Mercy is yet another example of a classic ‘Black Mirror’-esque concept. On this occasion, perhaps Charlie Brooker and the gang could have done a slightly better job but it’s, nonetheless, a fun way to spend an evening in the cinema. A sci-fi thriller with an action bent rather than the usual brainless action fodder, this sees Chris Pratt awaken in a ‘mercy court’ unaware of what he’s doing there. In the future, this court is a 90 minute trial by AI lawyer where, if you can’t

After waiting almost 28 years for a continuing of the franchise, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple comes hot on the heels of its predecessor. It’s an absolutely unhinged successor to the first film, providing a wild and visceral middle-chapter to a trilogy which could have a very interesting ending. Last year’s film felt fresh and different whilst still honouring what came before. The Bone Temple keeps us very much in that world but luxuriates in the gore, the horror and the me

Hamnet seeks to find the source of Hamlet, one of history’s most famous stories. Chloe Zhao’s film is based on the book of the same name, a fictionalised account, but rooted in what truth we do have of the years around the writing of William Shakespeare’s tragic play and the death of his young son that may have inspired it. It can, therefore, tow the line between historical interest and fiction and is, at once, achingly romantic and achingly tragic. Shakespeare and Agnes meet

Marty Supreme is a frantic, kinetic, frenzied American epic and might be somewhere in the ‘best of the decade’ list by the time we reach 2030. Josh Safdie’s pseudo-sports, non-biopic about semi-fictional table tennis player Marty Mauser is actually a treatise on the American Dream and all of its foibles. You can indulge as much or as little metaphor as you like on this tale. In some respects, the more you think of it in those terms the better it’ll seem (like There Will Be Bl

The Brighton Film Club presents the Films of the Year 2025 after another stacked year for our screens. As usual, these are films released into UK cinemas or made available on streaming sites in the UK between January and December 2025. After the customary squabbles and more shuffles than a Vegas casino, here then are The Brighton Film Club’s Films of the Year 2025: 30. F1 29. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning 28. Pillion 27. I Swear 26. The Surfer 25. Friendship 24. Cau

When does a magic trick cease to be a magic trick? How do you split judgement between the merits of something on a creative level and the actual underlying substance of what you are watching? Two (of many) questions to ponder when watching Avatar: Fire and Ash. This franchise is constantly baffling. It breaks ground in terms of the very fundamentals of film development and generates huge numbers at the box office. All the while, it confounds critics and audiences whose bums n

Another year where the number of albums in the below list has had to be bumped up and still doesn't do justice to what's been released. I present to you, after the customary squabbles and more shuffles than a Vegas casino, The Brighton Film Club’s Albums of the Year 2025: 50. Divorce - Drive to Goldenhammer 49. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out 48. HotWax - Hot Shock 47. Heartworms - Glutton For Punishment 46. Little Simz - Lotus 45. Tyler, The Creator - DON'T TAP THE GLASS 44. Al

Eternity is a film with a great idea that doesn’t quite reach the sum of its parts. It’s a common thing. The hook is so good that you expect everything else just to fall into place. Unfortunately, it’s easy to notice where this hasn’t quite cohered. It’s a shame as it really is a great idea and such an enjoyable film to watch. You’ll root for it, you’ll recommend it and it’s mostly delightful. In a The Good Place-esque sci-fi depiction of the afterlife, Joan must choose betwe

Cinema box offices look to be getting another shot in the arm with the release of Wicked: For Good and it certainly proves the value in filming sequels back-to-back. It’s a great encore and finish to the story a year on from the first, although it may just fall a little bit below its predecessor. Sometimes you just can’t argue with giant cinematic spectacle and this film rides its runtime beautifully. As before, some of the musical sequences are extraordinary and performances

It’d be easy to assume that Nuremberg, at two-and-a-half-hours, would feel like the sort of thing you’d have to sit through in history class. A worthy but rather weighty endeavour. The reality? This is as zippy and fast-moving as any action-based war film, just with courtrooms replacing battlefields. The history here is, of course, of monumental importance and you may know your fair share but the film gives some hugely fascinating morsels of information and insight to the eve

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is, in some ways, just like a real magic trick. It’s designed for fun and entertainment and is hard to take your eyes off but, underneath it all, you know it’s an illusion. Unlike a magic trick, you can see right through this to the cash grab, rushed, manic and, frankly, baffling inadequacies that lie within. It’s such a strange experience. On the one hand, a tone-deaf, woefully-written, laughably-poor sequel to a pair of films that, whilst not e

You’ve got to give the Predator franchise some props for constantly trying different things. Like its titular hunters, it’s sneakily crept up on its competition in the action film genre and is getting to become a really strong franchise as a whole. This, despite the respective films not exactly tying in to each other. Predator: Badlands is another striking addition and really goes for originality, putting a Yautja (the official name for the ‘Predator’ species) in the lead rol