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,…
Tag: drama
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…
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…
The Phoenician Scheme
Whatever you think of Wes Anderson as a filmmaker, you cannot deny that he is meticulous in his creations. His mathematical approach to using the camera, with the centre being the focal point, is evident in his use of the written word on the screen and the use of narration. If you saw just a…
The Surfer
If you are going to make a movie that will appeal to the cult fans and is as mad as a box of frogs, then there is only one man you can turn to: Nicolas Cage. The Surfer falls into both those elements, a tale of the destruction of a man filmed in a way…
Thunderbolts*
Marvel Studios and the Cinematic Universe have not had the best times since Avengers: Endgame. A series of films underperforming at the box office, new characters that many didn’t care too much about, a chief villain who would be the franchise’s future that had to be dumped due to the actor’s personal activities and a…
Sinners
Genre films can be a difficult thing to get right. They can follow the rules of previous movies and come across as unoriginal. Others try to move away from the rules, and they end up falling flat on their face. Thank goodness, then, for Ryan Coogler. The director, whose back catalogue is looking more impressive…
The Penguin Lessons
When you watch a trailer for a new film, you can get a sense of what it’s going to be about.. The Penguin Lessons gives you the idea that this is going to be a cute tale of a man and his penguin, a perfect selling point. However, while there are moments of cuteness, this…
Disney’s Snow White
This is a call-out to someone who has influence over the executives at Disney. Could you tell them to stop green-lighting these live-action remakes of their classic animations? They are ruining a legacy that has had over 100 years of quality entertainment for the family. By creating these monstrosities like The Lion King, Pinocchio and…
Black Bag
When The Holdovers was advertised last year, I wasn’t very excited, but I was pleasantly surprised, and it became one of my favourite films. I had the same initial thoughts when watching the trailer for Black Bag. It was very underwhelming. I should have remembered the Alexander Payne comedy drama because Steven Soderbergh’s second film…
Mickey 17
Not many directors whose names are attached to a movie make you sit up and take note. Spielberg, Scorsese and Nolan all have that power. Now we have Bong Joon Ho, who gave us the masterpiece Parasite. He is a modern filmmaker who instantly draws you to his movies. Just from his past reputation and…
The Last Showgirl
Las Vegas has been used as a backdrop to so many movies, mainly for the glitz and glamour. The Last Showgirl, from Gia Coppola, the granddaughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, has taken a different approach. This is a film about the death of old Vegas, with the kind of cabaret show that is…
