Category Archives: Film

Review in Brief: Mandy (2018)

When I saw them use the old Universal logo just because I already really liked this movie. Then when they finally presented us with the MANDY title card more than halfway though the thing I liked it even more. Writer-director … Continue reading

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Review in Brief: Tomb Raider (2018)

The quest for the great, even good video game movie (as opposed to a few decent examples of movies about video gaming) continues. The latest TOMB RAIDER is unengaging, lifeless and features a depressing amount of obviously fake jungle sets. … Continue reading

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Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2018, Part 2

Before I get down to looking at the very best and the very worst films of 2018 (Part 1 of this list can be found here) I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple more that weren’t necessarily my … Continue reading

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Review in Brief: Thoroughbreds (2017/18)

THOROUGHBREDS is made in its script. It’s deliciously dark and full of wittily pragmatic musings on humanity like “I have a perfectly healthy brain, it just doesn’t contain feelings”, and “The sawdust smells fantastic, but you’re still in a hamster … Continue reading

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Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2018, Part 1

Where did 2018 go? For me it’s been a funny year of highs and lows, beginnings and ends and other summing-up-the-year clichés as well. In film, the year started well, then flagged a bit in the middle before picking up … Continue reading

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Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is awesome. An awesome animated feature, an awesome superhero movie, an awesome coming-of-age story, an awesome film. Did I mention it was awesome? When a extra-dimensional portal is opened in New York, recently superpowered Spider-Man Miles … Continue reading

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Review in Brief: An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (2018)

I never did review THE GREASY STRANGLER. I’m not even sure I could. I think I might struggle to talk about AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN as well. Jim Hosking’s follow-up is populated by similarly freakish characters and a … Continue reading

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Review in Brief: The Night Comes for Us (2018)

I never thought I’d say this about any martial arts movie, but THE NIGHT COMES FOR US makes THE RAID films look tame. It’s not just the lead who’s a mostly unstoppable killing machine but his friends as well. The … Continue reading

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Review in Brief: Early Man (2018)

EARLY MAN is a gentle, cosy watch. It’s Aardman and Nick Park sticking firmly to his house style, playing it very safe. There’s maybe three cracking jokes in the whole thing, but all the Bristol claymation house’s usual handmade imagination … Continue reading

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Review: Beast (2017/18)

BEAST is just my jam. It’s a dark – bleak even – horror-mystery set in a far-flung and beautiful corner of the UK. It’s also a family drama where the family doesn’t enter into it much, because our lead would … Continue reading

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