25
Apr
REVIEW – ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’
Sensational popcorn cinema. You will leave the cinema richly satisfied, even if it isn't quite the film you're expecting....
09
Mar
REVIEW – ‘Kong: Skull Island’
This is popcorn cinema, at its absolute finest....
05
Mar
REVIEW – ‘Logan’
In today's franchise-obsessed film market, it's rare to see anyone walking away from a box-office cash cow, especially in the comicbook genre. But 17 years (and nine films) after he first extended the adamantium claws, and helped re-define the superhero genre, Hugh Jackman says farewell to Wolverine, aka the character who made him a household name. Thankfully, he saved the best for last, with the brilliant pseudo-western, Logan. Set in the dystopian future of 2029, mutant-kind is all but a distant memory, with no mutant births in 25 years. The...
04
Jan
The ten best films of 2016
2016. The year the world seemingly lost its damn mind. Natural disasters; terrorist disasters; and even election disasters. Losing brilliant entertainer after brilliant entertainer - most far too soon. Every single week, there seemed to be a fresh punch to the stomach, especially as the year drew to a close. My escapism from the madness of this world has always been (and will always be) the world of film. When life gives me lemons, I flee to the cinema. Thankfully, the cinema was always there this year, and...
03
Aug
REVIEW – ‘Suicide Squad’
After the swing-and-miss that was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (or at least the theatrical version), DC takes another shot at stealing Marvel's cinematic superhero crown with their hyper-coloured and hyper-charged extravaganza, Suicide Squad. Thankfully this time, they've managed to strike back with a flawed but entertaining piece of cinema. Much like Marvel's own "bad guys done good", the Guardians of the Galaxy, DC faces the similarly daunting task of introducing a whole host of new characters to a cinema audience unfamiliar with comic-book lore. And not just introducing...
16
Jul
REVIEW – ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates’
Have you ever been watching a comedy in a packed cinema, and pretty much everyone is laughing except you? And you start to question whether you're in a room full of idiots or maybe you're the one with the problem? Welcome to my experience with Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates aka one of the most frustrating times I've had in a cinema this year. Now I say "frustrating" because I love a good comedy. Even the gross-out ones. A few of my favourites film of the past few...
21
Jun
The 10 best films of 2016 so far
Half the year has come and gone. It's brought many cinematic delights, and more than a handful of horrendous disappointments. Let's keep it positive and take a look back at the ten best films of 2016 so far. I've kept it brief and kept them alphabetical, so as to not waste/spoil all my best material before my annual end of year top 10 where several of these films will no doubt make another appearance. So, have we seen the best film of the year yet? Time will tell...
19
Jun
REVIEW – ‘Finding Dory’
Given it has been 13 long years, it may be easy to forget the cultural impact Finding Nemo had on the zeitgeist of the early 2000s. Instantly adored, the film not only dominated the box-office (highest grossing animated film, at that point), but it stood (and still stands) as one of the best reviewed animated films there has ever been. It's little wonder it has taken Pixar and Disney this long to deliver the sequel. Given their hit-and-miss history with sequels (Cars 2, anyone?), how do you possibly top such a cinematic...
30
May
REVIEW – ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’
For a studio experiencing an impressive dream-run lately, Disney takes its first major misstep in months with Alice Through the Looking Glass; a film that improves on the previous chapter, but given that chapter was an insufferable bore, that's not really saying a whole lot. Following the well-worn "nobody really asked for this sequel, but the original made too much money not to make one" path, similarly paved earlier this year by Huntsman: Winter's War, James Bobin's Alice Through the Looking Glass unfortunately suffers from the same disappointing problem as Tim Burton's original film - visually impressive but narratively...
23
May
REVIEW – ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’
Perhaps the most awkwardly ironic moment during the over-bloated mess that is X-Men: Apocalypse, Bryan Singer's latest chapter in the X-Men reboot trilogy, takes place after several characters leave a cinema showing Return of the Jedi. In an obviously snarky stab at X-Men: The Last Stand, one character is heard to remark something along the lines of "We all know the third movie is always the worst." Pot, meet kettle...