Over the Moon film review: This family Netflix animation has heart and colour October 16, 2020 Netflix looks to get in on the booming appetite for family content with this whimsical animated trip to space. Cathy Ang voices Fei Fei, a young Chinese girl fascinated by science, as well as the stories of the Moon goddess Change’e (Phillipa Soo) told to her by her mother (Ruthie Ann Miles). When her mother [...]
Rebecca film review: Ben Wheatley directs Lily James and Armie Hammer but is too in thrall to Hitchcock October 16, 2020 In a peculiar turn of events, Netflix has become the saviour of cinema. The streaming giant has become the highest profile pipeline for cinemas during this unprecedented fallow period. Once seen as the death knell for the picture house, the company’s decision to give its Original Movies a brief theatrical run now provides cinemas with [...]
Tenet film review: Can Christopher Nolan save cinema with his latest time-bending blockbuster? August 29, 2020 Inception filmmaker Christopher Nolan is one of the few remaining directors whose name alone can draw in a crowd. His post-Batman films stand as outliers in this industry – adult-targeted, original stories with no potential for sequels or spin-offs. In fact, Warner Bros have such confidence in the director’s brand that all but the most [...]
Bloodshot review: A below-average Vin Diesel vehicle filled with mindless chaos March 16, 2020 Vin Diesel hopes to kick off a new franchise as superhero Bloodshot, a special forces operative killed in action only to be reborn as a supersoldier whose fractured memories begin to unveil a conspiracy. Diesel works best in an ensemble – even his signature Fast and Furious franchise only truly took off once bigger names [...]
Misbehaviour film review: Dramatisation of the Miss World pageant stormed by feminists lacks feeling March 16, 2020 This glossy dramatisation of the 1970 Miss World Pageant in London, during which feminist protesters stormed the stage and covered host Bob Hope in flour, is intended to be a tale of heroism when viewed through a modern lens, but ends up playing things a little too safe. The story unfolds from several perspectives. Kiera [...]
Downhill film review: Awkward Hollywood remake of Force Majeure gets lost in translation February 28, 2020 This remake of European drama Force Majeure stars Will Ferrell as a man whose relationship with his wife (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) disintegrates after he ditches her and their kids to escape an oncoming avalanche. The original film was a profound look at the questions we’d rather not ask ourselves. The American version retains none of these [...]
Colour out of Space film review: Nicolas Cage cuts loose in this montage of madness February 28, 2020 In these uncertain times, it’s comforting to know some things can still be relied upon – in this case Nicolas Cage’s ability to one-up his own bonkers persona. Based on the HP Lovecraft novel of the same name and directed by Richard Stanley, the man who got fired from 90s car-crash The Island of Dr [...]
Just Mercy review: A worthy but powerful legal drama buoyed by strong performances January 17, 2020 If our Netflix habits over the past couple of years are anything to go by, we bloody love a courtroom procedural. The People v. OJ Simpson; When They See Us; Making a Murderer – the list goes on. Basically, if you get your kicks from someone digging out a vital piece of paper from a [...]
Bad Boys For Life review: Will Smith serves up a dish of steaming hot nostalgia January 17, 2020 Once a guarantee of box office success, Will Smith today finds himself on rocky ground. Last year’s Gemini Man bombed, his Netflix movie Bright was critically savaged, and even the success of Aladdin can be put down to nostalgia rather than star-power. The A-lister and sometime YouTuber looks for redemption in his third Bad Boys [...]
Bombshell film review: Kidman, Theron and Robbie shine in this timely #metoo drama January 17, 2020 The co-writer of excoriating financial drama The Big Short serves up another examination of the state of the United States, this time taking aim at the media. Bombshell centres on the Fox News sexual harassment scandal that erupted just four short years ago – so recently that it seems a little early for an autopsy [...]
