There’s no limit to how much time can pass, no limit to the standalone nature of an original film and no limit to the success, both critically and commercially, in terms of whether something will get a legacy sequel. Indeed, some of the more successful have been from those deemed most unlikely: Top Gun, Trainspotting, Mad Max and Blade Runner to name some of the frontrunners of the trend. It’s a nailing of the ‘tone’ that is key, modernising something whilst still retaining t

Conclave turns the process of electing a new Pope into an intense and gripping thriller. Based on the novel by Robert Harris, this is a serious film for serious people with serious actors and, as such, feels wonderfully refreshing. A pulse-pounding score intermingles with the absolutely stunning cinematography and scenery of the Vatican to create a ‘political thriller’ experience within this world of religion, differences, tradition and pomposity. By all accounts faithful to

There’s no doubt that Red One is definitely better off for being a ‘Christmas film.’ That descriptor has its limitations as well as its benefits. Sure, often there’s only one period of the year where you’d watch these films but there’s also the potential to watch them EVERY year if they stick with you. Also, the seasonal goodwill can often gloss over some more obvious cinematic defects. The idea of a generic, The Rock-starring action movie (with [sigh] ‘franchise potential’)

Age is just a number in cinema and Clint Eastwood (94!) has given us another thought-provoking and effortlessly well-made drama with Juror #2. A watertight script by Jonathan Abrams introduces us to Justin, a personable husband with a baby on the way, called up to jury service. Once there, he realises that he may be involved in the murder case he’s assigned to. It’s a great premise and the plot propels nicely along without feeling the need to go into soapy or overly dramatic

Venom: The Last Dance concludes the maligned series with an actual scene of the titular character dancing. To Abba. For no reason. At a quite key part in the story. At a quite key part in the story where, it’s explained, that should Venom be in his full form he will be caught by some sort of indestructible killing machine hell bent on symbiote destruction. And this is still not even the worst or most confusing part of the film, despite it being a truly cringe moment to, maybe

2024 seems to be the year of great directors choosing absurdism/ choosing violence/choosing to challenge/getting poetic license/losing the plot. Delete as appropriate there. Film should, in some cases, be challenging and, sometimes, require effort to understand and carry metaphor and meaning beyond its surface level. However, there have been instances this year (Kinds of Kindness, Joker: Folie à Deux, The Book of Clarence) where there’s an argument that the films fall the wro

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