Ok, so Lightyear is an 'in universe' film and the influence for Andy getting the Buzz toy in the first Toy Story. A film-within-film setup which, if you’re a believer in the ‘Pixar Theory’, makes this universe suddenly as dense as the MCU. As time has gone on, it’s tended to seem like Pixar, and Disney, almost have a ‘one for you, one for us’ mentality. They release solid gold and highly original 5-star movies amongst the inevitable sequels and remakes. Sadly, Lightyear was a

A downside to the dominance of the superhero genre has finally revealed itself: other traditional blockbusters really have to do something different to stand any chance of making a lasting impression. It’s a statement tinged with sadness as it’s the final film in what has been a pretty solid sequel trilogy but, unfortunately, Jurassic World Dominion doesn’t quite do it. It’s been an enjoyable journey and this final entry sits with its recent brethren as being a solidly entert

A simple statement right upfront: Top Gun: Maverick is THE example of how to do a ‘plenty-of-years-later’ sequel with some, or all, of the same cast. Against all the odds, and following a film which so embodies its time period, this has become the blueprint for the ‘future-quel.’ It achieves this by being nothing less than a big, fun, silly Blockbuster (capital B required) with the perfect amount of self-seriousness and cheese. It just all works, helped a little by the fact t

You wait so long for a film about the multiverse and then two appear in cinemas at once. Whilst the all-conquering MCU shows no signs of dropping standards with the excellent new Doctor Strange film, it’s its spiritual brethren in the smaller screen next door that you may be better off buying a ticket to: Everything Everywhere All at Once. Not only is this gem better(!) than Doctor Strange, it may just be one of the films of the century so far. Impossibly original and difficu

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is glorious proof that Marvel have gone beyond satiating audience expectations and initiating newcomers. It must be difficult for them. With so many prior films and TV shows that audiences need to have seen to get enjoyment out of this film, there must have been someone in the boardroom asking for a little more exposition or flashback-like content. The fact that they’ve stuck to their guns and kept the film as a rollicking, thrill-r

There are some films where you don’t just get entertainment, you get an ‘experience.’ Sometimes you can even hold on the entertaining part. They can immerse you, rattle you and leave you feeling like you’ve endured something. The Northman certainly fits within this bracket. This is no casual Viking action film. Prepare for a little bit of dog murder, multiple horse beheadings, a barn full of children being burned alive, mother snogging and your protagonist killing a man with

A review of the new Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, by Rita Skeeter. "Not sure if you could deem this film an adaptation of my far superior book (The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore) but it certainly seems like that’s the suggestion the Wizarding World team want to make with this third entry in what must now be getting close to being deemed one of the most disappointing franchises in recent memory. Telling the story of Newt Scamander was an intriguing step in t

Ok, hear me out. I've realised there's a peculiar parallel in the album careers of Taylor Swift and Biffy Clyro. Is this cutting edge,...

The first signs of superhero fatigue seem to be settling in amongst the wider public if the scathing feedback to Morbius is anything to go by. Audiences are, hopefully, starting to demand more and want to have their knowledge and commitment rewarded by comic book filmmakers. There was always going to be a scapegoat at some point but, strangely enough, Morbius isn’t entirely deserving of that particular wooden spoon. However, being merely ‘watchable’ now is not nearly enough.

The adventure film is the last genre I expected to have a revival. After sounding its death knell after the failed Tomb Raider and The Mummy remakes it’s since come punching back with the Jumanji films, Jungle Cruise and, now, The Lost City, which looks set to be a commercial hit with some savvy advertising. Fair play to it as well. Like Disney’s Jungle Cruise before it, The Lost City is an enjoyable romp and nothing more than the sum of its, rather good, parts. There’s no un

I think, from a personal level, that first glimpse we got of The Batman in 'that' trailer made from the first few minutes of filmed footage was one of the most exciting film trailers I’d seen. The mood, the music and the all-pervasive darkness just screamed ‘masterpiece.’ It’s been an agonising wait to get the full, three-hour film but it’s finally with us. I don’t think anything could ever live up to that intensity of hype but it gets pretty damn close I’m delighted to say.

Let’s cut straight to the chase: Uncharted does not break the curse of the videogame movie. It seems, at this point, that no console adaptation will even get close to matching its gaming counterpart and Uncharted goes on the bargain bin pile alongside the recent likes of Assassin’s Creed, Sonic the Hedgehog and Warcraft. It doesn’t lack in ambition but for a film that’s been mired in development hell, and effectively ‘on the go’ for 15 years, there’s absolutely no excuse for