Gerard Butler new film Plane is a big dumb action movie January 26, 2023 Amidst all the complicated emotions of Oscar season, it’s a nice change of pace to see something as straightforward as Plane, starring Gerard Butler, on the release slate. The all-action Scot plays Brodie Torrance, a pilot in charge of a routine flight that’s forced to crash land on an island near the Philippines. While Plane [...]
The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg’s brilliant love letter to cinema January 26, 2023 A Best Picture Oscar nomination this week will be a welcome relief for The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s new family drama. When it debuted in the US last year, it became the Hollywood legend’s worst performing film, and an undeserved flop as audiences stayed away from prestige movies. Will the Oscar bump see a happier ending [...]
Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light lacks a compelling story January 25, 2023 Empire of Light review and star rating: ★★☆☆☆ Empire of Light is one part of a broader artistic response to the peril cinemas found themselves in during the pandemic. Steven Spielberg’s love of the big screen will soon be explored in The Fabelmans, and Babylon was another of 2023’s odes to cinema. Olivia Colman stars [...]
Till film review: America’s shameful history retold elegantly from perspective of Black victims January 25, 2023 Till star rating: ★★★★☆ Nearly seventy years on, the murder of Emmett Till stands as one of the most shocking and shameful moments in American history. In 1955, 14-year-old Till was abducted while visiting family in Mississippi and lynched for a perceived offence to a white woman. His horrifyingly disfigured remains were found, and the [...]
Why Tom Hanks’ grumpy old man role in A Man Called Otto doesn’t work January 24, 2023 A Man Called Otto Star rating: ★★☆☆☆ When you think of movie stars that seem nice, Tom Hanks has to be at the top of the list. You don’t play Mr Rogers, Walt Disney, Woody, and Santa Claus without people feeling affection toward you. That’s why the two-time Oscar winner seems such an odd choice [...]
Shotgun Wedding film review: Jennifer Lopez comedy is a tonal mess January 23, 2023 ★★☆☆☆ Jenny From The Block plays Darcy in Shotgun Wedding. Soon to be marrying her fiancée Tom (Josh Duhamel) at a destination island wedding. Family tension, attractive exes and cold feet are in the mix, but then the wedding party is taken hostage. The couple must put their new marriage to the test if they [...]
Babylon’s director should have known better and not let this movie fall into self indulgence January 23, 2023 Movies about movies tend to do well around Oscar season, and no one knows that better than Damien Chazelle. While La La Land famously didn’t win Best Picture in 2017, it did win six Oscars out of fourteen nominations, including Best Director. In Babylon, he returns to Hollywood but looks through a different lens. Starting [...]
Avatar: The Way of Water was crap – here’s why I’m glad it exists January 10, 2023 A few weeks ago, you might have read my review of Avatar: The Way of Water in this paper. It’s safe to say I wasn’t a fan – I found the story dull, the dialogue inane, and the high frame rate 3D uncomfortable. Thirteen years ago, I wedged myself into a packed screening room in [...]
The Revenant and Birdman director returns with an inscrutable journey into his own past December 16, 2022 Six years after The Revenant, Alejandro G. Iñárritu returns for an esoteric dive into his own past in the semi-autobiographical Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Daniel Giménez Cacho plays Silverio Gama, an experimental filmmaker who has recently won a prestigious American award (can you see the connect yet?). Travelling to his home [...]
Avatar: The Way of Water is a dull sequel to the most forgettable success story in cinema history December 16, 2022 The sequel to the most successful film of all time comes out this week, but despite very little competition at the multiplex, the hype has been muted. For years, Avatar has gained a reputation as an anomaly: the most successful film no one remembers, it’s rarely in any best-of lists, or even talked about when [...]
