Wicked Little Letters – Movie Review
Residents of a seaside town read mean tweets
Imaginary – Movie Review
Is this the scariest entry in the Paddington Cinematic Universe?
Dune Part 2 Movie Review
Will Part Two leave you breathless or just with sand in places you don’t want it?
Baghead – Movie Review
Kinda like Talk To Me but with a Baghead instead of a Hand
Bob Marley: One Love – Movie Review
What’s it about?
It’s a Bob Marley biopic. I genuinely tried to think of more for this, but yeah that’s about it.
What’d we think?
The movie begins in 1976 with Bob Marley at the peak of his fame, some stuff happens, and then the movie ends in 1978 with Bob still at the peak of his fame. This period covers an attempt on Marley’s life, the band recording an album in London, then a return to Jamaica for a peace concert, and all of this is portrayed in the least interesting way possible. We’re made aware that Political Stuff is happening in Jamaica, but there’s no attempt at explaining the conflict or characterising either side. The band comes up with an idea for their new album, and then they record the new album. They discuss returning to Jamaica for a concert, then return to Jamaica for the concert. There’s no conflict, no interesting relationships, and ultimately no point.
Kingsley Ben-Adir does a fine evocation of Marley in the lead role, but doesn’t have any opportunity to imbue the role with any depth (the Marley family’s involvement likely sanitised anything that might have been interesting), and Lashana Lynch sleepwalks her way through an underwritten role as Rita Marley. While I can’t speak for the authenticity of the cast’s Jamaican accents, I can testify to the regular incomprehensibility of the dialogue as a result of their commitment to the bit, although I don’t believe that understanding the actors would have made the movie any more interesting.
Bob Marley: One Love (the movie doesn’t even have the balls to trust the audience could figure out who the movie is about unless you whack his name in there) is a meandering exercise in paint-by-numbers biopic filmmaking that completely lacks any charm or energy.
Madame Web Movie Review
Does it do whatever a spider can?
What’s Popular
Superman – Movie Review
What’s it about?
Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (David Corenswet) is secretly Superman (also Corenswet), and has been Supermanning for a few years now. While he’s universally beloved, he’s recently interfered in a border crisis that has raised political and diplomatic eyebrows, as well as providing the perfect opportunity for evil billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) to enact a nefarious plan. Good clean fun ensues.
What’d we think?
Pete Linning thinks: Good clean fun is the name of the game here. I took my 12 year old nephew to see his first Superman movie, and I couldn’t be happier that this was his first exposure to the big guy. This movie takes Superman back to basics in a true deconstruction of the character, while fully embracing the sillier elements from the comics. I’d go so far as to say that this movie captures the feeling of jumping into a random comic more than any other – things are already happening, nothing is explained (because it doesn’t need to be), and everyone already knows each other.
The plot isn’t anything terribly complex, and doesn’t need to be. Lex is up to no good, and Superman and his mates need to stop him. What’s important is that they’ve nailed the tone of the characters, and the world they live in. David Corenswet brings warmth, kindness, and an incredibly human fallibility to his performance, playing wonderfully off of Rachel Brosnahan’s (slightly) more cynical Lois Lane, as well as the colourful cast of heroic weirdos that he knows. It’s Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor that steals the show with a pitch-perfect portrayal of a man as brilliant as he is petty, a bloke who could achieve so much more if he wasn’t blinded by childish envy.
Superman is a real breath of clean air for comic-book movies, and while in recent years we might have seen Superman doing good, it’s nice to see Superman doing well.
Elizabeth Best thinks: This is the most grounded a guy in a cape has felt in years. It’s hopeful without being corny, and somehow makes Superman feel like a real person you’d actually want to grab a coffee with—if he weren’t busy saving the planet, of course. The humor’s there, but it’s subtle and smart, not trying too hard, which is a nice change. You can tell Gunn actually gets the character—this isn’t about making him cool, it’s about reminding us why he mattered in the first place. Nick Hoult brings a sharp, unsettling calm to Lex Luthor that we haven’t seen in ages. He’s not just a villain, he’s a ticking time bomb wrapped in a tailored suit. Gunn’s Superman is a fresh take that still feels classic, and yeah, it works.
Jurassic World: Rebirth – Movie Review
New life to the fossils?
How To Train Your Dragon movie review
Will the dragons reach new heights? Or plummet to the depths?
The Accountant 2 – Movie Review
You know what Rain Man was missing? Guns.
Editor's Choice
Superman – Movie Review
What’s it about?
Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (David Corenswet) is secretly Superman (also Corenswet), and has been Supermanning for a few years now. While he’s universally beloved, he’s recently interfered in a border crisis that has raised political and diplomatic eyebrows, as well as providing the perfect opportunity for evil billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) to enact a nefarious plan. Good clean fun ensues.
What’d we think?
Pete Linning thinks: Good clean fun is the name of the game here. I took my 12 year old nephew to see his first Superman movie, and I couldn’t be happier that this was his first exposure to the big guy. This movie takes Superman back to basics in a true deconstruction of the character, while fully embracing the sillier elements from the comics. I’d go so far as to say that this movie captures the feeling of jumping into a random comic more than any other – things are already happening, nothing is explained (because it doesn’t need to be), and everyone already knows each other.
The plot isn’t anything terribly complex, and doesn’t need to be. Lex is up to no good, and Superman and his mates need to stop him. What’s important is that they’ve nailed the tone of the characters, and the world they live in. David Corenswet brings warmth, kindness, and an incredibly human fallibility to his performance, playing wonderfully off of Rachel Brosnahan’s (slightly) more cynical Lois Lane, as well as the colourful cast of heroic weirdos that he knows. It’s Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor that steals the show with a pitch-perfect portrayal of a man as brilliant as he is petty, a bloke who could achieve so much more if he wasn’t blinded by childish envy.
Superman is a real breath of clean air for comic-book movies, and while in recent years we might have seen Superman doing good, it’s nice to see Superman doing well.
Elizabeth Best thinks: This is the most grounded a guy in a cape has felt in years. It’s hopeful without being corny, and somehow makes Superman feel like a real person you’d actually want to grab a coffee with—if he weren’t busy saving the planet, of course. The humor’s there, but it’s subtle and smart, not trying too hard, which is a nice change. You can tell Gunn actually gets the character—this isn’t about making him cool, it’s about reminding us why he mattered in the first place. Nick Hoult brings a sharp, unsettling calm to Lex Luthor that we haven’t seen in ages. He’s not just a villain, he’s a ticking time bomb wrapped in a tailored suit. Gunn’s Superman is a fresh take that still feels classic, and yeah, it works.
Jurassic World: Rebirth – Movie Review
New life to the fossils?
How To Train Your Dragon movie review
Will the dragons reach new heights? Or plummet to the depths?
The Accountant 2 – Movie Review
You know what Rain Man was missing? Guns.