Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau, Jun Kunimura People wonder why other people watch slasher movies when - crude violence aside - so many of them are interchangeable. I watch my share and it's true; what you get in one isn't often much different to what you'll find in another. But therein … Continue reading Review: Kate
Director: Rodo Sayagues Stars: Stephen Lang, Madelyn Grace, Fiona O'Shaughnessy Around five years ago, Don't Breathe made a little bit of rumpus as a nasty home invasion movie with a twist. A bunch of youths broke into a dilapidated house to steal from a rumoured cash box, only to encounter Stephan Lang's ex-Navy Seal Blind Man … Continue reading Review: Don’t Breathe 2
Director: Everado Valerio Gout Stars: Ana de la Reguera, Tenoch Huerta, Gregory Zaragoza James DeMonaco's Purge franchise lumbers onward. While it predated and has now surpassed the short sorry presidency of Donald Trump, it is the series that feels most laboriously representative of the whirlwind ills that the disgraced orange bile-pod brought to the Oval Office. … Continue reading Review: The Forever Purge
Director: Justin Lin Stars: John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson There's a point in nearly any long-running TV series or soap opera when desperate writers will start to retcon character histories to bring in hitherto unknown relatives (usually younger siblings) in an effort to tell new stories and freshen up the cast list. It usually … Continue reading Review: Fast & Furious 9
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson Stars: Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Hirona Yamazaki I've never played a Monster Hunter game and couldn't tell you a thing about them. Thing is, when it comes to Paul W. S. Anderson adapting a video game to the big screen (something he has a habit of doing), it rarely really … Continue reading Review: Monster Hunter
Director: Ilya Naishuller Stars: RZA, Connie Nielsen, Bob Odenkirk I'm currently under siege from a nudist junkie wannabe-DJ next-door neighbour in his late 40s who insists on playing loud '90s dance music at all hours, often for up to 12 hours at a time. Just recently, this has included a 10-day jag of consecutive all-night … Continue reading Review: Nobody
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood Stars: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts What is the strange draw of seeing our favourite actors buy it violently time and again? In recent years we've been encouraged to watch with glee as Tom Cruise died over and over in Edge of Tomorrow. For Happy Death Day, newcomer Jessica Rothe went through … Continue reading Review: The Old Guard
Director: Peter Segal Stars: Dave Bautista, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Kristen Schaal For about five minutes last year it looked like we were going to have The Summer of Dave Bautista. Following the box office conquering Avengers: Endgame, two trailers landed for broadly appealing comedies starring everyone's favourite Guardian of the Galaxy. Stuber promised buddy action thrills, while My Spy … Continue reading Review: My Spy
Director: Craig Zobel Stars: Betty Gilpin, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts George Orwell's most famous works of fiction followed grim dystopian ideas through to their horrible, logical conclusions. In the process of putting these nightmares to paper, one wonders if Orwell didn't give a few people some ideas along the way. It's a notion that is … Continue reading Review: The Hunt (2020)
Director: Tom Harper Stars: Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel It's time to get giddy with vertigo as the moment we've all been waiting for finally arrives. That's right, BAFTA botherers Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne have been reunited for another thoroughly British dalliance. These are actors recognised for their abilities (not entirely unjustly) who … Continue reading Review: The Aeronauts
Director: Tim Miller Stars: Mackenzie Davis, Linda Hamilton, Natalia Reyes In hindsight, perhaps we ought to be thankful for just how dire Terminator Genisys turned out to be. That movie - which pissed all over a pretty well sodden franchise - ended with the threat of further sequels. Fortunately, those plans have been terminated (ha!). Dark Fate … Continue reading Review: Terminator Dark Fate
Director: Ric Roman Waugh Stars: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith Seemingly made for the six people left who still think that 24 ought to be a thing, but with half the budget of a standard episode, Angel Has Fallen is the second sequel to silly but harmless action thriller Olympus Has Fallen. Industrial … Continue reading Review: Angel Has Fallen
Director: Chad Stahleski Stars: Keanu Reeves, Asia Kate Dillon, Ian McShane Last time we saw John Wick (Keanu Reeves) things weren't looking good for the ruthlessly efficient assassin. Having broken the sacred contract of sanctuary at The Continental Hotel in New York, Wick was deemed 'excommunicado' by its manager Winston (Ian McShane) who, out of … Continue reading Review: John Wick Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Director: Leigh Whannell Stars: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson Do you fondly recall the late 80's/early 90's boom in pulpy, violent sci-fi thrillers? Leigh Whannell sure does. The creator of Saw and Insidious returns here with a terrific ode to these pictures of yesteryear, employing many of their tics without resorting to cheap-shot homage or empty … Continue reading Review: Upgrade
Director: Antoine Fuqua Stars: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders Back when I was a teenager I had a VHS copy of U.S. Marshals, the also-ran sequel to The Fugitive. That film's star Harrison Ford had bolted the fledgling franchise. Instead it was Tommy Lee Jones who reprised his role, hunting down Wesley Snipes with … Continue reading Review: The Equalizer 2
