Annihiliation

A film that does the big things well and messes up the small things. The world-building is beautiful - the shimmer, the flora, the fauna. The ideas present are fascinating - the notion of cells multiplying and spreading, the doppergänger, the unreliable narrator, the ambiguity. The notion that we are self-destructive beings one way or another. These …

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

I apologise. When I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I said I wasn't sure about Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. In my defence, I did also say that this might make more sense in future instalments. And so it delights me no end to say that I was wrong, and that Adam Driver's tormented …

Suburbicon (2017)

Such potential, such a disappointment. On the one hand, I'm a fan of Matt Damon and Julianne Moore, and they are good, or as good as they can be. On the other, the two storylines just don't mesh at all. The (presumably) Coen brothers-penned thread is full of dark humour and sees Damon and Moore involved in …

X-Men: Apocalypse

Wins the award for strangest use of Oscar Isaac in a movie. From what I could make out, he woke up a bit grumpy one day and decided to take over the world. Oh, and watch a little Star Trek. Having seen this a couple of days ago now, I keep remembering certain scenes but am …

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

In 1977, I queued along the sea front at the Regent Cinema in Redcar to watch a film called Star Wars. I loved it. Not as much as Star Trek, but I know I went back more than once. I loved Princess Leia - a girl kicking ass! - and was just the right age to …

Ex Machina

Stylish-looking film which asks some really interesting and deep questions about artificial intelligence, yet still felt a little simplistic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyKqHOgMi4g

The Two Faces of January

I was fortunate enough to see this film at a preview screening, followed by Q&A with director Hossein Amini and actor Viggo Mortensen. From an original novel by Patricia Highsmith, it is inevitably reminiscent of The Talented Mr Ripley in its '1960s wealthy Americans in the Mediterranean' setting, and it looks beautiful, both in location …