When I was watching The Stranger it felt like there was a baseline tension that never really elevated or dipped, but was just always there looming. The sensation was like someone pulling on a thread of yarn, stretching it out as the story progressed. I didn’t know where it was from or when it would end I was just hoping it would snatch on something and give me some room to breathe. What this snatch was changed and transformed as…
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Nightmare Alley 2021
The production design and world building in Nightmare Alley is exquisite, as you’d expect from a Guillermo del Toro film. The tangibility of the world did a lot to put me in a place where the story should’ve been able to really take me in the whole way. Unfortunately, the first half of the movie didn’t hold me tight enough. There’s some really good stuff in there, setting up the characters and laying the foundations well but I think it…
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Mr. Holmes 2015
Mr. Holmes goes against the tide on what you’d expect from a story including the great detective. And although the story has its charm, I just wish there was a bit more too it
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M3GAN 2022
When the credits rolled and I saw the names of James Wan and Akela Cooper, two of the main creative forces behind Malignant - last year’s horror masterpiece (not sarcasm btw) - M3GAN all made sense
This movie may be the greatest comedy of the 21st century. And there’s too many moments of comedic gold dust for it to not be intentional. Interested to see how they now get through naming the many sequels this will spawn after already using up a 3 in the title. M3²GAN for the next one?
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Basic Instinct 1992
Sharon Stone? Sharon Bone.
Basic Instinct does an excellent job at keeping its claws in, drip feeding information to keep you hooked without ever giving away the game until the climax (pun intended). A game which has left me unsure on whether anyone was ever in complete control, and a game I'm still unsure of who the winner was in the end
One thing I am sure of is that I will never be watching this movie with my parents. Never ever ever
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The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014
It’s Saturday morning and there’s nothing I want more than to be in my own bed, wrapped up and warm. But alas, I am in Leeds, and the first of two journeys - a 3 hour train ride to Carlisle - lies in the way between me and the duvet. I get on the train, low on sleep and morale, and already the seconds feel as though they are bound by ball and chain, trudging along at quarter speed. I…
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Group B 2015
Great little short film that possesses really strong visual communication. It uses its time wisely, choosing what background information to show and when, and is extra effective at displaying the speed and pearl of rally driving during the time in which the movie is set. Gets a wee bonus as well for letting Richie Madden use his Scottish accent
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Barbarian 2022
Something something does for Airbnbs what Jaws did for sharks
Barbarian gave me one of the most severe cases of tonal whiplash I’ve ever experienced when watching a movie. In one cut the trajectory of the movie was completely altered. I think this moment captures what I enjoyed most about the film. From the very start, the possibilities of what might happen to our introductory character Tess branch off in every which direction, and the boughs never stop growing until the…
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The Pale Blue Eye 2022
was quite entertaining at the start trying to guess when the next actor to show up would not be english
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Mission: Impossible III 2006
This is unlike any Mission: Impossible that came before, and unlike any we’ve seen since. This movie maybe had the toughest job in the franchise, proving the series’ place after the lows of Mission: Impossible 2. J.J. Abrams had one chance and truly gave this series the kick up the arse it needed. Mission: Impossible 3 is chaotic, frantic and is the perfect mix of the franchise’s strengths and the cinematic action landscape of the time. Really interesting to see how…
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Inglourious Basterds 2009
Incredibly paced, brilliantly constructed, performances of the highest level. Those little flashes of external flavour like Hugo Stiglitz’s title card and Sam Jackson’s nitrate film narration add so much personality. Tarantino’s best