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Reviews
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
The superhero comedy is now as ubiquitous as the very genre it looks to mock. From spoofs like The Lego Batman Movie through meta alterna-franchises like Deadpool and even shared universe mega-hitters like Thor: Ragnarok. Fortunately, these examples are all uniformly excellent and we now have a more youngster-friendly film to add to the mix with Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. Based on a little seen early-noughties animated series the titular Teen Titans are DC's Robin, Starfi
Sep 4, 2018
The Festival
It seems disingenuous to criticise a film for something it's not but The Festival is a bittersweet watch knowing that it's highly unlikely that we'll see The Inbetweeners on our screens again. With a lot of the writing and production team on board, and real life couple Joe Thomas and Hannah Tointon headlining the cast, we'll forgive you the deja vu. Graduate Nick is brutally dumped by girlfriend Caitlin (at his graduation ceremony, no less, in a watch-through-your-fingers mom
Sep 4, 2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Following Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War was always going to be a daunting task and the short (or should that be microscopic) straw has been drawn by MIA Scott Lang and Ant-Man and the Wasp. His lack of involvement in April’s epic suitably addressed (he’s under house arrest after breaking those damned Sokovia Accords after Captain America: Civil War’s airport battle) this sequel squeezes into the space pre-Thanos, as Scott teams back up with Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne
Aug 3, 2018
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Those of a nervous disposition would perhaps be wise to steer well clear of Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The series has long been a playground for Tom Cruise to jump off tall things, climb even taller things, crash bikes and cars and cling to the side of planes. The constant one-upmanship of the franchise’s stunts has pushed each instalment higher and Fallout is another stunning addition to the collection. This mission that Ethan Hunt chooses to accept brings a few familiar
Jul 31, 2018
Hotel Artemis
Check yourself into Hotel Artemis for one of the best underground movies of the year. Its dismal showing in the US hopefully won’t stop it from being a sleeper hit on these shores. Boasting an almighty cast it’s a stunningly realised directorial debut from Drew Pearce. The titular hotel is a mythic institution in LA twenty years in the future which acts as a safe haven for the state’s criminals. The city’s in the midst of a riot with protesters rebelling against the privatisa
Jul 23, 2018
Incredibles 2
It’s taken 14 years and an unprecedented superhero boon to bring The Incredibles out of the woodwork to join the multitude of costumed crimefighters inundating our cinema screens. Pixar are masters of the ‘appeal to the adults trying to distract their young ‘uns with a kid’s movie’ but Incredibles 2 (not entirely sure why they’ve dropped the ‘The’ from the title) feels like it’s aimed squarely at those of us who were children when the original graced our VHS machines. You cou
Jul 19, 2018
The First Purge
It’s very rare to get a good horror sequel, let alone an entire franchise, but, yet again, James DeMonaco’s Purge series comes up trumps – pun very much intended. The First Purge is the long awaited prequel to the celebrated trilogy, giving audiences a taste of what happened during the first ‘experiment’ proposed by the NFFA. The political set up is an intriguing one and the ramifications obvious and intriguing. It’s a shame that Director Gerard McMurray doesn’t dwell more on
Jul 6, 2018
Sicario 2: Soldado
Greenlighting a sequel without your top-billed star, celebrated cinematographer and now superstar Director seems like critical and commercial suicide but has somehow worked for the rather excellent Sicario 2: Soldado. The first film built on the small-screen’s love for cartel tales with a gritty, violent and classy thriller which firmly set Denis Villeneuve as ‘one to watch’ before Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 truly sent him overboard. This sequel, and apparent middle chapte
Jun 30, 2018
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
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
Jun 20, 2018
Solo: A Star Wars Story
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
May 25, 2018
Deadpool 2
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
May 16, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War
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
Apr 27, 2018
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