Two US soldiers are literally in the firing line in the unrelenting psychological thriller The Wall. The pair are Sergeant Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), an army ranger who serves as spotter; and his sniper partner, Sergeant Matthews (John Cena). They’re pinned down by an Iraqi sniper. But the fight becomes as much a battle of wills and…
Visual effects aside, there’s nothing much to get excited about in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. This fantasy sci-fi is based on a comic book series, and is written and directed by Luc Besson (Lucy). It’s the 28th century. Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with…
Well crafted, well researched and sharply edited, Descent into the Maelstrom serves up a warts-and-all look at the rise and turbulent times of seminal Australian rock band Radio Birdman. Formed in 1974, the band was at the forefront of the punk new wave scene in the 70s. They came about when American-born medical student Deniz…
Charlize Theron’s character is put through the wringer as the Berlin Wall comes down in Atomic Blonde. This stylish and violent spy thriller is based on a graphic novel series, The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Sam Hart. The screenplay is by Kurt Johnstad and directed by David Leitch (John Wick). It’s 1989 in Germany. The Berlin…
The terms “medically induced coma” and “charming rom-com” may not seem an ideal fit, but that’s exactly what happens in The Big Sick. Kumail Nanjiani’s (literal) labour of love is one of the more original and engaging romances of recent years. You might recognise Nanjiani from TV’s Silicon Valley. He’s also appeared in smaller parts…
After jaunts through northern England and Italy, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon embark on another culinary road trip. This time, the guys head to Spain to sample the country’s gastronomic offerings in between rounds of off-the-cuff banter. Over plates of pintxos and paella, they exchange barbs and their patented celebrity impressions. Fun, but overly indulgent, this third…
Highly creative and well orchestrated is this mystery fantasy about grief. Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), A Monster Calls is a visually stylish, emotional drama. Patrick Ness, who also wrote the screenplay, penned the award winning novel on which it’s based. Twelve year-old Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is hardly your conventional kid. He is about to escape…
Terrence’s Malick’s The Tree of Life won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, but it drove me batty because I could not make head nor tail of it. So too David Lowery’s (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) A Ghost Story, which I only understood in the most rudimentary way. It concerns an official ghost. You know the ones,…
This is the third and climactic chapter in the recent trilogy about apes versus humans. There was Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014 and now War for the Planet of the Apes. But Planet of the Apes goes back to 1968, when Charlton Heston was…
An intense and visceral experience, Dunkirk is war up-close and personal like few films before it. Christopher Nolan (Interstellar) writes, directs and co-produces the action-packed drama. The picture opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by German forces. Trapped on the beach at Dunkirk in northern France with their backs to…
