REVIEWS

Articles
7

Sonic The Hedgehog Review

Director: Jeff Fowler Starring: Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Ben Schwartz When I first heard they were making a Sonic The Hedgehog movie, my reaction was the let out a long sign. “Really? Do they need to make this film? Do they need to make a Sonic movie?” Then the film’s first trailer came out and…


8.2

Birds Of Prey Review

Director: Cathy Yan Starring: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, and Ewan McGregor I’m going to be honest here, Birds of Prey – or to use its full and wonderful title, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – wasn’t really…


8.5

Raise Hell: The Life And Times Of Molly Ivins Review

Director: Janice Engel Starring: Harold Cook, Rachel Maddow, Dan Rather, Molly Ivins Raise Hell: The Life And Times Of Molly Ivins is quite possibly one of the most important documentaries to have come out in 2019, and you might not have heard of it. Don’t worry, I didn’t either before being invited to a very special and exclusive screening of the movie and after having seen the film, I couldn’t help but think this documentary needs to be seen by as many people as possible. Why, you ask? Because Molly Ivins was one of the most brilliant, witty, scathing and important journalists of the 21st Century, and very few people outside of the United States, outside of Texas for that matter, knows her name. After watching Raise Hell, you’ll quickly find yourself Googling the journalist and looking for her books and articles just to get another hit of her incredible wit and pointed political commentary. The documentary, directed masterfully by veteran documentarian and filmmaker Janice Engel, is basically a biopic, but don’t let that put you off. Just because it’s...

8

1917 Review

Director: Sam Mendes Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch Sam Mendes is back after having given us the rather disappointing James Bond movie, Spectre, with a much more personal and, I believe, important movie, 1917. 1917 is a war movie, but don’t let…


9.5

Watchmen Season 1 Review

Showrunner: Damon Lindelof Starring: Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Andrew Howard, Jacob Ming-Trent, Tom Mison, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Louis Gossett Jr., Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, and Hong Chau WARNING: There are SPOILERS for Watchmen Season 1 in this review. ‘Who watches the Watchmen?’ I hear you ask. Answer: everybody…


7.5

The Mandalorian Season 1 Review

Showrunner: Jon Favreau Starring: Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Nick Nolte, Gina Carano, Bill Burr, Richard Ayoade, Giancarlo Esposito and Taika Waititi WARNING: There are SPOILERS for The Mandalorian Season 1 in this review. The Mandalorian Season 1 was easily one of the most eagerly anticipated TV shows of 2019. Star Wars just could not…


9.5

Jojo Rabbit Review

Director: Taika Waititi Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, and Sam Rockwell Taika Waititi is definitely flavour of the month in Hollywood right now and it’s pretty easy to see why – his films are all brilliant and it’s tough to think of a director working today…


7.5

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Spoiler Review

Director: J.J. Abrams Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams WARNING: Full SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker in this review. Star Wars:…


7.5

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Spoiler-Free Review

Director: J.J. Abrams Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams This review of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker will be as SPOILER-FREE as humanly…


9.5

The Mandalorian Episode 6 Review

Director: Rick Famuyiwa Starring: Mark Boone Junior, Bill Burr, Natalia Tena, Clancy Brown, Richard Ayoade and Ismael Cruz Cordova WARNING: Potential SPOILERS for The Mandalorian Episode 6, called The Prisoner, in this review. Now, this is what I wanted from The Mandalorian series on Disney Plus! It’s taken the show a while to get to…


3

6 Underground Review

Director: Michael Bay Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins, Ben Hardy, and Dave Franco OK, let’s get one thing straight. Anybody who tries to tell you that Netflix’s new Michael Bay movie, 6 Underground, is the director’s return to form, they’re either lying, or they’re being sarcastic (insinuating that Bay…


8.5

Motherless Brooklyn Review

Director: Edward Norton Starring: Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Alec Baldwin and Willem Dafoe What’s it like being involved in a movie which you wrote, directed, produced and starred in. One of the very few people who can answer that question is Edward Norton, who did exactly all those things…


9.5

Watchmen Episode 8 Review

Director: Nicole Kassell Starring: Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Irons I’ve said this time and time again. Watchmen is 2019’s best TV show, and what Damon Lindelof, his writers’ room and the show’s directors have done a remarkable job in making a genuinely impressive follow-up to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel. Watchmen…


6

The Mandalorian Episode 5 Review

Director: Dave Filoni Starring: Pedro Pascal, Jake Cannavale, Ming-Na Wen, Amy Sedaris I’ve been really enjoying The Mandalorian, but I’ve had a nagging suspicion that the show was flirting dangerously close to an over-reliance on fan-service, and Episode 5, called The Gunslinger, is proof of that fact. Episode 5 of The Mandalorian starts off with…


6.5

The CW’s Crisis On Infinite Earths Part 1 Review

Director: Jesse Warn Starring: Melissa Benoist, Stephen Amell, Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Katherine McNamara, Ruby Rose, Grant Gustin Crisis On Infinite Earths is finally here. It’s the biggest crossover event The CW has ever done with their DC Comics-based TV shows, and it’s been a long time coming, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s…


10

Marriage Story Review

In 2005 Noah Baumbach released The Squid and the Whale, a film telling a story of divorce witnessed from the perspective of two children. It was a film full of anger and confusion, as events far beyond the control of its two young leads spiralled out of control in front of them. Fourteen years later…


9.5

The Nightingale Review

Director: Jennifer Kent Starring: Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman, Harry Greenwood, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell and Michael Sheasby It’s not very often that a film comes around and rocks you to your very core, but that’s what happens with Jennifer Kent’s incredible follow-up to The Babadook, The Nightingale. I think I might…


9

Watchmen Episode 7 Review

Director: David Semel Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Regina King, Jean Smart, Hong Chau and Jeremy Irons WARNING: Potential SPOILERS for Watchmen Episode 7 in this review I’ve said this time and time again, Watchmen is the best show of 2019, and Season 1 hasn’t even finished yet, and Episode 7, called ‘An Almost Religious Awe’,…


7

The Mandalorian Episode 4 Review

Director: Bryce Dallas Howard Starring: Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Julia Jones WARNING: There are some SPOILERS for The Mandalorian Episode 4 in this review. This is what I was slightly worried about when I was watching the most recent episode of The Mandalorian. I was worried that this new Star Wars live-action TV show was…


10

Watchmen Episode 6 Review

Director: Stephen Williams Starring: Regina King, Don Johnson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jovan Adepo WARNING: There will be spoilers for Watchmen Episode 6 in this review. What really makes good television? I’ve been asking myself that a lot recently, and one of the main reasons I’ve been mulling over that questions again and again in…