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A satisfying conclusion to what is possibly the best franchise out there. Genuinely. There isn’t a single bad Mission: Impossible movie. 

The Final Reckoning feels completely different to its predecessors, with a level of tension the franchise hasn’t reached before. There’s large periods where my entire screening was holding its breath in eerie silence. That underwater sequence in particular - wow. Unreal. 

As a standalone film it does suffer somewhat. There are a lot of flashbacks to previous instalments to catch the audience up, and the entire runtime feels like a third act as it tries to tie up the franchise. That being said, for long time fans of the series it is fantastic to see all of Ethan Hunt’s prior escapades weaving together - even if there is the odd bit of ret-conning. 

I love the cast, they’re all on top form, particularly Angela Bassett in her new role as POTUS. I did miss Rebecca Ferguson, but Hayley Atwell is fantastic in her own right as Hunt’s female counterpart. Then there’s Tom Cruise. I feel like I say this every time I watch a Mission: Impossible film, but Cruise is without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest action actor ever. Fuck it. He might be the greatest actor ever - full stop. His ion is infectious and his devotion to the craft is unparalleled. The man has transcended the art. 

People will pick holes in the plot. Let them. It’s Mission: Impossible doing what Mission: Impossible does best. I’m gutted it’s over (seemingly), but these films are timeless and this certainly won’t be the last time I watch one. For all the running, unmasking and batshit crazy stunts - thank you Tom Cruise. 4 stars.

Mission: Impossible Ranked

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All over the place. The plot is ridiculous. The action is beyond over the top. Drew McIntyre shits himself. It all just felt like an excuse to present several different versions of the obnoxious, wacky hitman pulling off a multitude of physically implausible hits. Entertaining in places, but I found myself wondering why on Earth The Killers Game was ever made. 2 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Ethan Hunt > James Bond

Mission: Impossible Ranked

2023 Releases Ranked

Best one in the franchise so far. 

Mission: Impossible Ranked

I get it’s based on a true story so you can’t deviate too much from the truth, but other than an interesting premise iHostage is still extremely dull. Predictable and unsatisfying. I wouldn’t bother. 1.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Introducing Liv to the world of Mission: Impossible before we watch The Final Reckoning next week. The Mission: Impossible theme kicking in after Ethan makes the helicopter jump slaps so fucking hard. Tom Cruise is the greatest action hero ever. 3.5 stars. 

Mission: Impossible Ranked

Sometimes you’ve got to just suspend your disbelief, sit back, and let a ridiculously stupid film entertain you for the better part of two hours. That’s exactly what Novocaine is. Doesn’t take itself to seriously and plays to it’s strengths - those being Jack Quaid and some wildly over the top action and gore based upon a batshit premise. By no means a cinematic masterpiece, but it doesn’t need to be. Novocaine does its job and left me with a big, daft grin throughout. 3.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Went into this knowing next to nothing about Bob Dylan. I’ve come out with Highway 61 revisited on repeat. Watching A Complete Unknown I was caught in a trance. Timothée Chalamet is spell binding as the lead - he and Austin Butler are slowly becoming the De Niro and Pacino of our time. It’s not a perfect film but it left me with this warm, fuzzy feeling you want to cling on to, and that’s all you can ask for really. 4 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

There’s a reason the film’s poster is just a big close up of Tom Hardy. The characters are bland and underdeveloped whilst the script is a dull, paint-by-numbers crime thriller that does little to inspire. I just found myself wondering what the point of it all was. 

Havoc’s action somewhat makes up for its shortcomings. It’s loud and over the top with egregious amounts of blood and violence and aiming of a gun that bad it’d make a Stormtrooper blush. Hardy does what he can to make the best of what he’s been given, but not even he can elevate Havoc out of the doldrums of ‘meh’.

Standard Netflix film to be honest. Crappy writing saved from being laughed out the building by the sheer star power of its lead. 2.5 stars. 

2025 Releases Ranked

10 minutes after leaving my screening of Sinners, I was seated again for part two of my Saturday double feature. Whilst Thunderbolts* isn’t quite as spectacular as Ryan Coogler’s modern masterpiece, it’s still a damn good film.

It’s not a high bar to reach, but the Florence Pugh led entry into the MCU is easily one of the best post Endgame. It’s grounded and gritty. No messing about with any multiversal implications, it’s 2 hours of characters being forced to face their past traumas head on, and deal with them.

There’s the usual Marvel comedy, the pacing feels awkward in places and the CGI has its ‘moments’, but Thunderbolts* is a genuinely emotional film with a satisfying payoff. Thoroughly enjoyable. 4 stars.

MCU Ranked

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Special, special film. Sinners is one of the best original films I’ve seen. The love and ion from Ryan Coogler oozes off the screen throughout every scene. I felt like I was levitating out of my seat in the cinema witnessing a master of his craft bring this love letter to the blues to life. 

Michael B Jordan is sensational in his dual roles as Smoke and Stack. Arguably his best ever performance(s) - utterly flawless. The whole cast are fantastic. It’s one of those rare instances where everyone involved is operating at the peak of their powers. 

The score is phenomenal. Ludwig Göransson continues to solidify himself as one of the best composers around - verging on giving the great Hans Zimmer a run for his money. 

Sinners is more of an experience than film. It’s one of those pieces we get once, maybe twice a year, that simply take your breath away. Open the cheque book, let Coogler write whatever number he wants and you’ve got movie magic. Inject it in my veins. Better yet, let Hailee Steinfeld bite it into my neck. 5 stars.

5 Star Films Ranked

2025 Releases Ranked

Proper easy viewing. No Hard Feelings is a harmless comedy with some genuine laughs out loud moments all whilst remaining emotionally grounded. It’s obviously Jennifer Lawrence’s film. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and shines throughout because of it. The rest of the cast are good enough, but that piano version of Maneater is stunning. Good Friday evening fun. 3 stars.

2023 Releases Ranked

Props to whoever edited the trailer for this, I’d set my expectations high. Unfortunately, the end result fell way short. The premise is unique and draws you in, whilst the execution is lacking. Death Of A Unicorn just can’t decide what it is - it jolts violently from comedy to horror to satire to family drama, meaning the final product is some amorphous blob of underdeveloped characters and mistimed story beats. 

The above, coupled with some truly shoddy CGI considering it’s 2025, leaves a bit of a mess. The cast on paper is great, but the performances are mostly average. Jenna Ortega is the emotional heartbeat of the film, whilst Will Poulter is a genuine bright spot. His off-the-rails performance should just about get you through the run time. 

It’s not that bad in all honesty, more like decidedly average. I’m just disappointed. Truly feels like a case of what could’ve been. 2.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Black Bag is a really cleverly written spy thriller, it just didn’t grab me in the way I expected. It’s intriguing and doesn’t overstay its welcome, but I did find myself a little bored at times. That, coupled with a plot that had a habit of coming across as too clever for its own good, disrupted the flow for me. I found Michael Fassbender to be decidedly average in this, but Cate Blanchett was fantastic. Overall good, worth a watch, but Steven Soderbergh has definitely made better. 3.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Nicolas Cage being Nicolas fucking Cage. Gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on. Proper mindless entertainment. 2.5 stars.

Solid, entertaining, but The Amateur definitely falls into that ‘good but not great’ category. It’s a more slow paced spy-thriller, only kicking up the action when absolutely necessary, which whilst raising the tension does give it a sense of just meandering along from time to time. The runtime is probably 20 minutes longer than it needs to be.

Rami Malek is a weird one here. He’s definitely the film’s strongest asset, putting in a great performance, but I can’t help feeling that this type of role doesn’t quite suit him. He’s really good in this, but it just doesn’t feel right to me for some reason. I can’t put my finger on it. 

There is a plethora of superior entries into the sub-genre, but The Amateur is still entertaining in its own right if a bit long. Worth watching. 3.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Staggering. A Real Pain is a hauntingly beautiful story of brotherhood, self-acceptance and suffering. The film’s somber tone is cut perfectly with moments of joy, peace and levity that give as a true a depiction of real-world struggles as you’re ever likely to see.

Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin are brilliant together. Their natural charm and idiosyncrasies give rise to a stunning chemistry that is a delight to watch. It’s a cliche, but you will really find yourself going through every emotion. A proper cinematic triumph. 4.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Pretty entertaining twist on the Groundhog Day format. The action is decent whilst Jake Gyllenhaal is his usual great self. Source Code is never going to blow you away but it’s well worth a viewing. 3.5 stars.

Stunningly beautiful. A wonderfully perfect ode to the art of film making. Damien Chazelle has created a masterpiece. 

The first 30 minutes is some of the best cinema you’ll ever see. It’s the height of debauchery, with an unparalleled level of wild and chaotic excess that you can’t take your eyes off. A whirlwind that doesn’t let up across the 3 hour + run time. 

Brad Pitt is his normal brilliant self and Tobey Maguire has a delightfully creepy little cameo, but my god does Margot Robbie steal the show. She is utterly mesmerising. Without a shadow of a doubt the best performance of hers I’ve seen.

Babylon has me feeling things I haven’t felt before. The final scene taking you a journey through the history of cinema doesn’t half make you well up. I loved every single bit of this. 5 stars.

5 Star Films Ranked

2023 Releases Ranked

Very heavy thematically for a Tuesday evening. The Calendar Killer tries to convey a very important message around domestic abuse but goes about it in a bizarre, convoluted manner that doesn’t quite land.

Plodding pace for the most part - tedious at times - though somewhat redeemed by a few fun and interesting twists. Not something I’d ever recommend a friend to watch, but by no means the worst thing I’ve ever seen. 2.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Viola Davis and Anthony Starr predictably carry what is a pretty predictable 110 minutes. A heavily watered down Olympus Has Fallen. Enjoyable yet uninspiring viewing - though that ‘you’re from Wakanda?!’ line genuinely drew a laugh. 2.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Wild, over-the-top ridiculousness providing the perfect blend of horror, satire and camp needed for an all-time cult classic. Megan Fox delivers a hypnotising balance of menace and magnetism all whilst ruining the lives and underwear of teenage boys everywhere. 2009 really was her year. Jennifer’s Body toys with genre conventions whilst serving a sharp critique of how women are consumed - Jim Halpert-esque glance to the camera - by those around them. 3.5 stars.

A tough, but necessary bit of TV. Adolescence is gripping, with brilliant performances from the ever-supreme Stephen Graham and first-timer Owen Cooper. It hammers home the terrifying world young men, and women, are growing up in nowadays with the toxic masculinity of Andrew Tate and the mad hysteria generated by the right. 

Technically it’s uber impressive. Four hour-long, one-shot episodes is no mean feat. And they work for the most part. But there’s a reason we normally have cuts. There’s only so many sequences of people walking down a corridor or driving in silence I can take.

A really powerful bit of TV that delivers an important message. Yes it diminishes in quality as the episodes go on, but it’s still more than worth the watch. 4 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

You can tell the whole cast just had the best time filming Anyone But You. That vibe flows through to the film itself, where Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney have chemistry you just can’t teach. It’s not genre defining by any stretch, but it’s a thoroughly entertaining film getting beautiful people to do stupid things. Now I’m off to play Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten for the 2,364,745th time. 3.5 stars.

2023 Releases Ranked

You’re Cordially Invited to watch 2 hours of straight to streaming slop. Lacking charm, wit and any semblance of entertainment value. Will Ferrell continues to be the most overrated funny man in all of Hollywood. Utter shite. 0.5 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Not the worst military film I’ve even seen, but Counterattack does benefit a hell of a lot from its short run time. It gets in and out without ever having the time to become dull. Does a serviceable job of being entertaining, getting from A to B with minimal fuss and decent action. Can’t say I’d rush to watch again but it did make my work commute easier. Pollo deserved better. 2.5 stars.

Bland. Meaningless. Shallow. The Electric State is the epitome of Netflix slop. Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt do just enough ‘acting’ to get their pay cheque. $320m down the drain. 128 minutes wasted. 1 star.

2025 Releases Ranked

Really enjoyed Demon City for what it is. It’s like a backstreet John Wick. The plot and story are wildly nonsensical, but the action and violence are dialled right up. Throw in a few over the top guitar riff needle drops, plus one of my favourite opening sequences I’ve seen recently (it sets the tone beautifully) and you’ve got a decent little action flick. Suspend your disbelief and you’ll have a good time. 3 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Mickey 17 appears complex and chaotic on the surface, and to be fair the level of chaos is too much at times, but underneath the themes are relatively simple.

As with Parasite, Bong Joon-ho again focuses on class. Whereas Parasite explored the consequences of the class divide, Mickey 17 dives into the system that helps create it. It is ultimately a rather blunt critique of capitalism and the rise of demagogue-like figures in modern politics.

Mark Ruffalo plays what is essentially a caricature of a certain American politician - complete with hand gestures and moronic red hat-wearing loyalists. His performance isn’t bad, but it didn’t half feel like an SNL skit at times. Robert Pattinson, on the other hand, is fantastic! His performance(s?) as the titular Mickey is special. He portrays the modern worker. A cog in the machine. A number on a spreadsheet. Expendable. The powers that be don’t care about the average worker, there’ll be another one along tomorrow to take their place. 

Not as nuanced as Parasite, and perhaps a little too ‘eat the rich’, but Mickey 17 is still a really good film spearheaded by an irrepressible Robert Pattinson performance. 4 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Feel like this film comes out at least once a year - spy family is pulled back into a world they thought they’d left due to the ghosts of their past. Back In Action does nothing we haven’t seen before. The action is okay, the performances are phoned-in and the plot is your usual streaming slop. The pay cheques must’ve been astronomical to pull Cameron Diaz out of retirement and get Andrew Scott’s considerable talents on board. Don’t bother. 2 stars.

2025 Releases Ranked

Had a bit more time to kill on the train home, and after watching the car crash that was Borderlands I needed to cleanse my palette with one of my favourite films. Inglorious Basterds ticks all the boxes. Flawless film that I can watch over and over. 5 stars.

5 Star Films Ranked

Ahahaha wow. Apocalyptically bad. I don’t even know where to start. Every single casting choice was terrible with the exception of maybe Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina. The CGI makes Sharkboy and Lavavgirl look good. And the whole film is just so drab and bland to look at.

Borderlands is an incredible series of games, and one of its highlights is the wild, over the top colours, characters and creatures. That was non-existent here. It was 90% beige desert. There was next-to-no creatures with the exception of one god-awful thrasher interaction. And the characters are beyond watered down of their video game counterparts.

A disservice to one of the best video game franchises this century. I know film adaptions of video games tend to be below average, but this is just downright offensive. 1 star.

2024 Releases Ranked

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is nothing short of a masterpiece. A blistering commentary on class division - it blends dark humor, thrilling suspense, and emotional depth with unrivalled precision. From the meticulous set design to the brilliantly staged performances, every frame feels deliberate and layered.

The film's balance of genre, keeps you on the edge of your seat, as it brilliantly shifts tones, making each revelation land with sudden impact. The Park and Kim families are written so vividly, their dynamics so human and complex, that you feel the tension between them crackle and combust on screen.

At its core, Parasite is a gut-wrenching look at the ways society perpetuates inequality, wrapped in a deceptively entertaining package. It’s not just a critique of the rich and poor, but of human nature itself - our desires, our delusions, and the fragility of our connections to one another.

Bong Joon-ho crafts a narrative so seamless, it feels like it’s been with us forever, yet it’s unlike anything we've seen before. Parasite doesn’t just earn its place in cinematic history - it demands it. A true cinematic triumph. 5 stars.

5 Star Films Ranked

This is one of those that just doesn’t make sense for me. Neo’s finale is just there. He’s a bit part player for most of the film, and when he is involved it isn’t as crucial as it should be. Whilst the climax has stakes and is well built, it just doesn’t hit home as it should. For me, the trilogy just gets weaker and weaker. A real shame. 3 stars.