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…
John Carney returns with another music-lead charmer, bringing more sincerity and hope to our screens. We follow Rick Power (Paul Rudd) – yes, the title is apparently a pun – the American lead singer of a wedding band in Ireland who seems somewhat content with his life but still harbours dreams of stardom that haven’t…
I review new cinema releases on here all the time and focus more on older films in specific features, but I wanted somewhere to discuss the variety of films that I watch all the time. New and old films, new to me and old favourites, I want to share my at-home cinematic experiences, so here…
After twenty years and a long build up, the sequel to the cult hit has finally hit screens. Whilst it serves as little more than an addendum to the first, it does have something to say and offers some fun in checking in on beloved characters. We catch up with Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) just…
I hate the number 2. Or 3 or 4 or 5 (if the number is any higher what are you even doing) for that matter. Specifically, I hate them on film posters. The default title for a sequel is simply slapping a 2 on the end of the original title and calling it a day. To me,…
My second Michaela Coel-starring art-centred film in as many days, the ever-prolific Steven Soderbergh offers up a small-scale comedy with plenty to sink your teeth into. Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), an artist at heart who works in a food truck by day is approached by the children (Jessica Gunning and James Corden) of the once-great…
