What initially feels like yet another Beatles-inspired romp, ends up being a quite cynical take on the commodification of youth rebellion, with a French new wave edge to it. A pleasant surprise.
The Magic Faraway Tree books were my favourites as a child, I read and re-read them many times. The film updates the story for today's kids, which makes sense, but ends up also making it feel a bit rushed and uneven at the same time. Still, it's charming, and I'm sure children will love the universe and its characters. It's just a shame the film spends so much time away from the titular tree compared to the books.
This is one of those films that would work much better at a midnight screening with an audience. It's derivative and runs out of steam well before the end. Luckily, there are some really good scenes that make it worth holding on for.
Wayne does his usual he-man act, the chases are fun, and seeing 70s London is nice. But it feels like someone took scenes from different films and sewed them together.
Keeps the blood and chaos-filled formula of the first, but loses a bit of the simplicity. It's still tremendous fun, though. Who doesn't enjoy watching the 1% explode?
Gritty British noir that's surprisingly brutal for its time. Richard Attenborough's sinister performance is mesmerising. Despite the final scene not being in the book, I found it quite haunting.
It stumbles here and there but, for the most part, this is good fun and quite inventive for something that recycles a lot of previous stuff. Could have done without the slow shutter sequences though, those were jarring.
Like a slow, animated Edward Hopper painting that takes place in the crumbling Brussels of the eighties. Not my favourite Akerman, but it has a certain hypnotic aura that kept me watching.
Demonstrates clearly how all the hype about artificial general intelligence or super intelligence and other booster terms is just a modern rehashing of old-school eugenics. A good counter to the AI hype, albeit one that could have done with better editing.
It's somewhat superficial, which is no surprise considering the amount of information you can fit in to this kind of runtime. Despite that, it's a great overview of the history of funk, the influences, the politics, etc. Lots of nuggets and grooves. It's also incredibly well edited, I wish more music documentaries were made like this.
Probably Lanthimos' most accessible film, which is saying something. Still bizarre enough on the surface but quite honest about our predicament when you drop below. Fantastic performances from both Stone and Plemmons.
I'm usually a fan of Raimi's trademark style. This film, however, was a slog. It's lazy and unsatisfying, with not a single likeable character to root for.
It's superficial and has pretty bad dialogue but, if you're a child of the rave scene, you'll certainly enjoy the atmosphere and nostalgia. It gets a lot of that right.
Fun little story of survival with elements of noir, screwball and hyper-violence. Doesn't break any new ground, but it's entertaining from beginning to end.
An impressive study of grief with an astonishing cast. The natural pace gives you time to absorb the characters and the world they inhabit. A lot of the story feels more like speculation than known history, but that doesn't take away from the rest.
Polished and efficient. The Heat and Thief inspiration is definitely visible but, if you're making an LA heist thriller, you might as well borrow from the best. And they don't make many of these any more.
Visually, it's held up incredibly well. Story-wise, it felt more like 2 different films merged together. Still, putting it into the context of its time, it's quite something and I can see why it was so influential.
It's a Jason Statham vehicle. You've seen this story before, and you'll see it again. It's execution that makes the difference. And it's tight and efficient here.
Compassion and gore aren't two terms I'd generally associate, but that's what you get here. It's also beautiful, layered, and features some amazing performances. That musical moment is incredible, and including a roaming gang of Jimmy Savilles as part of the deconstruction of the British myth is pure genius. Looking forward to the next one.
The way this film tackles its very serious subject in a way that continuously knocks you off balance, even with absurdist humour, is masterful. The period feels lived in, the political oppression feels real, the cast is perfect. A fantastic piece of film-making.
I've never set foot in Disneyland and probably never will, but this archive footage of the construction was genuinely captivating. Building a theme park in less than a year is quite the feat. Probably made easier by the staggering number of workplace safety violations that would never fly today.
A very intimate and warm film despite the subject matter. Theodore Pellerin gives a quiet, even shy, performance that fits his character perfectly. That final scene was just perfect.
Below average police thriller with a convoluted and implausible plot. I generally enjoy these kinds of film, but this one hasn't aged well at all and Claude Brasseur's constant over-acting is grating.
The anxiety this provokes while watching is off the charts. It keeps building until it switches into bonkers territory. Lots of plot holes, but worth it for the atmosphere alone.
Not the dark class satire it thinks it is, but it's got enough good scenes and dialogue to make it an entertaining watch. It could have done with a bit of a wilder streak though.
Wonderfully subversive satire of religion, bourgeois hypocrisy, and social order that gets more burlesque as it builds. Bourvil is surprisingly endearing as a sort of whimsical anti-hero.
I enjoyed this cheap and cheesy 80s teen computer hacking story more than I really should – and it's purely due to the nostalgic tech it features. The story is predictable albeit never boring.
Another cinematic warning about the dangers of AI. More criti-hype than critique, however. Cécile de France is excellent, the story is not. Seeing Brussels passed off as some futuristic dystopia was amusing, though.
Well-meaning, albeit superficial comedy that turns something that, deep down, is quite irresponsible into a safe, sentimental watch. It's cute, but it left me uncomfortable.
An atmosphere of suspicion and greed, confined to a single bar-tabac location, questioning our relationship with money and the truth. The film gets a bit convoluted, and misses its mark here and there, but it's highly entertaining. And quite meta: the characters become just as immersed in the story as the audience, with the tale they create branching out and shaped by the sets around them.
