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This review may contain spoilers.
It's a shame that the finale to such an explosive franchise was stretched to almost 6 hours across two films. Watching them both back to back honestly makes it pretty laughable that part 1 has the runtime that it has when you could probably scrap the constant flashbacks and callbacks from this one and replace it with a a solid first hour introduction and let loose into the main events.
The problems that plagued part 1 still exist here, there's too much exposition and the screenplay often loses itself in repeating information to the audience and slowing the pacing down to a halt.
The key story beat of luther dying just didn't illicit the emotion I was hoping for either, which is a shame because it's probably the highest stake there is to Ethan and his team.
I could go on with other little things that rubbed me the wrong way but I actually still managed to have a good time, which I think is a credit to the magic that this franchise has with it's bombastic action and just outright bonkers set pieces. The entire sequence from the battleship to the submarine might be one of my favourite set pieces from the entire franchise. It's just a shame what it took to get to that sequence and that the final act didn't keep the tension and high octane emotion that I was hoping for.
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The more I think about Dead Reckoning the more I realise the issues I have with it. Following Fallout was always going to be difficult but it seems like this is worse in almost every way.
I think the ultimate problem is the attempt at telling a story that feels "worthy" of a finale. The screenplay is so focused on upping the stakes and making the story epic that it loses focus and ends up being crammed with exposition on top of exposition. Seriously, there are long stretches that are outright boring because I stopped caring each time someone said "the entity" (which is such a dumb name that it makes the whole film a little goofy)
While I do like Hayley Atwell, I couldn't care less about her character, Grace. She takes up way too much screen time for a character that is so blatantly shoehorned into this story in replacement of Ferguson's Ilsa.
The same problem exists for Gabriel too, he's just a worse Lane that the film tries to retroactively make a good villain by using the classic trope that he's connected to the heroes past.
There's a chance that part 2 will improve on most of this but I'm not holding out hope if I'm honest.
Watched on Thursday May 29, 2025.
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Watched on Sunday May 25, 2025.
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Watched on Friday May 23, 2025.
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Watching these almost back to back it's becoming hard to differentiate one from the other. The quality is definitely getting better though, and now that the cast is more defined and reoccurring it becomes easier to care for the characters rather than just having a one off random agent who either dies or just never gets mentioned again.
The action is the best here too, the fight choreography is a lot of fun and the motorcycle chase is bonkers. I don't think I preferred any one sequence over the Burj Khalifa one from Ghost Protocol though, that whole bit had me on the edge of my seat.
I wished there was a little more world building with these films though, this is probably the most there is out of the whole franchise, but there's not as much as I'd like. If it wasn't for the reoccurring cast they'd probably just feel like separate films with the same main characters, hopefully though the next few films feel more like a part of a wider story.
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Watched on Saturday May 17, 2025.
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After recently rewatching all the films it became hard to distunguish one installment from the other. Even though Bloodlines is the sixth film it manages to stand out from the rest by a fair margin. There's much more of an actual story being told here, unlike in some of the other films that really feel like a complication of deaths rather than an actual film. The characters are also much better and I often rooted for them way more than I thought I would.
The kills still found ways to be unique and shocking, there's a couple in particular that might be my favourite from the entire series. Although while some are really great, some of the others can feel a little boring.
One thing I appreciated is how well Bloodlines ties into the rest of the series. It's been over a decade since the last film and the writers could have dismissed what came before it to instead reboot the series but they didn't. There's just enough to make a nod to the wider world and the events that have taken place without it feeling like a cheap callback. It definitely feels like a finale, especially now that Tony Todd has ed, but I bet some studio execs won't be able to leave the franchise alone.
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Watched on Thursday May 15, 2025.
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Watched on Wednesday May 14, 2025.
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Watched on Tuesday May 13, 2025.
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Watched on Monday May 12, 2025.
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Watched on Sunday May 11, 2025.
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It's hard for superhero films to stand out after almost 2 decades of the MCU. Thunderbolts* tries it's best and while it is still predictable and follows the cookie cutter formula, there are moments where it shines.
This is mostly all down to Florence Pugh and her performance as Yelena as well as the development her character receives. The MCU is setting up a lot of successors to take on the mantle of the original avengers, but Yelena is definitely the most interesting and worthy by a country mile.
The 'group of misfits trying to become heroes' trope may be a little tired after multiple Marvel and DC projects but the fact that there's already a little background to these characters means that we can mostly jump straight into them bickering with eachother while they slowly put aside their differences.
It's just a shame it took this many projects after Endgame for the MCU to feel like it might be hitting it's stride one again.
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Watched on Thursday May 8, 2025.
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Watched on Monday May 5, 2025.
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Watched on Friday May 2, 2025.
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Watched on Saturday April 26, 2025.
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It's crazy how two of my favourite films from this year are both vampire films, a subgenre that I didn't particularly care for but both Nosferatu and Sinners breathes a new life into this classic horror monsters in different ways.
Sinners uses it's western setting to create a rich and interesting world, and threads music into it's vampiric lore perfectly. I love the way music is used to amplify cultures, especially how it uses blues and folk music both in tandem and against one another.
Michael B Jordan seriously feels like he is actually playing two different characters, and not in a gimmick way whatsoever. It feels like you could separate these two charscters and put them into separate films and you wouldn't even notice much of a connection in his performance of the two. Both Smoke and Stack have such life in their performances. That goes for every character here though, they all feel like they lived a full life and exist outside the screen that you see them on.
Everyone is talking about one particular sequence and honestly I can't blame them, I was already loving Sinners but once that scene happened I was completely drawn in. I honestly don't think there are many directors that could make the sequence work the way Ryan Coogler does and it's definitely one that I'll be thinking about for a while.
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Warfare uses the memories of veterans to create a snapshot of the time they served and adapt it for the screen. And as is said in the marketing, all events are told in real time.
This combination creates something that doesn't feel like your usual film, there aren't any character arcs, most of the names are barely mentioned or relied upon. Instead you follow a single group who are held up in a single house for the duration of the film. It feels almost documentarian in it's filmmaking, and sures being simply a gimmick to stand out from the crowd.
With that being said though the fact that this is all told in real time and that the individuals themselves don't have much going for them can mean that at times there is a disconnect, especially in the beginning of the film where the tensions very slowly rise and it feels like your just watching procedurals of military operations. However once the bullets start to fly those issues were quickly put to the side, especially when the sound design gets it's time to shine. It is by far the highlight. There are moments where the noise felt almost too much to sit through. But it's done so in a way that pulls you into just some of what these men experienced.
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Watched on Friday April 11, 2025.
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Watched on Sunday April 6, 2025.
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Does Jack Quaid put in the same performance he usually does? Sure.
Is the structure generic and predictable? Also, yes.
But even with its flaws this still shapes up to be a fun time. It uses its concept pretty well and makes for some great moments, some funny, some creative and some outright gnarly. There's enough unique stuff happening that it keeps it from being a by-the-books action film that you'd forget about in a month.
With all that being said, I do wish the bad guys reacted to the crazy stuff Novocaine does, there's moments of it here and there but just not enough of it, especially in the last third. There's some pretty outrageous things he does or goes through without any reaction and I kept hoping some of the guys would just ask 'wtf?' a little bit more.
The last third also made it clear that the screenplay was being stretched too thin to last the final 10 minutes. Which is shame because there are still some great moments in the finale, it just felt like it needed more time in the oven.
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Watched on Wednesday March 26, 2025.
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Watched on Tuesday March 25, 2025.
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Watched on Sunday March 23, 2025.
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I was pretty interestes in this after hearing about how the whole film is almost entirely shot from the first person perspective, and I can definitely see why so many people love this but I just can't connect to the story or characters at all with this style of film making.
The story feels like it's stretched out with more time spent creating sequences for the cinematography to shine rather than the writing, and I was honestly left feeling bored and uninnterested, which is surprising consiering what this is actually about.
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Watched on Wednesday March 12, 2025.
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Watched on Sunday March 9, 2025.
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Watched on Wednesday March 5, 2025.
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I went into this knowing nothing about Brazils history, so this was eye opening to learn about such an important part of a country's history.
I really appreciate the decision to spend the first third of an almost 2 and a half hour film just with the Paiva family. It sets the tone for the entire film that this is a deeply personal story that almost includes the audience as an extension of this family as you witness how they were treat.
Fernanda Torres puts in an incredible performance. I can't even pick out a scene that's my favourite because there are so many where her performance alone brought a lump to my throat.
The last third does nclude a few time jumps, and while it can feel slightly disted the storytelling hat it achieves is so good that it doesn't matter. I particularly loved the ending scene, it's not that long but encapsulates the events of the whole film and the effects it has on the Paiva Family and leaves you with a lot to sit on.
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Watched on Wednesday February 26, 2025.
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There definitely needs to be more witchy films, it feels like they all came out in the 90's and 00's and haven't really had their chance in the spotlight for the last couple of decades.
The Craft does feel very much like a 90's film, but not really in a bad way. I think the edgy style really suits the film and the characters, even if it can look a little ugly at times.
There's some cool uses of witch spells that aren't the usual ones you'd expect, and even though the story is a little predictable and kind of plays into the tropes by the second half it's still a fun time.
Definitely feel like I need a crossover with Scream now though.
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Watched on Monday February 24, 2025.
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Watching this after Emilia Perez is the film equivalent of whiplash. Seeing a musical that actually feels like a musical, with good songs, and well choreographed scenes is exactly what I expected with Wicked.
I also expected some great set design, which there absolutely is, the attention to detail is insane and feels so magical. The downside is that the digital treatment that Wicked receives in its colour grading and lighting is utterly poor, and just holds back the enormous potential this film has to be a visual feast.
I know nothing about the stage musical, so I don't know if the length or cutting into to parts is warranted. It also makes it hard to fully review the story since it's not been told fully in the first part. Regardless if there should be two parts or not though this still feels too long, the middle lost me and it wasn't until the the last 20 minutes or so that I was engaged again.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande do have fantastic chemistry though, and the songs they have together are definitely the best. So I'm at least looking forward to part 2 just for more shared scenes between the two of them.
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I really can't wrap my head around how the academy has nominated this for so many awards, I can agree on the nominations for best performances, because Zoe Saldana especially is fantastic, but even she can't save this film.
I'm not a huge lover of musicals, but even with some musicals there are still songs I like, but there were barely any that I liked. There's moments within songs that are good, but it insists on having this weird dialogue that is forced into song form and it never works.
The themes are extremely shallow too and spend far too much time exploring literally nothing. There was a point where I paused the film about half way through and honestly I could have stopped watching the film and explained its themes. The second half doesn't do anything interesting or warrant the run time at all.
If this wins anything outisde of more than 2 or 3 awards I will be shocked.
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Watched on Monday February 17, 2025.
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I'm not gonna lie I fully thought this was a musical until like 20 minutes before I watched it. I hadn't seen any trailers and with the title and mentions of theatre I just assumed this was a musical. I also had no idea Sing Sing is literally the name of a prison until like 10 minutes into the film when I had to Google it.
So with that being said this was nothing at all what I expected. I also didn't expect some of the best performances of the year to come from non-actors playing themselves. It adds such a humbling and raw layer to the film that can't be replicated with any accomplished actor no matter how good they are.
Colman Domingo puts in a quiet but powerful performance too, and he never overdoes. He manages to stay in his lane the entire time and it means that he never overshadows his co-stars.
I also love the theme in the film of him teaching and enabling these men to be and do better, while also playing a similar role on set too.
I haven't even mentioned the cinematography. It's so subtle and often just sits in one place while scenes play out, ultimately making the film feel like everything would happen whether you were observing it or not.
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It's hard for a slasher to have a unique concept nowadays, but Heart Eyes managed to pique my interest with it's combination of romance/horror/comedy and setting of Valentines Day. That's kind of all it has though, there's a surprising amount of downtime and it ends up taking the thrill out completely. It's kind of being held back by it's own ambition, the script spends too much time trying to sell this cutesy relationship and it actively works against the horror aspect because when one moment is happening the other takes a backseat, for the most part at least.
Also, I hate to compare films but it's really difficult not to think about Scream while watching this. Which meant that by the end I realised I would have rather I just watched Scream instead.
The leads do have good chemistry though, which at least helps the romance work fairly well, even though I'd rather see it all let loose and have some really creative kills.
At a time where there are an abundance of Biopics, you would think one about Trump could be one of the more interesting ones, not necessarily because of it's content but because of the different ways this could be approached. Unfortunately though, it seems to just spend a whole lot of time saying nothing interesting at all. Trump is probably one of the most talked about and documented people of the last couple of decades, so to do a Biopic on him you really have to come at it with a unique angle and this just isn't it.
Don't get me wrong, Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong both put in fantastic performances and it's easy to see why they were both nominated. Seeing Sebastian Stan slowly morph into the Trump we know today is honestly the only thing that kept me watching.
For me, if this film absolutely had to be made then I think more of a comedic/parody approach would have been far better, but then again a script like that would probably never see the light of day anyway.
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As someone who always has a soft spot for time travel I was so conflicted watching this. Primer somehow manages to be both too fast and too slow, the beginning feels like you've jumped in part way through the exposition and the last third started to lose me and I ended up questioning when and how the film was actually going to end.
I did really like the middle though, and when the film hit it's stride I was loving the writing and the way it handled time travel.
Despite my complaints though it's very impressive this is made pretty much by one guy, it feels like a low budget Nolan flick at times. That might be a bad thing for some reason but I didn't mind it for the most part.
Perhaps this is one that rewards rewatched but from looking at other people's reviews it sounds like that might only complicate things further.
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Pornostar (yes that's the name of the film, and no it doesn't have anything to do with the actual film) is the type of film where if you enjoy it's style and vibe then you'll have a good time. For me though, I just couldn't get into it, and it meant that after the first half I realised this wasn't for me.
The nihilistic grungy vibe is so consistent throughout that because I didn't gel with it the whole film felt so one note and flat. I was honestly relieved when it ended.
I understand the message the film is pushing with the angry youth of Japan against the Yakuza and society but that wasn't enough to win me over.
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I did not expect this to hold my attention as much as it did. When I saw the trailer for this I wasn't very interested but seeing all the positive reviews I wanted to give it a shot and I'm really glad I did.
Conclave might honestly be one of the most thrilling films I've seen in a while, and it has possibly the least exciting premise to go along with it. This could easily be solely about faith and the doubt that even those most devoubted to the church have, but it's so much more than that. It adds in politics, controversy, personal beliefs and the result is a very human story wrapped up in the Roman Catholic faith.
All of the performances are great, Ralph Fiennes looks like he constantly has the weight of the world on his shoulders and begrudgingly accepts the duty that he's been given. I also really liked John Lithgow's silently wicked character, he gets under your skin from the very beginning and the webs he spins just feels like a ticking time bomb.
This has been said a lot but the imagery is unnecessarily stunning, the combination of the production design, costume, lighting and cinematography makes for a simple but satisfying style throughout and near the end there are some seriously beautiful shots.
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I don't know what I expected from this but I did not expect to laugh as much as I did, nor did I expect it to be so charming and have some really poignant moments towards the end.
Memoir of a Snail is an absolute delight. I think overall I prefer digital animation, the stunning visuals will always win me over. But this stop motion claymation style feels so much more deliberate and human. It feels like the characters are just extensions of the animators ina way you don't get with digital animation.
Also I couldn't believe Grace was voiced by Sarah Snook. I love Succession and even though I knew she was Australian I still couldn't believe it was her when I was picturing Shiv.
Definitely a worthy contender for best animation, even though I gave Flow the same score I think this might slightly deserve it more, although I wouldn't e upset if either won.
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Watched on Sunday February 2, 2025.
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I've never felt so conflicted as the credits rolled. The Brutalist is a technical marvel, everything including the cinematography, set design and credits design is fantastic. Every single actor puts in a amazing performance, each character felt so alive and it becomes so easy to lose yourself in the film.
I loved the first half, and by the time the intermission came along I was so excited to see where the story was going. In fact at the time it felt like the intermission almost interrupted the flow, it didn't feel like much time had ed at all and I just wanted to get straight into part 2.
How wrong I was though, as part 2 went on it felt like the screenplay lost its focus and meandered through a few ideas. The best way to describe in my mind is that it feels like the film was more concerned with making the points it wanted to make without considering how to make them work within the context of eachother and the film at each specific moment. Despite the longer runtime the thematic crescendos feel rushed and once they start they don't really stop, it kind of felt like a dogpile of all these ideas that were had in the draft rather than a final version that would have been stripped back.
Because of all this the end of part 2 and the epilogue feel so disted. I'd rather there was no epilogue at all (since I really don't see what it adds) and there is a more thought out ending within part 2.
My thoughts might be slightly too harsh but it's only because I loved the first half so much, and desperately wanted that same quality throughout.
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This review may contain spoilers.
Watcher isn't anything particularly new or fresh, the narrative has been told before and while it tries to explore new territory I didn't find any of it's attempts that interesting.
That's not to say this is all bad though, Maika Monroe puts in a great performance as a woman who feels like she is suffocating from loneliness, alienation and anxiety. While the writing didn't have me feeling tense or on edge, I still believed her performance wholeheartedly.
Considering the setting isn't anything special, the cinematography is more than decent. The scenes in the apartment with the low lighting and high/low-angle shots are beautifully thought through and definitely the highlights of the film.
My problem is entirely with the writing. I spent 90% of the film convinced that the watcher wasn't the murderer, the script just never gave me reason to doubt myself either. Even thinking back after watching there aren't any moments where I can say that the film did leave breadcrumbs that I missed.
You'd think that all this would mean that the twist right at the end would have won me over, but I was so uninterested and lost any investment in the story that I didn't really care. I was more confused about what message the film was going for, is it gaslighting? There is some of that sure but not enough if that's the case. It clearly isn't about the effects of loneliness on the mind either since the threat is absolutely real and not paranoia.
If there were more breadcrumbs dotted throughout to have me doubting myself or if the ending was scrapped and instead the writing focused entirely on the anxiety and paranoia I would have enjoyed this a lot more. As it stands though this just seems like two ideas merged together.
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I think I had my expectations slightly too high after watching the trailers. I love both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid so seeing them together is great.
Companion doesn't have the most original plot ever, but it does manage to make up for some of that by leaning into the comedy more than it does the horror. I'd actually rather it lean further into the comedy more since some jokes got a good laugh out of me but some just didn't land.
The script also puts a lot of effort into explaining its lore and while that does do a fairly good job at filling any potential plot holes it also feels clunky and can at times slow the pacing down, when I'd rather there be something more interesting happening.
There are some great moments in the final act though, and the film does use it's predefined rules to it's advantage near to the end. I just think that it tries to squeeze too much into the finale, and it ended up feeling like there were multiple endings stacked on top of each other rather than it flowing naturally to the credits.
Sorry to bother you takes a really inventive approach to delve into the absurd and make some interesting commentary on capitalism and the never ending exploitation of workers. While I do think there are times when the script gets a bit carried away and ends up feeling like a few different films edited together it's still lots of fun.
I especially like the first half and love both LaKeith Stanfield and Steven Yeun so seeing them in a film together was a great time. The second half just lost me a little bit, particularly the last third, but I can definitely see why the absurdity would work for a lot of people, because this is really creative and pushes it's ideas to the limit.
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Marketing this as a horror is such a weird choice, I can only see it doing more harm than good when people go to see it expecting something actually scary.
I heard this was more of a drama than a horror but still ended up being disappointed. Presence reminded me of a lot of A Ghost Story especially with the story being told from the ghosts perspective, though presence does go even further with the entire film being shot from the ghosts point of view.
The experimental choice of this is the best part of the film, even though it can occasionally be to it's detriment.
My main issue is that it feels like the idea for how the film would be shot etc was decided first and then the story was built around that to make it work, rather than the other way around. The result of this is a pretty lackluster story with some good awful dialogue especially between the kids, they seriously speak like they've never heard another human speak before, pair that with some sub-par performances and it all just feels fairly amateurish.
It's a real shame that I couldn't stop making comparisons to A Ghost Story because there are some good moments here, especially when there are long takes that feel very well choreographed, unfortunately though for each of those long takes there are these awkward short scenes that when edited together honestly ends up feeling like a rough draft more than a final product.
]]>UK release dates
- Nosferatu
- Sinners
- Flow
- I'm Still Here
- Memoir of a Snail
- A Real Pain
- Mickey 17
- Warfare
- Novocaine
- The Brutalist
...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>UK release dates
- All of Us Strangers
- Anora
- Monster
- Perfect Days
- His Three Daughters
- Poor Things
- Red Rooms
- The Wild Robot
- The Substance
- Challengers
...plus 38 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>In no particular order
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Past Lives
- The Worst Person in the World
- Anora
- Riceboy Sleeps
- All of Us Strangers
- Perfect Days
- Monster
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Star Wars
...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Horror films watched from 15th September through till Halloween
...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>This is a list of films that make you feel like you're watching a snippet of someone's life. They go above and beyond other films with how raw and delicate they feel and capture a unique experience that's really unforgettable.
]]>UK release dates
- Past Lives
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Oppenheimer
- Godzilla Minus One
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
- Barbie
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- How to Have Sex
- Rye Lane
- Nimona
...plus 41 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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