Not to boast, but I have now seen The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm (as Nolan intended, praise be to the IMAX ticket overlords etc.). Undeniably, it was stunning and an incredible cinematic experience. Also, undeniably, I am very lucky to live close enough to one of the 41 cinemas in the world that can show it in…
Few films arrive with expectations as high as Christopher Nolan’s, let alone one which is an adaptation of one of the most ancient, epic and influential stories of all time. And yet, arriving after a wait that has felt almost as long as Odysseus’ journey home, The Odyssey somehow manages to surpass every hope to offer a…
Having debuted with one of the best comedies of the last decade (Booksmart), Olivia Wilde returns with her third feature to claim yet another. The Invite is a hysterical chamber piece, an incisive character study and impeccable showcase for its cast, with a poignancy bubbling beneath which surfaces by the final act. Based on the Spanish film, Sentimental, The…
Hollywood has long traded in nostalgia and known quantities, rolling out sequels and spin-offs for as long as they are profitable, with belated sequels – often released decades after their predecessors – being particularly fashionable for the past decade or so. Regardless of the sequels’ quality or the real need for them to be made…
Seven years after the last instalment and 31 after the first, our favourite toys are back in action. This time, however, they are faced with a toy-wide existential threat: tech devices. Bringing most of the action back to the settings of kids’ bedrooms, the film returns more to its heartfelt roots, but despite its important…
The bar for a Steven Spielberg film is high, even specifically for a Spielberg sci-fi and more specifically for a Spielberg sci-fi dealing with close encounters. Disclosure Day arrives with the hype-filled baggage of Spielberg’s filmography and while it doesn’t reach those heady heights, it still offers a fun ride, provokes intriguing questions and is sprinkled with…
With the release this week of Toy Story 5’s official song from Taylor Swift, and my recent rabbit hole of movie song playlists on Spotify, I’ve been thinking a lot about the iconic movie songs of yesteryear and their absence in modern cinema. It feels like a true movie soundtrack hit is so rare these days,…
Documentarian Daniel Roher makes the switch to features with this close to pitch perfect thriller that manages to cross genres in style to announce him as an exciting talent in this new arena and offers Leo Woodall a great vehicle for his talents. Niki (Leo Woodall), a once-promising virtuoso, works as a piano tuner with…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that we, as a society, have suffered from a dearth of good romantic comedies – possibly symptomatic of our cynical age but also a genre that’s, potentially, a salve for it. We were rom-com-less for years before a somewhat renaissance unfortunately consisting mainly of streaming slop: the genre (and…
No matter how many films you see, you never know when your next watch might become a seminal experience in your life. This recently happened to me when I finally watched The Red Shoes for the first time. Now, obviously this is an esteemed classic, lauded by cinephiles the world over and made by certified master filmmakers…
