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. Those two worked out pretty damn well in the end but, unfortunately, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues doesn’t quite get to that top tier level. Fortunately, it doesn’t tarnish the legacy of the first one either. Not only one of the finest comedies ever made, the original is vastly influential to the ‘mockumentary’ format and to the world of

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 house some whipcrack sharp and wincingly awkward arguments. Unfortunately, the rest of the film isn’t quite as well put together. Despite its status as a remake and novel adaptation, it’s clear that the film’s had a bit of a tight edit and doesn’t quite cohere as well as it could. The story of a married couple slowly falling apart as one’s ca

The Long Walk might give you motion sickness. In what is, ostensibly, the next YA craze after The Hunger Games (even using the same director Francis Lawrence), The Maze Runner et al., we instead get a distinctly one-off, Squid Game-esque, brutal and violent thriller. Based on an early Stephen King novel, The Long Walk is set in a dystopian future where a yearly contest (like the aforementioned Hunger Games) is broadcast on national American television. In it, fifty young men

Do we like directors who have a consistent style or those where two films of theirs can feel wildly different? If Darren Aronofsky largely falls into the latter category, his new film, Caught Stealing, might just be the most mainstream-adjacent he’s ever got. Already ladled with critical acclaim and awards-success, this is a tangent into an all-out, audience-pleasing, blockbusting crime thriller. Having such a master auteur go down this road is an absolute treat, especially i

As is yearly tradition, it’s time to once again applaud that most fun genre of movies: the 90 minute crime/comedy/action thriller. The Pulp Fiction influenced pulp fiction which won’t win awards or necessarily attract universal acclaim but will give you a little jolt of adrenaline and is an easy cinema date night/at home movie night guarantee. Presenting Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke's quasi-sequel/follow up to last year's Drive Away Dolls: Honey Don’t. Not linked in any way st

You might get more than a little deja-vu when watching Nobody 2. However, considering how fun and sprightly the first film was, the sequel sticking pretty rigidly to the formula, whilst also keeping the concise runtime and the fun, is something to be admired. It’s, therefore, deserving of some praise despite not quite hitting the heights of its predecessor. The fact this sequel even exists goes to show that, perhaps, audiences are showing that they do want some quality to the

Remember 2020? Whilst it can feel like a lifetime ago, rather than a mere five years, Ari Aster wants to put you right back in that topsy-turvy headspace in his colossal, nihilistic, long, batshit, relentless and epic Eddington. Choosing to go back to this time and presenting it in this way will, no doubt, make this film divisive. Already, it seems for every five star review there’s another declaring it awful and it’ll be fascinating to see the general consensus and box offic

It seems there’s somewhat of a nineties trend in the movies at the moment and the strongest proponent of that might just be The Life of Chuck. A relatively schmaltzy, magical-realist drama with a hint of Forrest Gump, based on a Stephen King non-horror story like Stand by Me, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile (amongst others) before it. Told backwards in three distinct chapters, is (kind of) the story of Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz. I say ‘kind of’ because we don’t actua

Originality is not a word often used nowadays in reviews of superhero and comic book films. The Fantastic 4: First Steps is original. At once gloriously retro in its 60’s sci-fi aesthetic and ‘wholesome’ outlook but thoroughly modern in its tone, sense of character and script. Marvel Studios spent Phase 5 on somewhat of a critical and commercial rollercoaster (despite everything averaging out largely great, especially on the TV side – dig that Ironheart final episode reveal!)

Much like a first date, there’s much to like about Materialists but a lot of intangibles as well. Celine Song’s follow up to the immaculate Past Lives, this treads similar ground in its exploration of romance with throughlines about suitability, true love and the meaning of marriage. As lovely as it is to look at and as sharp as the writing can be, there’s something just a little off tonally about this film. It doesn’t quite decide on a coherent message and you’re left not kn

As the saying goes: if you can’t beat them, join them. As such, let’s praise DC for taking the brave decision to bring a firm and inconclusive full stop to the ‘DCEU’ (including taking some beloved actors away from iconic roles) and start again with Marvel alumni James Gunn taking maybe a few pages from Marvel’s book of colour and humour. Superman isn’t quite the first part of the new DC universe (Peacemaker is confirmed as canon which may link in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, as

As easy as it can be to say, there can’t really be an endpoint to the Jurassic franchise. Despite diminishing returns, a Jurassic film will always hoover up box office revenue from its legacy of following one of the original and best ‘summer blockbusters’ and, also, because everyone freakin' loves dinosaurs. So there can be no complaint that they’ve gone again, especially as this seemed to all the world like a sensible new direction: ditch the old characters and start afresh