Reviews

It's fair to call this Nolan's most ambitious movie yet, although twice the complexity does unfortunately mean double the exposition and half the clarity.

Starts with a fun premise and intriguing characters, but once it exhausts its initial storyline, it struggles to find another one capable of sustaining it. The show eventually falls into the trap of confusing metaness for cleverness, and poking fun at its own self-indulgence doesn't change how self-indulgent it becomes.

To watch Devs is to watch one TV show be slowly consumed by another. It initially presents itself as adhering rigidly to a central scientific principle, its exploration of which was clever and thought provoking. But as the story unfolds, it seems to want to examine every interesting scientific principle at once, while not paying attention to the ways in which they contradict one another. The plot of the show was no longer being used to explore the science of the world, but the science of the world was being used to create dramatic moments and spectacle which chipped away at the show's internal logic.

Perhaps most of my problems with the progression of the show come from personal bias. It starts by presently a view of the world I strongly agree with, then introduces ideas which (to me) are much less scientifically plausible, choosing by the end to abandon the central principle I thought was holding the show together. But, as is visible from my score, I still liked the show overall and found it worth my time - even if it doesn't follow through on all its pledges, it nonetheless delivers an engaging story with likeable characters, and gets you thinking about the concepts it couldn't quite wrap up on its own.

The Irishman is undoubtedly a very well-made piece of cinema, but it's one that stays within its box and fears to try anything truly new. It's a Scorcese Mafia movie, and from that simple description you can envision quite accurately the entire film. All the classic locations and character archetypes are here, and much of the picture feels like a team of highly skilled filmmakers just going through the motions. Nevertheless, the director's expertise shines through in the smaller, self-contained scenes. Simple exchanges between characters about the most mundane things carry so much wit that they become more entertaining than any explosion or shootout. The energy and style are both there, but unfortunately the creativity isn't.

Dark Fate is the safest and least risk-taking instalment of the Terminator franchise, and yet it's still a breath of fresh air when compared to the overstuffed train-wreck that was Terminator: Genisys. In many ways, Dark Fate is a reimagining of the original 1985 film, but set in the modern day, filled with plot contrivances and featuring newer, less interesting characters. It's therefore unsurprising that the best part of the movie is the returning characters from previous instalments, who steal the screen and take all the best lines whenever they're around.

The smartest move made by the film was to ignore every Terminator movie apart from the first two, ditching the ridiculously complicated plot from Genisys and returning to good old robot action. Despite the new terminator having less charisma than Arnold Schwarzenegger's thumb, the premise of an unstoppable shape-shifting machine fighting an augmented superhuman with the help of an aging Sarah Connor will produce some entertaining action no matter what. It may be a film you'll forget in a week, but as two hours of mindless entertainment, you could do worse.

Here's how to watch Black Mirror if you want to check out the best episodes first:

• Watch White Christmas to see if you like the show
• If so, watch all of Season 3
• If still hooked, check out Bandersnatch
• The first and last episodes of Season 4 would be good to watch next
• Then watch Season 2
• Then watch the rest

Endgame is far from perfect, and it takes a long time to properly get going, but once it realises exactly what it wants to be, it's the perfect climax to a decade of build-up and packs a surprisingly emotional punch.

However, fortnite is in this movie, so I'm giving it a 0/10

I think it's not too controversial to say that Shazam is one of the best superhero movies of 2019 so far - not that there's that much to compete with. The goofy and light-hearted tone is a nice change of pace from the serious and often depressing films that DC has become best known for, making for a film that is most admirable for its refusal to ground itself in reality (although the filmmakers could certainly have pushed this ridiculousness even further).

That being said, many moments and scenes in this film were surprisingly extremely dark. While I'm not sure what the exact intention of this choice was, it creates a humorous contrast with the silliness of the Shazam character and plot line. It also gives a sense of real consequence and danger with plenty of death and destruction that actually feels impactful, as opposed to the larger-scale scenes in earlier DC films which fail to have any effect whatsoever. Although Shazam suffers from occasional superhero action fatigue, it's mostly quite tongue-in-cheek and almost parodic in nature, which naturally fits the tone very well.

While Shazam certainly held even more potential than what was delivered, it's a fun self-contained story which does well to poke fun at the superhero genre, and marks a definite step in the right direction for DC

Us is the second film by Jordan Peele, the writer and director of Get Out. While this film is more of a straightforward horror/slasher movie than a 'Social Thriller', it is unmistakably a Peele movie, featuring his signature reincorporations and sardonic wordplay along with the added claustrophobia that comes with the home invasion genre.

While I believe that Get Out is the superior film, there are still many aspects of this film which are an improvement over its predecessor. Firstly, the soundtrack is much more memorable and used to great effect. The blending of humor and horror is also more effective; Get Out alternated the more dramatic and serious scenes with comic relief scenes, but Us manages to have some genuine laugh-out-loud moments in the middle of extremely tense and horrific moments while still maintaining the feeling of constant dread, making for extremely entertaining scenes which are the perfect mixture of horror and comedy.

However, the script and concepts, while genius at times, seem slightly disjointed overall. The logic in Get Out was completely sound, and rewatches would always reveal more hidden details which strengthened it even further. The logic in Us can fall apart if examined too closely, and the numerous ideas struggle to complement each other at times. I feel that Peele had less time to fully think this idea through, perhaps because he felt the need to release a second film as quickly as possible in order to cement his place as a noteworthy up-and-coming director.

Nonetheless, plot holes matter much less than overall themes and symbolism, which Us handles very well. While the social commentary of Get Out was very clear and left little room for debate, Us is more open to speculation and theorising, presenting the audience with a variety of ideas and statements which can be brought together in numerous valid ways.

Even when forgetting the symbolism and commentary, Us still shines as a supremely enjoyable slasher/home invasion movie with striking images and very well crafted sequences of prolonged tension. However, the more squeamish among you may want to give this one a miss.

Captain Marvel ended up being much better than I was expecting. The dialogue could often be quite clunky and there were a few clichéd moments, but overall the plot was very enjoyable and the characters/actors had pretty good chemistry. The soundtrack was great and really added to the atmosphere and tone in certain points. It was also quite creatively shot in places, and the colours were much more vibrant than previous entries in the marvel catalogue.

The production design was probably the highlight. The 90s aesthetic was a fun addition and the reincorporation of technology and designs from films like Guardians of the Galaxy made the universe feel more connected. The concept of shapeshifters and the inherent paranoia that comes with it was well used for the just part. The Skrull leader does start off as pretty laughable, but he becomes a worthwhile addition to the ensemble by the end.

Captain Marvel is a worthwhile addition to the MCU which is both engaging and well-connected to the rest of the universe. There's not much that makes it unique when compared to other Marvel films, but it's still a fun sci-fi adventure with a compelling mystery at its core.

So I just watched Your Movie Sucks and it was... decent. Now I've been excited for this series for a while and had pretty high expectations but I have to say it wasn't as good as I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, this is a very well-made series, but it had one major problem and it was in the cinematography department. Most of the shots were just very bland and uninteresting. There was this one scene where two people were having a conversation, but one of the shots was slightly out of focus. It was HILARIOUS. The acting was fairly well done and a few actors were really given chances to shine. Tilda Swinton in particular was excellent in every scene she was in. So check this one out if you want, and I'm giving this one a 7 out of 10.

Although quite slow-paced, Caché is mysterious, haunting, and unbearably tense. There are no jumpscares and nothing supernatural, but the suspense and intrigue is so powerful that the urge to look away can become very hard to resist.

This is a film that lends itself very well to speculation and theorising. There is a level of ambiguity the whole way through, and the audience is in part expected to write their own narrative. This may be annoying to some, but the film gives you more than enough information to get a decent idea of what's going on, as long as you're paying attention..

Oh, and watch that final shot.

Watch it very carefully.

Better than the critics' reviews had me expecting it to be, but still nowhere near as good as Unbreakable or Split. Glass offers some entertaining interactions between the worlds of these two movies and continues many of the themes and ideas that they set up, but is unfortunately coated with a layer of pretentiousness that can be quite off-putting.

While M Night Shyamalan's writing and directing skills are still shaky, I feel that he's become consistently strong again in the cinematography department. The shots are as sharp and focused as they were in the two prior movies, even if the editing is less inspired. Also, Glass contains far less subtlety and attention to detail, which is made worse by characters overexplaining everything that the audience could have figured out themselves.

The film gives the impression that it is building to an eruptive conclusion, but what we end up with is a fairly disappointing climax which is far less than what the trilogy deserves, and also proves that The Beast really only works in small doses. Nonetheless, James McAvoy is mostly as good in this as he was in Split, although every other returning actor seems to be phoning it in a bit.

Split and Unbreakable are both far more creative and worthwhile movies, but Glass provides a mostly satisfactory continuation of their stories. However, if you haven't seen either of them, this probably isn't the film for you.

Free Solo is engaging and suspenseful the whole way through, with massively wide shots and vertigo-inducing angles serving to create both unbearably tense scenes and a sense of truly epic scale.

The film functions partly as a character study of a very quirky and interesting figure, making sure to delve into his life and personality just as much as it examines the climb itself. This works to great effect and builds a real connection between him and the audience, which only heightens the suspense in subsequent scenes.

Due to this being a documentary and not a fictional story, the tension and risk is legitimate throughout as accidents and injuries happen suddenly and frequently. The camera crew themselves become integral parts of the story at times, which helps to make the film seem more genuine and organic. The soundtrack was also used very effectively and really added a lot to certain scenes, especially towards the end.

Definitely check this film out, it's an engaging and exciting depiction of a truly impressive feat.

The best way to describe The Favorite is a dramatic dark comedy packed with absurdism. While the film is mostly focussed on the shifting power dynamics between the three main characters, it it packed with comedic commentary on the 'everyday cruelty' of the time period and the ridiculous extravagance of the royal family.

The shots, colour scheme, wide lenses and lighting were chosen perfectly to illustrate the lavishness of the time period - darkened corridors lit by the orange glow of lamps are particularly stunning. All the acting was spectacular, especially Olivia Colman as Queen Anne. The minister of the opposition, played by Nicholas Hoult, also stole every scene he was in.

So, The Favorite is hilarious, dramatic, shocking, excellently shot and exactly what you would expect from Yorgos Lanthimos. If extremely sexual and somewhat disturbing films aren't your thing, maybe give this a miss, but otherwise I strongly recommend it.

Into The Spider-Verse is unrelentingly creative and daring, pulling off in spectacular fashion a story so strange and unique it would have been deemed box-office suicide ten years ago.

Every scene looks like it's been ripped straight out of a comic book, with a dotted halftone texture decorating every object and speech/thought bubbles appearing in the background. Each frame of the movie has been carefully crafted to be as creative and engaging as possible, and the film even occasionally acknowledges the virtual camera.

On a similar note, Into The Spider-Verse is filled with self-referential and meta humor, which fits in very appropriately. Three of the main six 'spidermen' are purely comic relief characters, but they're all effective in their own ways and are mostly parodies of different genres and clichés, with Spider-Noir being my personal favorite (and Spider-Ham close behind).

The animation itself was the most meticulously crafted and unique I've seen since The Lego Movie. The animators played around with focus, colour, framerate, time lapses, split screen, onomatopoeic text and much more. Even if the plot and characters had been awful, this film would have been worth seeing for the visuals alone. The ending in particular is very reminiscent of Doctor Strange, and even takes some queues from 2001 in terms of its cinematography.

Every major character had just enough depth and motive to make them interesting, and their backstory would always be revealed in an engaging way. This would sometimes make up for it being somewhat formulaic - Kingpin is a prime example here. Initially, the trailers had me slightly worried about the script and voice-acting, but most of the more clichéd material seemed to be purely for the trailers.

The rap-themed soundtrack was largely appropriate and added a lot to certain scenes. Also, the after credits scene is probably my favorite ever. It has to be seen to be believed - definitely stick around for it.

This might be my favorite Spider-Man film ever, and certainly the success that Sony has been waiting for. It's a visual feast, and a pretty solid screenplay as well. I'd recommend it to everyone.

The biggest problem with this movie is that, to put it bluntly, almost nothing happens. For the first three-quarters of the film, very little action is taken by the characters to advance the plot. As the film went on, it almost felt like it was running out of time to actually tell a story. That being said, the ending was surprisingly good and held some emotional impact - perhaps because it was the only part of the film where something actually happened that affected the main characters.

Newt returns as a likeable-enough protagonist, and it's of course great to have Jacob back, who has been the best part of both movies so far (although his relationship with Queenie did hit some painfully familiar beats). Grindelwald is intimidating and mysterious - up until the point he first speaks, at which he becomes Johnny Depp. There were far too many characters as a whole, which was likely the main reason the narrative was so bloated and winding.

The visual presentation seemed, for the most part, to be more unique and creative than the previous film. Shots were more carefully crafted and interesting, but there were problems with this complexity. The first of the two (yes, just two) action scenes was quite disorienting to watch and rather unengaging, but the second used a much more inventive location and was one of the highlights of the film.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was a fun, inventive blockbuster with a good sense of humor and many entertaining setpieces. The Crimes of Grindelwald seems to think of itself more as a nuanced character study, but for the most part lacks the coherence and momentum to make it worthwhile.

At it's best, Venom is a bizarre and entertainingly dumb action-comedy about Tom Hardy turning into a huge space monster and eating people. Once he actually gets the symbiote, he shines as the only character who realises he's in a comedy and delivers every line perfectly. Unfortunately, all the supporting cast play their rolls so straight-laced that scenes lacking the title character and Eddie are often plain boring. The exception here is the villain, who unintentionally funny by being so unrealistically evil that you can't take him seriously. The CGI and humour are both of mixed quality, and the after-credits scene is seriously groan inducing. Ultimately, Venom is a goofy romantic comedy trapped inside a forgettable Marvel imitator.