Whatever tolerance you have for snarkiness, indiscriminate collateral damage and Samuel L. Jackson yelling “Motherfucker!” will be sorely tested by this obnoxious action brom-com. Basically a jacked-up do-over of The Bodyguard, with Ryan Reynolds in the Kevin Costner role and Jackson as Whitney Houston (he even sings), it throws together …
Read More »The Red Turtle review: “Aching with tender beauty and awed by natures extremes”
Did the Oscar presenters double-check the envelope? With no disrespect to Zootropolis (opens in new tab), this collaboration between Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit and resting-but-not-really Japanimation house Studio Ghibli was the real standout in 2017’s nominations for Best Animated Feature. And it’s also a stand-out in modern animation …
Read More »Prey review: “A playground for creativity where you control the variables”
I never thought a building could be arrogant until I arrived in Talos-1. Wood-panelled walls stretch high above me, golden metal struts outlining each edge. A smug voice lulls through the PA system reminding employees to congratulate one of the scientists on winning a prize. Yet bodies are strewn across …
Read More »Miss Sloane review: “Chastain stalks the corridors of power with steely aplomb”
Arriving in US cinemas just as Trump swept to office, this left-leaning story of a ruthless Washington DC opinion-former who takes on the might of the gun lobby didn’t misjudge the prevailing wind so much as miss the boat entirely. Dismal box office duly ensued, a fact gleefully interpreted by …
Read More »American Gods S1.02 review: “A phenomenally clever bit of writing”
I should really stop expecting American Gods to be predictable. Hearing jazz music bleed through the fetid hold of a 15th century slave ship is certainly something. As is a god of death who’s only mildly intimidating, with a love of checkers and cigarettes. Still saturated with colour and style, …
Read More »Yooka-Laylee review: “A good-natured platformer that all too often trips over its own dated clumsiness”
Immediate impressions of Yooka-Laylee are pretty damn great. From the very off, it nails the all-important character-feel inherent to the success of any 3D platformer. Our bat/lizard combo protagonist is instantly responsive, and movement is slick, swift, and eminently malleable – the product of well-judged character weight, momentum, and control-precision …
Read More »Ghost in the Shell review: “A visually stunning sci-fi world that demands to be seen on the big screen”
Ghost in the Shell isn’t the first attempt at adapting anime in live action – Attack on Titan (opens in new tab), for example, was released in 2015, and Akira (opens in new tab)’s red motorcycle has stalled in various levels of development hell for more than a decade – …
Read More »Mass Effect: Andromeda review: “Not a disaster, but definitely not the fresh start this series needed”
Andromeda should have been a smart new chapter for the Mass Effect series. As far as the story goes, it is. 634 years since setting off into deep space, a colony of ships from the Milky Way – representing most of the major species from our galaxy – arrives in …
Read More »Mass Effect: Andromeda review: “Not a disaster, but definitely not the fresh start this series needed”
Andromeda should have been a smart new chapter for the Mass Effect series. As far as the story goes, it is. 634 years since setting off into deep space, a colony of ships from the Milky Way – representing most of the major species from our galaxy – arrives in …
Read More »Moonlight review: “Jenkins’ genre-buster is a significant work that will knock you out”
“At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you want to be,” says drug dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali) to Chiron, a 10-year-old boy living in Miami with no father and a crack-dependent mother (Naomie Harris). From this brief description, Barry Jenkins’ film might sound like every other ’hood movie. …
Read More »