The appeal of the Uncharted video games was always that they were like playing a movie. It is all the spectacle of blockbuster cinema but with an added immersion that makes it transcend these trappings. The bombast, the swashbuckling, the hyperbolic action, it works because you are in it. When the Uncharted movie opens with … Continue reading Uncharted (Review)
Tag: review
Red Rocket (Review)
To begin with, Red Rocket is one of the most familiar of tales: washed up 'star' ends up in their home town, far from fame, and tries to cling onto a narrow reflection of fame. When you get too small for the big sea, the small pond is a safer home, and this is where … Continue reading Red Rocket (Review)
The Worst Person in the World (Review)
Though the title is purposefully ironic, reflecting back on its protagonist and their faux view of themselves (as a symbol for how we are all unreliable narrators of our own lives), it is indicative of how far this film stretches. The knowing overstatement is in keeping with the approach of the film, a work that … Continue reading The Worst Person in the World (Review)
Flee (Review)
There's no denying the ingenuity and noble intent of Flee. This mostly animated documentary tells the heartrending, and deeply human, story of a young man who had to flee Afghanistan. It is a beyond worthy story, a gripping one that touches on so many brilliant themes (including an excellent approach to the subject's homosexuality, and … Continue reading Flee (Review)
The Beatles: Get Back (Review)
The Peter Jackson led restoration of The Beatles' Get Back sessions (previously only released as part of the movie Let It Be) is not merely fascinating, it is a truly definitive work of unprecedented brilliance. It's impossible to not sound hyperbolic when describing it. It gives a privileged insight to an iconic moment of cultural … Continue reading The Beatles: Get Back (Review)
Scream (2022) (Review)
We need to talk about the Scream sequels. Fundamentally, they don't work. Though two and four are fun enough films that have some independent thrills, direct continuation of Scream is a fool's endeavour. Apart from being just a kickass slasher, Scream works because it was new and because it was deconstructive. Sequels, direct sequels that … Continue reading Scream (2022) (Review)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (Review)
As an English Literature teacher who has taught Shakespeare's Macbeth for seven years, my perspective on adaptations will differ to most. While I understand that Joel Coen's turn is a striking piece of cinema full of good actors saying pretty words, and certainly is cinematic (on a visual level), it is a lukewarm adaptation that … Continue reading The Tragedy of Macbeth (Review)
Licorice Pizza (Review)
To a great extent, Licorice Pizza feels like the film that Paul Thomas Anderson's style has been building towards. It takes the atypical rom-com focus of Punch-Drunk Love (even pleasantly alluding to that film's now iconic scenes of Adam Sandler madly sprinting); it has the vibe focus of Inherent Vice; the feel of Boogie Nights … Continue reading Licorice Pizza (Review)
CODA (Review)
Though formulaic to a fault, CODA is full of well observed and beautiful moments. It is a lovely film, a great portrait of a family in which each member feels like a character and is given the room to have an interior and exterior life. The framework around these figures is not as remarkable, and … Continue reading CODA (Review)
Belfast (Review)
It's hard to feel charitable towards Belfast when it's such obvious awards bait. Clearly positioned as 'Branagh's Roma', this autobiographically inspired portrait of Belfast in the late '60s feels every inch a pale imitation. It says a lot about a film when its most resonant moment is the final moment, one that only hits at … Continue reading Belfast (Review)
Assorted Opinions 