The Unbearable Weight of Talent: Nicolas Cage shines as Nicolas Cage April 25, 2022 In recent years, Nicolas Cage has joined that exclusive club of beloved cult stars. Like William Shatner, Christopher Walken, and Jeff Goldblum before him, the actor has a balance of craft and eccentricity that makes him a fascinating pop culture figure. Also like those stars, Cage is embracing his oddball reputation. He turned heads with [...]
The Lost City review: Bullock and Tatum shine in lowbrow comedy April 10, 2022 Like her Speed co-star Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock is a star who never seems too far from a hit. There’s something about the girl-next-door charm of the Oscar winner that keeps people coming back even in an era where brands are more popular than stars. Having found success with Gravity, Birdbox, and Ocean’s 8 over [...]
Compartment No 6 continues a fine lineage of train-based romance movies April 10, 2022 If TikTok celeb Francis Bourgeois has taught us anything, it’s that trains can be exciting. Cinema shares that sentiment, with memorable classics including Brief Encounter and Strangers On A Train giving the everyday form of transport a sense of romance. Juho Kuosmanen’s drama Compartment No 6 may not have the same sweeping sentiment, but it [...]
The Bad Guys review: Better than average animated fun April 7, 2022 Once the home of giants including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon, Dreamworks has played it safe over the last few years, with competitor Pixar disappearing into the distance. Films like Boss Baby, Trolls, and The Croods are enjoyable, but they are glossy distractions for children rather than something worth remembering. [...]
The Bad Guys review: Passable family film putting villains in the spotlight April 1, 2022 Once the home of giants including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon, Dreamworks has played it safe over the last few years, with competitor Pixar disappearing into the distance. Films like Boss Baby, Trolls, and The Croods are enjoyable, but they are glossy distractions for children rather than something worth remembering. [...]
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 review: formulaic fun that offers nothing new April 1, 2022 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 reunites viewers with the titular hero (voiced by Ben Schwartz), now living a happy if restless life with his human guardians Tom and Maddie (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter). That bliss is soon shattered, however, when Sonic’s arch enemy Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns from the mushroom dimension he was sent [...]
Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World review: An instant classic March 27, 2022 Director Joachim Trier rounds out his Oslo Trilogy, which began with 2006’s Reprise and continued with 2011 Cannes favourite Oslo, August 31st. For this final chapter, Trier has chosen a romantic comedy, one of the more challenging film genres with all its tropes and cliches to avoid. Yet, by subverting all of those conventions he [...]
Chopper is 20 years old, and still a brutal, brilliant modern great March 26, 2022 The early 2000s were a goldmine for stylish crime classics. Films like Sexy Beast and Lock, Stock… might have stolen the headlines, but The 21st century had barely started when a gem from Australia introduced us to a new star. Eric Bana, a TV comedy actor, found instant stardom when he took the lead in [...]
We’re calling out for a hero: Michael Bay. But is his Ambulance good? March 25, 2022 As painful as it might be to admit, it’s the perfect time for Michael Bay to make a comeback. Cinemas need big, bold crowd-pleasers, and there’s no-one bigger or bolder than the man behind the Bad Boys and Transformers franchises. His new film is called Ambulance, but those thinking this will be a sensitive ode [...]
Fresh review – a delightfully disturbing thriller March 22, 2022 Loveable Marvel star Sebastian Stan has been trying some darker roles recently, playing shady characters in The Devil All The Time and The 355, as well as raucous rocker Tommy Lee in Disney+ series Pam & Tommy. However, nothing the actor has done so far will touch the grizzly insanity of his new role, horror-thriller [...]
