I still can’t quite get to grips with what my thoughts are on Joker: Folie à Deux. The sensationalism and wildly contrasting opinions make clear what was always going to be the case: that this is a hugely divisive film. The undertaking in itself was unexpected and arguably unnecessary. I remember writing in a review of the first film that it ‘felt worryingly like a one off’ but, sometimes, you should be careful what you wish for and, sometimes, that scarcity and that open-end

Legacy sequel time and, fortunately, there should be more smiles than frowns after a viewing of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Not only could you reward this with the best title for a legacy sequel but it also brings back director Tim Burton and the main players from before (minus, understandably, the Maitland ghosts) and it also sticks lovingly in the playhouse of the original. This is no modern retread but, instead, another absolutely batshit, weird and wacky film destined for cu

I think I was lured into the trap of the trailer for Trap in thinking that this concept was a good idea. It wasn’t until the production logos started to appear that it dawned on me that a fair amount of explanation was going to be needed to justify the story of this film. Unfortunately, it does have to go down as a film that spends more time having to explain its own existence than anything else. It just doesn’t quite work. It’s a real shame as there’s clearly something here

And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like ‘videogame adaptations are good now.’ Unfortunately, that statement has to take a bit of a step backwards courtesy of Borderlands. Who’d have thought that it would have been this to drop the ball and not The Super Mario Bros. Movie? In fairness, it isn’t quite true that the 'videogame adaptation' is in rude health. Sure, the TV stuff is excellent right now (The Last of Us, Fallout) but, The Super Mario Bros. Movie

No spoilers here, but if you do want to go in completely blind to Deadpool & Wolverine I would stop reading now. Still here? Ok, how do we even start with this one? It’s equally easy to either be cynical about this endeavour or completely fanboy all over it and treading the line between these two extremes is key. Make no mistake, this is a film for the fans and finally aligns these two iconic characters, brings them to Marvel Studios and, effectively, into the MCU and also se

A nostalgia storm is coming and it might just be enough to change the winds of mainstream cinema. As superhero universes and franchises begin to fall to the wayside, an era of legacy sequels and old-skool blockbusters seems to be upon us. Twisters is the latest entry to this wave and, against all the odds, is actually a great example of why and how this sort of thing can work. It simply feels fresh, despite its old-fashioned feel, because we haven’t seen something like this i

As cool as Austin Butler taking a drag of a cigarette over Jodie Comer’s Chicagoan narration and shots of Tom Hardy, Boyd Holbrook and Michael Shannon cruising across American highways may be, The Bikeriders falls frustratingly short of greatness. What clearly wants to be the Goodfellas of biker gang stories, and clearly showing real dedication to its source material if the photos over the credits are anything to go by, just doesn’t quite cohere into a truly satisfying story.

Capping off an exceptional trilogy, MaXXXine is yet another triumph for A24. Ti West’s slasher horror series has kept themes, characters, scares and smarts but split across three wildly different instalments. The fact that many a debate will be had about which is the best is the sign of a remarkable franchise. For me, as much as X’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre homage is gruesome fun and Pearl is a hugely original and disturbing flip of Technicolor classics, this finale just clinc

Kinds of Kindness is a difficult film to review. A review should always act as that balance between positing the viewer's opinion whilst, also, acting as a sort-of recommendation service for those reading. Is Kinds of Kindness a film to recommend? To most, absolutely not. Is it a beautifully shot, wonderfully original and impeccably performed film that, at its core, has a lot to recommend it? Yes. That sort of contradictory statement is exactly what Yorgos Lanthimos is all ab

A franchise should always deserve praise for trying new things, keeping the level of quality consistent across films and attempting to expand the wider story. Playing the prequel card is a divisive one when looking to tick those boxes but it’s something A Quiet Place: Day One pulls off with aplomb. Whilst it’s a shame to delay the resolution to the story after Part II, reverting back to the first day of the disaster enables an entirely different formula and a fresh approach t

Pixar’s imagination continues to know no bounds and Inside Out 2 gives us their best sequel since the Toy Story franchise. After a recent run of movies that, perhaps, haven’t been as talked about as they should have been (from Onward to Elemental) this feels like a sure-fire critical and commercial banker. In my estimation, the first Inside Out actually comes out right at the top of Pixar’s luminous and esteemed catalogue and, whilst this film doesn’t quite top the first one,

As much as any additional information on the inhabitants of the Wasteland in Mad Max: Fury Road was something that would be hugely welcomed, following up that absolute masterpiece of a film was a daunting undertaking, to say the least. Incredibly, George Miller’s prequel: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga lives up to its predecessor and can boldly stand alongside it. You’ll find some (myself included) who hold the opinion that Fury Road is a contender for the greatest action film of al