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 role

The Running Man (2025) is not quite a remake of the ‘80s Schwarzenegger movie but instead a different and more faithful version of the book written by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It’s also the return of Edgar Wright and another chance for Glen Powell to stake his claim as THE current action star (who hasn’t yet been in a superhero film). Sadly and shockingly, it may not even be the best ‘Stephen King as Richard Bachman’ adaptation this year, let alone th

Whilst it might sound strange to describe Bugonia, a film wherein two conspiracy theorist Ufologists kidnap a CEO on suspicion of her being an alien, as Yorgos Lanthimos’ most ‘accessible’ film it might just be a correct statement. Lanthimos is rightly celebrated for his arthouse idiosyncrasies and has the awards and critical consensus to back that up and Bugonia is absolutely not a film where he suddenly ‘breaks mainstream’. Nonetheless, there’s something about the more stri

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is very much a ‘capture the mood of a specific moment in time’ biopic rather than an audience-friendly, ‘dance in the aisles’ type. A music biopic will often live or die on its ability to capture the ‘feel’ of the artist it is representing. In that respect, this is a fantastic depiction of The Boss in this era but probably not one that’s going to get any non-believers on side. Trying to get inside the head of the man as he records the dark

A story so wild that it can only be true certainly applies to Roofman, one of this year’s best little surprises. The absolutely insane story of Jeffrey Manchester, an escaped convict who lived inside a Toys R’ Us for months whilst slowly falling in with the local community and finding some sort of sense of self in the early 2000’s. Told with noughties nostalgia, zippy pace, humour, pathos, light, shade and everything in between by a cast teeming with stars, this is a wildly e

I Swear has got to be the most heart-warming, tender and moving British film that also features its main character swearing at the Queen. A biopic of John Davidson, a pioneering figure who suffers from Tourette syndrome, this may hit the ‘British feelgood’ film familiars but escalates itself beyond the trappings of the genre. At once fiercely funny but deeply compassionate and harsh, the realities of growing up and living with John’s condition are writ large on screen. It’s a

A film set within the world of combat sports is always a surefire winner. Whilst it means we’ve pretty much seen everything there is to see there’s just something about this world, and the people who inhabit it, whether real, imagined or influenced, that make it so engrossing. So it is with The Smashing Machine, one to add to the heavyweights of the combat sport genre. It’s a Raging Bull-esque biopic (although not quite hitting that all-timer level) of early MMA/UFC fighter M

A sequel no one asked for to a 15 year old film (which, in itself, followed up one from 28 years before) Tron: Ares is a bit of an odd choice from Disney. Let me go against the consensus though and declare that, as a weekend cinema experience, it’s well worth your time. The critical mauling of certain blockbuster films is always baffling. Whilst some, of course, deserve to be critiqued and it’s important to judge the worth of projects in this ever-saturated landscape, especia

Sometimes a film comes along that just feels like it’s always been part of the furniture, something you swear you’ve seen before maybe...

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a rom-com with a slightly science-fiction-y bent to it. Using the conventions of another genre is often...

The idea of a legacy sequel for This Is Spinal Tap is about as heinous as the idea of doing the same for Blade Runner and Trainspotting....

Add to the list of ‘dream houses from the movies’ the pretty spectacular, sea view bespoke build from The Roses. It’s a stunning set to...