We enter blockbuster season again with an overriding whiff of familiarity. The big hitters this summer look to resurrect yet more existing franchises: the latest remake-of-a-remake: Ocean’s 8 is still to come as well as Pixar’s 14-years-in-the-making Incredibles 2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom follows its 2015 predecessor, itself a carbon-copy of the original Jurassic Park. The advantage that Fallen Kingdom has is the same as The Last Jedi: now that the first new entry is o

Disney’s hot streak knows no bounds. If we take fixing Star Wars plot holes as a barometer of excellence then they’re two for two with Solo: A Star Wars Story, somehow finding a legitimate answer to the conundrum of The Kessel Run. A parsec is a unit of distance not time, yes, and this film explains how it’s done. Production issues (the much discussed creative differences that Messrs Lord and Miller had before relinquishing the reigns to 'safe hands' Ron Howard) and another p

A sequel to a cult film based on a character previously used (poorly) in another film which falls within the same franchise? Such was the success of the first Deadpool, Ryan Reynold’s almost personal vendetta against the awful treatment of the iconic character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The merc’-with-a-mouth was a refreshing blast of air, clearing away the stuffiness of the timeline hopping X-Men films and the seriousness of the DC fare. However, the fourth-wall-breaking a

Partly because you’re all going to see it anyway (definitely do if you’re somehow in two minds and please, for the love of all that is holy, stay for the post-credits stinger) and partly because I’m still beaming and reeling from the fact that it amounts to the already magnificent MCU’s greatest achievement yet and, possibly(?!), in contention for the best superhero film of them all I have decided to articulate my thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War in the form of a Haiku: Tha

In space no one can hear you scream. In the cinema, they can. In A Quiet Place you don’t want anything to hear you scream. John Krasinski’s inversion of the horror formula has received a lavishing of hype and it’s entirely justified. We’re a long way from The Office here in Krasinski’s first directorial piece and he shows patience, care and a precise way with a camera. The year is 2020 and it’s taken a mere matter of months for the world to look post-apocalyptic. The reason?

The revolution will not be televised but small steps are being made for inclusivity and progression on our screens. In the last few years projects as broad stylistically as Wonder Woman, Moonlight, Dear White People and Black Panther have smashed stereotypes whilst also breaking records. Love, Simon is a film that won’t necessarily break records, won’t necessarily be an awards favourite and isn’t about a superhero. It’s a sweet, funny, immensely likeable coming-of-age high sc

The best films have the power to take you out of the real world for a couple of hours at a time. Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One is a film about that very feeling. This rose-tinted nostalgia-fest has received a surprisingly divisive reaction but this is startling as it’s a true ‘movie fan’s movie.' Its bombardment of references, links and Easter Eggs ready to tickle every fan’s pop culture bones. Based on Ernest Cline’s YA novel Ready Player One is set in 2045, where over

The plight of the auteur can be a tricky one indeed keeping to noticeable stylistic traits whilst introducing new ideas and avoiding diminishing returns and fan pressure. Wes Anderson’s dedication to working within his set parameters is something to be truly admired. That he is yet to release anything which has fallen below his high standards and worked across genres and audiences in doing so is startling. His ninth directorial feature: Isle of Dogs returns him to the stop-mo

It’d be fair to say that comedy is the most disparate genre. Easy, cynical cash-ins sit next to finely-honed scripts and box office takings tend to be fairly even regardless of quality. It’s particularly satisfying, then, when something comes along that looks for all the world like it should sit squarely in the former camp but is instead imbued with love, care and attention and leaves a lasting impression. Game Night is one such example. Taking a fairly unique premise (bizarr

The art-house take on a well-worn action, thriller or gangster trope often turns out to be one of the highlights of any given year in film. Free Fire was last year’s prime example and it seems, in recent times at least, to be a motion firmly put in place by the sublime Drive. You Were Never Really Here is Lynne Ramsay’s fourth directorial feature and comes six years after her last. This slow and methodical gap in time is an apt description of the film itself which is a haunti

Is it the end of the adventure film? For so long the bastion of blockbuster filmmaking and home to early classics but beaten out by its CGI-heavy relatives sci-fi, fantasy and, of course, the superhero in recent times. There’s still something nostalgic and homely about a well made action-adventure but all too often recently they’ve suffered critical malaise and dwindling box office fortunes. Last year’s Tom Cruise-led The Mummy being the latest big example (despite being a fu

Cartels are still trending high with movie and TV producers at the moment and we’ve seen some great gangster shows and films based on them. They provide the backdrop to what’s sure to be one of the sleeper-hit, cult favourites of the year: Gringo. The focus here is actually on the management of a pharmaceutical company using a Mexican lab to produce medical marijuana tablets, anticipating them being made legal in the US. Hapless everyman Harold and greasy managers Richard and