Spider-Man: No Way Home surprises, shocks and delights. It takes a trip down memory lane but remains a love story between Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and MJ (Zendaya). Spider-Man’s mentor Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) also plays a central role. And the film introduces the idea of the Marvel multiverse – a collection of alternative universes,…
The zombie apocalypse is alive and well in director Johannes Roberts’ horror-schlocker Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. The film starts with a young orphan girl, Claire Redfield, plagued by visions of a presence. Her slightly older brother, Chris looks after her as best he can. Both live in the Raccoon City Orphanage. They were…
Writer-director Adam McKay’s new film, Don’t Look Up, spoofs the materialistic, pop-culture world we live in. Earth is about to be destroyed by a comet, but do people care? Apparently not and the lack of interest is led by no less than the US president. PhD student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers the comet. At…
Stephen Chbosky’s Dear Evan Hansen is a film adaptation of the Tony and Grammy Award winning musical of the same name. And it features the original Broadway lead actor in the pivotal role. Teenager Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) struggles with anxiety and depression, and is seeing a therapist. He is being brought up by his…
Is it real or a fake? That was the $64,000 question … or, in the case of The Lost Leonardo, a lot more. The film examines the tale of Salvator Mundi, a painting that could be (but probably isn’t) the work of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci. Depending on the source, as few as 15…
With a haunting look in his eyes, Oscar Isaac (Dune) excels in Paul Schrader’s (First Reformed) intense crime drama The Card Counter. Isaac is William Tell, a cheerless loner who likes to go under the radar. As an elite card player, he travels extensively between casinos, but doesn’t like to draw attention to himself. To…
A surreal nightmare, Titane pushes the boundaries of taste. Still, it’s intriguing throughout and doesn’t let up for its entire 100 minutes plus. A father (Bertrand Bonello), who turns out to be a doctor, is having trouble controlling his seven-year-old daughter Alexia (Adele Guigue) in the back seat of their car while driving. She makes…
Polished performances, magnificent mashups, elegant and evocative sets, colourful and creative costumes, and charismatic choreography are the highlights of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Set at the turn of the 20th century, Christian (Des Flanagan) is a young, penniless British singer songwriter who has just arrived in Paris and goes straight to Montemarte. There he chances upon two…
A Boy Called Christmas is about overcoming tragedy and obstacles. Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) is a Finnish boy who lost his beloved mother and is being raised by his woodcutter father Joel (Michiel Huisman) in a small cabin. They have little. One day, Joel receives an invitation to visit the king (Jim Broadbent). The king acknowledges…
Special effects wizardry, violence and a dollop of humour drive Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The storyline is almost incidental, but split personalities are at the heart of it. Tom Hardy reprises his role as former journalist Eddie Brock, now host to bad alien symbiote Venom. When I say “host”, I mean that literally –…
