I don’t think we’re ever going to see a Western that’s not bleak again; it just wouldn’t be taken seriously. We’ve had an influx of de-romanticised frowny-face examples of America’s Favourite Genre over the last few years (this is my … Continue reading →

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50s Review: Rear Window (1954)

Posted on September 17, 2018 by

Alfred Hitchcock loved screwing with his audience. From the many Macguffins scattered throughout his works to killing off protagonists halfway through and making us doubt our own perceptions, he used pretty much every twist and trick in a skilled director’s … Continue reading →

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Review: BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Posted on September 14, 2018 by

I’m still reeling from the final moments of BLACKKKLANSMAN – no other film of 2018 will pack quite as forceful a denouement. Nowhere else is Spike Lee’s mastery of blending of subjective emotion-driven storytelling with documentary filmmaking techniques more apparent, … Continue reading →

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Underwhelming Netflix Sci-fi Double Bill: We’ve been here before, but better

Posted on September 11, 2018 by

It’s been widely discussed that Netflix is fast-becoming a graveyard for genre films. It seems like whenever a major studio has doubts about a project in development (particularly horror or sci-fi), or one which is approaching release with too much … Continue reading →

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Review: Cargo (2017/18)

Posted on September 7, 2018 by

CARGO is not to be confused with Cargo, the not particularly good Swiss ALIEN/MATRIX mashup from 2009. But I don’t think many people saw that one, so the mixup is unlikely. Netflix’s Cargo is, to put it simply, an Australian … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Florida Project (2017)

Posted on September 5, 2018 by

I’ve no idea why it took me so long to watch THE FLORIDA PROJECT, one of the best films of 2017. So few films (STAND BY ME and the new IT spring to mind as other good examples) show kids … Continue reading →

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Review: The Happytime Murders (2018)

Posted on September 3, 2018 by

A thought kept coming to me while watching THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS: if not for the novelty of sweary Muppets, would this ever be considered good enough? I don’t know whether it’ll end up as one of the worst films of … Continue reading →

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30s Review: The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

A couple of weekends back I attended my first ever outdoor film screening as part of Film 4’s Summer Screen at Somerset House in London. It was a dream-themed double-bill of LABYRINTH followed by what I think most of the … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Berlin Syndrome (2017)

Posted on August 29, 2018 by

BERLIN SYNDROME takes simple exploitation film premise, “nice boy you met on holiday turns out to be a kidnapping psychopath” and goes far deeper into the psychological makeup of these characters who could very easily just be archetypes. It portrays … Continue reading →

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Review: The Meg (2018)

Posted on August 27, 2018 by

Keep an ear out for this exchange in pubs over the next few months: ” Did you see that Jason Statham Giant Shark Movie? Yeah, it was alright I guess”. That’s how THE MEG is going to be remembered because … Continue reading →

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