Entering into Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, One Battle After Another, I didn’t know what to expect. The trailer appears somewhat disjointed, not only in tone but also in terms of plot and character development. Thankfully, this was one of those times when the trailer does the right amount to make an audience member intrigued, because…
Tag: drama
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Downton Abbey has become almost critic-proof. No matter what people think about the movies that have come out since the TV series ended, the fans will come out to support it. The third, and allegedly, last movie, The Grand Finale, is a perfect example of how safe it is. It is possibly the worst of…
The Long Walk
Stephen King seems to be the flavour of the month at the moment. With the excellent Life of Chuck recently released, a TV series based on the novel It, Welcome To Derry, coming soon, and a new version of The Running Man in November, King’s wealth of novels and short stories seems to be attracting…
The Roses
Take two of this country’s finest and highly respected actors, the director of the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents movies, the writer of The Favourite and Poor Things and a film based on a best-selling book that has already been made into a popular movie from 1989, and what do you expect you will…
Materialists
Celine Song burst onto the scene with her beautiful, poignant love story, Past Lives, in 2023. Anticipation for her follow-up was high. Materialists is a different love story focusing on another triangle like her previous film, but this time in a very different world and with a different attitude. However, what sounds like a good…
The Life Of Chuck
When it comes to film adaptations of books, no one has had a chequered career than Stephen King. The master of horror has some outstanding film versions from Carrie (the original 1976 version) to The Shining (although King himself hates it) to more recently It (the first part). Where he has scored highly is the…
Bring Her Back
A few years ago, Australian directors and twin brothers, Danny and Michael Philippou, gave us the intriguing and compelling horror film, Talk To Me, about a mummified hand that conjured spirits. What made that film work so well was its originality and the fact that the directors gave us characters we cared about. Now they…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Stu Loves Film 