Category Archives: Film Review
Review in Brief: The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018/19)
You don’t tend to see chamber pieces about big men with guns, but that’s exactly what THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK is, which is pretty novel. Someone in this militia has opened fire at a cop’s funeral and everyone is … Continue reading
Review: Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)
The release of a new Quentin Tarantino film is an event. Even if it’s not his 9th. It’s really not his 9th – by my count it’s either 10th or 11th. You generally know what to expect from QT, so … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
Well you can’t accuse anybody working on this of just doing the same thing twice. PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING might be even dumber than the first film, which was Guillermo del Toro valiantly attempting to get something with thematic substance out … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Fighting with my Family (2019)
I am not a wrestling fan. Childhood friends were and I suppose I must have unconsciously absorbed a few names and special moves, but I still know next-to-nothing about it. And yet I found FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY, this (mostly) … Continue reading
Review: Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
I came to the FAST & FURIOUS franchise in time for FAST FIVE, when any pretence about the series being about cars and street racing anymore went up in a bloom of ignited fuel. Since then we’ve had 2 very … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
The Manga eyes didn’t bother me, it was the mouth, the split-second between changes in facial expression you pick up from a human performer (Rosa Salazar) motion-capturing an almost-human. It’s completely different from creating a believable ape or orc or … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Dumbo (2019)
To its credit, this Disney remake has some good gags (a circus strongman making a valiant effort to double as their accountant) and a level of visual sumptuousness impressive even by Tim Burton’s usual standards (the costumes, the reimagining of … Continue reading
Review: The Lion King (2019)
I watched the original LION KING the night before I saw this new version to have a point of comparison. I now realise that was a mistake. The 1994 film is so efficient in its storytelling, so full of animation … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Robin Hood (2018)
If I hear one more new take on a property tell me to forget what I know, I’ll stab myself with a fork. We’re also supposed to “forget history” with the latest take on ROBIN HOOD. Just as well really, … Continue reading
Review: Midsommar (2019)
MIDSOMMAR is a trip, and no mistake. Two features in and Ari Aster is already an aesthetically and thematically distinctive auteur, but is still capable of shocking us all. In an effort to overcome her grief after a family tragedy, … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 