There's a scene in Blackbird where Michael Flatley walks off-camera, the sounds of a brawl are heard over an empty frame, he then walks back on screen, bloodied and satisfied. The film treats this as cinema, which should tell you all you need to know. A vanity project that (self-)casts Flatley as a magnetic man of mystery, with some of the flattest dialogue I've heard in a while. Stick to Riverdance, Michael.
A delightful magic trick of a film. Top marks for pulling off this incredible and charming mix of improv, guerilla filmmaking, and even a little law-breaking.
Tender and well-meaning, with some solid dialogue, but loses its way as it progresses – mostly due to the editing. It's still very enjoyable, but it had so much more potential.
Not at all what I was expecting, but very enjoyable despite its unevenness. It's got a throwback optimistic sci-fi style I hadn't seen for a long time (but also the cliché "white American man saves the planet" story). Gosling's charm carries the whole thing, it would have been a very different film without him.
Completely daft, but the director and cast know it. Odenkirk plays his usual battered everyman finding himself at the centre of chaos. Fun and forgettable.
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.
