Category Archives: Review in Brief
Review in Brief: The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)
Much like the similarly rural Wales-set BRIAN & CHARLES, THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND is an elliptical, low-key and bittersweet tale of lost souls finding meaning. Rich superfan Charles (Tim Key) underhandedly reunites former musical and romantic partners Herb (Tom … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Shrouds (2024/25)
David Cronenberg plumbs his real-life grief trauma to fuel one of the most twisted yet affecting sci-fi horrors for years. Following his invention of technology allowing mourners to view a live feed of their loved ones’ decomposing body from their … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Phoenician Scheme (2025)
“I feel very safe myself”. On the whole I think I’m much more of a fan than many others of Wes Anderson’s latest career stage where his unmistakable style has never been more prominent but he continues to experiment with … Continue reading
Sam’s Noirvember 2025
Film 1 – Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). Fritz Lang’s final American film is a clever story well told, though somewhat lacking the mastery of style from his early career. Film 2 – Le Samouraï (1967). Jean-Pierre Melville’s endlessly influential … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024/25)
Small wins for art are worth savouring, especially in an age when it is seemingly under attack from all sides. In the first cinematically released, all-animated Looney Tunes feature film that was thankfully sold to Ketchup Entertainment rather than being … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
If PREY proved that there is still plenty of life in the PREDATOR franchise, then animated anthology KILLER OF KILLERS offers more exciting new routes for it to take. Extraterrestrial predators face off against warriors from three of Earth’s time … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Ugly Stepsister (2025)
A pitch-black, gnarly, body-horror heavy retelling of the Brothers Grimm version of the Cinderella fairytale from Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt. The terminally shy Elvira (a mesmerising Lea Myren) competes with her beautiful new stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) and … Continue reading
Review in Brief: I’m Still Here (2024)
This is such a quietly unsettling portrayal of state cruelty. During Brazil’s military dictatorship, the family of former congressman Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) are watched, intimidated and interrogated by the regime following the disappearing of Rubens, leaving his wife Eunice … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
Is this the best of the ridiculously consistent Final Destination franchise? Maybe. The sixth instalment, from Zach Zipovsky and Adam B Stein might be slightly over-long, but is certainly the most elaborate of the series. Horrifying visions of a narrowly-averted … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 