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La Casa del Caracol (The House of Snails) Review
There’s two things you need to know going into the Spanish horror film LA CASA DEL CARACOL (THE HOUSE OF SNAILS). There is a severe lack of snails The dog doesn’t die The dog shows up early on, standing on the side of the road like a pointy eared hitchhiker. Author and main character Antonio (Javier Rey) picks him up on his way to the isolated town in the mountains. Suffering writer’s block, Anton...
Ambulance Review
Michael Bay first became known as an award-winning director of music videos and advertisements. His initial feature film BAD BOYS (1995) gave audiences a clear idea of the kind of filmmaker he is. Bay is a visual stylist who loves slow motion, close-ups of the human face and a constantly moving camera; all these are in evidence in his latest feature AMBULANCE (2022). The movie is a remake and an a...
Titane Review
Below is my review of this year’s Palme d’Or-winning film Titane – the sophomore feature from one of the most exciting directors in the infancy of her career, Julia Ducournau. It is impossible to review this film without spoiling it, so if you want to go in blind then it’s probably best to stop here. In 2017 Ducournau directed her first feature-length film Raw, a coming-of-age story about a ...
Last Night in Soho Review
Edgar Wright’s love for vintage music has been more apparent than ever from his last few films, more recently in his documentary The Sparks Brothers and prior to that, the thumpingly cool caper Baby Driver. But music is also put to expert use in his earlier comedies. I’m sure many (like myself) still associate Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” with Shaun of the Dead and his new film, Last Night In Soho,...
No Time To Die Review
British super spy, James Bond is back. NO TIME TO DIE is the 25th film of the Bond franchise produced by Eon Productions. Planning began back in 2016. The story follows on from SPECTRE (2015), however its beginnings thread back to CASINO ROYALE (2006). This is the final episode in the five-film arc of the Daniel Craig iteration of the Bond character. The story begins with Bond travelling through I...
Pig Review
Whoever said ‘You catch more flies with honey than vinegar’ (a honey salesman, probably) was surely referring to Nicolas Cage’s arc in Michael Sarnoski’s directorial debut Pig. Marketed (wrongly, or perhaps sneakily) as a swiney John Wick, this is a film that shows its subject as much tenderness and care as Cage’s character shows every ingredient he uses in its grand finale. For those expect...
Coming Home in the Dark Review
COMING HOME IN THE DARK is the first feature length film from emerging director James Ashcroft. It’s mostly based on a short story by Owen Marshall. The film is deeply set in New Zealand. From the landscape to the accents, there’s a real feeling of location throughout. The film tells the story of a family on a road trip through beautiful New Zealand. Hoagie (Erik Thomson) and Jill (Miriama McDowe...
Candyman Review
CANDYMAN is phenomenal. It’s confronting. Bloody, creative. It’s a wonderful mix of horror, melodrama, and comedy. I’m used to horror being either a fun, schlocky kill fest. Or a cerebral tale, filled with symbolism, and ultimately a social commentary. CANDYMAN is both. Now, CANDYMAN had some big shoes to fill. The original ‘Candyman’, released in 1992, is one of my favourite horror films. I wat...
Reminiscence Review
REMINISCENCE is set in a near-future Miami, that is a dying, semi-flooded city. The United States is in political and economic trouble, with corruption being an everyday reality. The poor are struggling, and the rich have bought-up the best places to live, literally known as the Dry Lands. Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) is an investigator who helps clients find missing objects and remember importan...
The Ice Road Review
Liam Neeson is on thin ice as he attempts to rescue miners trapped in a diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories after a curiously preventable explosion causes the mine to collapse. He and his small entourage have just 30 hours before the oxygen supply is depleted to deliver a wellhead and enable the miners’ escape. The passage is precarious though – they must traverse The Ice Road (a ...
Old Review
I don’t think M. Night Shyamalan understands what people actually liked about The Sixth Sense and it seems like no one’s bothered explaining it to him in 20 years. I say this as someone who still has not seen Split (I’ve heard it’s the exception to the rule that has plagued the better part of two decades of his filmography) but who has developed a great fatigue for Shyamalan’s perception of his ow...
Black Widow Review
It’s been over 10 years since Natasha Romanoff first appeared kicking Tony Stark’s butt in the boxing ring in Iron Man 2 (2010). They’ve had a decade to craft her story, so how does it stand up in the franchise? With little more than passing comments hinting at her dark past in previous Marvel flicks, BLACK WIDOW is one of the stand alone Avenger flicks I was most excited to see....
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