Of all the Marvel creations, the Fantastic Four have had the rockiest time with film versions. There were the two from the early 2000s, and the disastrous 2015 version (and let’s not forget Roger Corman’s unreleased and very cheap version. Now, Marvel Studios has the rights back and has given us their first adventure in…
Friendship
The joy of cinema is that you go in and are expected to feel something, whether it be happiness, sadness, horror, or even depression. It is not often that you feel uncomfortable, but in a genuine, non-terrifying way. That is the case with Friendship, a new black comedy from A24, about an awkward man who…
Superman
When Richard Donner brought Superman to the screens back in 1978, it not only changed the face of superhero movies but it set such a high bar that nothing would ever touch it or even get close to touching it, especially when you have Christopher Reeve as the lead, an actor who not only looked…
28 Years Later
Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later was a ground-breaking post-apocalyptic horror that helped change the face of zombie movies. With its mind-boggling opening sequence (the deserted London) and creatures that seem to be world-class sprinters, this was one of the finest horrors of modern cinema. After the stand-alone sequel, Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland are back…
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Think back to 1992, when Jurassic Park first hit the screens and how awe-inspiring it was. Dinosaurs that were not stop motion but seemed real, interacting with humans and Steven Spielberg using all the muster he had from Jaws to produce an exciting, nail-biting adventure. The next two had their moments, but it was a…
Elio
When you look at the plot synopsis for Elio, you would find it hard to believe that this is an original story: a lonely boy looking for friendship finds it in an alien. Immediately, your thoughts go to E.T. Yet this is a Pixar movie, and even though the animation may be inspired by several…
Echo Valley
Thrillers are often hard to handle, whether they are too contrived to be believable or too ridiculous to be plausible. Echo Valley, from the writer of the Kate Winslet drama Mare of Easttown and the director of Beast, starts off way too contrived, but thanks to a strong script, direction and a brilliant lead performance,…
How To Train Your Dragon
I have grown so tired of the trend of reworking animated features into live-action films. Disney seems to have built their studios around it recently, to the point that I have struggled to even venture to see Lilo & Stitch. When I first became aware of DreamWorks entering the same world as the House of…
Karate Kid: Legends
Since the 80s, there has been one franchise that won’t lie down: The Karate Kid. We’ve had four original movies (including the dire The Next Karate Kid, which could have been the death knell of the series); the 2010 reboot, and, more recently, Cobra Kai (not forgetting the animated TV series). Now we have Karate…
Ballerina
The John Wick films have been a surprising success of the 21st century. Ultra-violent action movies that have improved with each episode, culminating in the fourth entry, which features a spectacular fight sequence in Montmartre, Paris, that has taken the action flick to a whole new level. It’s a world that could be expanded, and…
The Salt Path
What would you do if your life were turned completely upside-down after losing your home and everything within it? Would you hide from the world and hope that something will turn up? Or would you do what Raynor and Moth Winn did, pack the few belongings they had and walk across a coastal path to…
Stu Loves Film 