Tag Archives: British Cinema

The Brutalist – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Elegant, stunning, and powerful, it is a film that will stay with me for a long time even though I don’t think I will ever watch it again.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

An upside-down Statue of Liberty.
An upside-down Statue of Liberty.

The Brutalist Review –

Today, we look at a film that absolutely captivated me from start to finish, and given that it is three and a half hours long, that is a lot of runtime to have to keep you engaged. However, I think you might see how each and every step captivates, even when the film can be deeply uncomfortable.  

So, to set the scene, László Tóth (Adrien Brody) is a Hungarian Jew who was separated from everyone he loves during World War Two. Escaping Europe by himself, he manages to make it to America and go live with and work for his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola) in Philadelphia. Things are tense in the closed environment. However, a chance encounter with Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) puts him into the orbit of the powerful, industrious Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), someone who might just let László create his brutalist masterpiece.

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Paddington in Peru – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it has not reached the heights of its predecessors, it was still a joy to be back in this world.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Paddington in Peru Review –

Few films series have hit such high expectations as the Paddington series, especially after just two films. Paddington 1 will always hold a special place in my heart because of getting to watch it with friends at a drive in one day and the joy that came with it. I don’t think I need to tell you about Paddington 2, given its impact on the film landscape. I mean, it was an entire plot point in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. But can they make it a hat trick? That is what we will find out today.

So, to set the scene, there have been a lot of changes to the Brown household. Henry (Hugh Bonneville) has a new boss, Madison (Hayley Atwell), who has told him he has to embrace risk. Judy (Madeleine Harris) has begun looking for a University, Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) has gone full-teenage and spends all his time in his room, and Mary (Emily Mortimer) is struggling with the coming empty next. But Paddington (Ben Whishaw) has just gotten his British citizenship and passport, which was just in time because The Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) of The Home for Retired Bears in Peru writes to let everyone know that Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) not well. The Brown family rush to Peru, but when they get there, they find out that Aunt Lucy is missing and only Paddington might know where she has gone.

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Better Man – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating look at a pop icon that takes some wild swings that don’t always pan out.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Warning – contains scenes that may cause distress.

Better Man Review –

Today, we look at one of the oddest films that I watched in 2024. On the one hand, this was a very boilerplate biopic that explored the life of pop icon Robbie Williams. However, they also make massive artistic choices throughout the film, most notably by depicting the focus of the biopic as an ape. This was a fascinating choice, but did it work? And that is the question we will explore today.

So, to set the scene, Robbie Williams (Robbie Williams/Jonno Davies/Adam Tucker) had spent most of his life growing up in the small town of Stoke-On-Trent. Living with his mother Janet (Kate Mulvany) and Nan Betty (Alison Steadman) after his father Peter (Steve Pemberton) left to try and be an entertainer. He hasn’t done well at school because he has these lyrics in his head and a drive to be famous. It’s a good thing that his first big break has just strolled into town as Nigel Martin-Smith (Damon Herriman) is looking for boys to be part of a new band, Take That, which is Robbie’s chance to get out of this town and make something of himself.   

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fun blast of nostalgia and charm, but not much more than that.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

A crimes lead back to Wallace.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Review –

One of the great joys, when I was a kid, was being stuck in my mother’s university library, bored out of my brain, but then discovering they had this VHS collection of wired animated stop-motion films. It was my first jump into the world of Aardman, and I have always looked forward to a new entry whenever they come out. Indeed, Chicken Run is still in my Top 10 Animated Films of All Time. Well, today, we get to dive into the latest entry and back into the world of Wallace & Gromit.

So, to set the scene, it has been years since the dastardly Feathers McGraw was apprehended by the eccentric inventor Wallace (Ben Whitehead) and his loyal beagle Gromit. Now, the two live together in a house full of inventions, but inventions don’t tend to pay the bills. That is when Wallace comes up with Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), a smart gnome that can clean and tidy gardens. But when Feathers McGraw spots this from their zoo jail cell, soon a plan of vengeance most foul is afoot.

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A Million Days – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A conceptually interesting film that just never quite coalesced in the way that it wanted.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

Three astronauts with crosses for eyes.

A Million Days Review –

If there has been one major shift in technology in the 21st century so far, it is the rise of predictive AI. While the whole world is trying to rectify this new landscape, Science Fiction media has been playing in that space for decades. Today, we explore a film that is all about AI and what it means for the future of humanity.

So, to set the scene, in 2041, after decades of unchecked global warming, Earth is on the cusp of complete ecological collapse. The SEED project, powered by an AI called JAY, was created to try and make humanity a multi-planet civilization. Anderson (Simon Merrells) and Sam (Kemi-Bo Jacobs) help run the JAY project as the Lunar Colony is being established. However, when one of the new hires, Charlie (Hermione Corfield), accidentally runs a JAY simulation for a million days, they discover that something is wrong with humanity and its survival.   

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Control – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it has an intriguing concept at its heart, some serious technical issues and casting choices torpedo what could have been an engaging narrative.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an audio sting at the end of the credits.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Stella looking into the camera.

Control Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that feels very in the now. It is looking at self-driving cars and the potential loss of control when we hand security over to technology for our own comfort. There is a lot of scope to do something interesting with that scenario that is not working in the bombast seen in films like The Fate of the Furious.

So to set the scene, after a long meeting and press, Prime Minister David Addams (Mark Hampton) lets Home Secretary Stella Simmons (Lauren Metcalfe) take his daughter Evie (Eire Farrell) home. Of course, things are slightly awkward because David and Stella are having a very public affair. It should be a simple trip, that is, until someone hijacks Stella’s self-driving car. There is a voice (Kevin Spacey) who is very unhappy with Stella and now has complete control over her vehicle.     

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The Kitchen – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A thoughtful meditation on identity, community, and family.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Izi pears out from behind the slit in his door.

The Kitchen Review –

I am always fascinated by the techniques that filmmakers use to hit you with emotions. Sometimes, it can be pretty forceful, like a slap in the face. Other times, it is like a tide coming in, almost imperceptible, until you realise that you have been engulfed. Today’s film skews closer to the latter and is just as powerful for it.  

So to set the scene, in the not-to-distant future, Izi (Kane Robinson) lives in The Kitchen. A large, dense residential area on the outskirts of London’s centre. It is a difficult life because the police are trying to move people out of the slum, but most have nowhere to go. Izi works for Life After Life, a company that repurposes the remains of people who have died to become the support network for a new tree to be planted in a reclamation project. It is here when he discovers one of the names is someone deeply familiar to him from his past. A woman whose only griever is her son Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman).

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Tetris – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An absolute fun blast of a film that might not match entirely with history, but it wears all of its influences on its sleeve.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this film.

Soviet Military Parade.

Tetris Review –

I think, like most people, I rolled my eyes when I heard that there was going to be a Tetris film. That is because I thought they were going to try and turn it into some sort of Battleship situation. I am not sure that we were ready for a dramatized retelling of how the worldwide video game rights made it out of the Soviet Union or for how good the story would be.  

So to set the scene, it is 1988, a precarious time in world history. The Cold War was rapidly coming to a peaceful end, and the first big computer boom was in full swing. It is in this world that Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) of Bullet-Proof Software sees someone selling Tetris at the Consumer Electronics Expo in Las Vegas. The problem is that Henk does not have the money to buy the game, let alone license it for Japan, which means that he must sweat-talk his Banker (Rick Yune) into letting him do what he has already done. Because a deal with Nintendo only comes around once in a blue moon, all he must do is bet the house … literally.   

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Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it does not quite hit the heights of the first film, it is still a fun time.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

The many faces of Mrs Tweedy.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Review –

Well, if there has been something I have been waiting for an age for, it is a dive back into the world of Chicken Run. The original film was such a delight that it still sits in my Top 10 Animation Films of All Time list. However, after some understandable voice cast changes and some less understandable changes, some concerns did slip in. Thus, it is time to see if lighting can strike twice in the world of clay animation.

So to set the scene, it has been some time since Ginger (Thandiwe Newton), Rocky (Zachary Levi), Bunty (Imelda Staunton), Mac (Lynn Ferguson), Babs (Jane Horrocks), and Fowler (David Bradley) escaped from Mrs Tweedy’s (Miranda Richardson) farm and landed in the bird sanctuary. Since then, they have founded a new society, built houses, planted all sorts of crops, and started having chicks. Well, Ginger and Rocky’s daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) is at that age where she wants to understand the world outside of their little island, with all the drive of her mother. But when a new road is built, and the danger of humans reappears, the chickens decide to hide rather than fight, which is when Molly decides to sneak out in the middle of the night.

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Wonka – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp through Wonka’s past, full of musical energy and more than a few full-belly laughs.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

An overhead shot of dancers making a W out of umbrellas.

Wonka Review –

I am going to be perfectly honest with you from the start, when I heard that there was going to be a prequel based on the back story of Willy Wonka, I could not help but roll my eyes. The constant francisation of the cinema landscape has led to many of these projects that just feel like they are going through the motions rather than having anything interesting to say. However, now that I have seen it, I am glad to say that I was wrong.

So to set the scene, we open as Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) arrives in a mysteriously unnamed European City. He has spent the past few years sailing around the globe, finding the best combinations for chocolates, and he is now ready to share them with the work at the famous Galleries Gourmet. But Wonka has a kind view of the world and is not prepared to be crushed by the Chocolate Cartel run by Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton). Nor does he read the small print before taking a room in Scrubbit’s (Olivia Colman) Laundry as recommended by Bleacher (Tom Davis), a less-than-savoury individual. However, just when things are at their lowest is when you can really shine, and his new friend Noodle (Calah Lane) helps him find that.

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