Fight of the century

 

Pillow Fight (1897)

Directed by William Heise this is an early short film. Young women have a pillow fight.

Pretty fun little short, captures a familiar childhood moment. Feathers go everywhere rather impressively. Nicely done.

3/5

Bear Essentials

 

Trained Bears (1894)

Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. We see trained bears perform various tricks.

No doubt not great on modern eyes the bears in this short do not appear to be mistreated on film at least. If you can get past the trained animals element there are certainly some charming moments. A good example of circus acts of the period.

3/5

Weird name

 

Selvedge (2024)

Directed by Aleksanda Czenczek this film stars Amelie Leroy and Femi Houghton. In the near future a couple divided by society try to reconnect.

To be honest there is not a lot to this one, it lacks in both plot and action. Leaves too much for the viewer to fill in in my opinion. Pretty standard stuff.

2/5

Not the best scheme

 

The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

Written & directed by Wes Anderson this film stars Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton and Micheal Cera. In the 1950s a man tries to pull off a massive business deal with the help of his daughter who wants to be a nun.

I love Wes Anderson's films and while this is not his best it still has plenty of his usual charm. The images are lovely through out, especially the sets. Just needed a bit more depth to it in my opinion.

3/5

Not that crafty

 

A Minecraft Movie (2025)

Directed by Jared Hess this film stars Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myer and Danielle Brooks. Several people find themselves transported to the world of Minecraft.

Silly and clearly aimed at a younger audience there is not a huge amount to this one. I would say I am not sure the plot was worth following, it barely exists. Another mediocre game to screen adaptation.

2/5

And another

 

Serpentine Dance by Annabelle (1896)

Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. Annabelle Moore performs a Serpentine Dance.

Similar to many other films this of this period this is a short snippet of a dance. Fine for what it is there is not a huge amount to this one. If you have seen one of this type you have kind of seen them all.

3/5

That Zendaya sexy tennis movie

 

Challengers (2024)

Directed by Luca Guadagnino this film stars Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor. The love triangle between three tennis players over many years.

At first it seems like this is going to be a fairly cliché sports film however it does do a decent job of adding something a different by adding some real scope to the tale. There are still some bits that are overly melodramatic for my taste, at times things do feel a little forced. As much as a fan of thumping beats as I am the soundtrack did take me out of the moment at times.

4/5

More than just the lake is bitter

 

Bitter Lake (2015)

Directed by Adam Curtis this is an experimental documentary. We follow the history of US-Saudi relations and attempts to modernise Afghanistan.

As good as this film is at charting the complicated history of the subject it does rely on a lot of the narrator telling rather than showing. I feel like the film could have done with more interviews rather than dolling out information we are supposed to take unchallenged. Does include some fascinating footage.

3/5

Future ICE

 

Alpha 27 (2024)

Directed by Nick Azzaro this short film stars Jack I. Garcia and Kadan Well Bennett. In the near future a man faces deportation from Earth.

Very relevant given the state of things in the US and other parts of the world at the moment. Does not go massively deep on the subject. Fine for what it is.

3/5

Banky Edward's folk

 

Tracers (2025)

Directed by Sof Puchley this short film stars Jackie Ho and Louie Champman. As the capital of a planet burns a member of the royalty tries to escape.

Seems to be more interested in budget action than anything else. Lacks some depth or drama. Not a huge amount to this one.

2/5

Not as flawed

 

The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988)

Directed by Lee H. Katzin this television film sequel stars Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine, Jeff Conaway and Heather Thomas. The Major and his team head off to stop high ranking Nazis escaping to the Middle East.

Of the three television sequels I think this is likely the best one, it has the least objectionable parts although like the others it does suffer from the shorter run time. The addition of an Alistair McLean style hidden traitor does add something a little fresh to the set up. Fairly decent for what it is.

2/5

Finally over

 

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reconing (2025)

Written & directed by Christopher McQuarrie this sequel stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell and Simon Pegg. Our heroes have to stop an AI from destroying the world.

Too much exposition and scenes where characters look meaningfully at each other with out much weight behind them weigh the film down far too much. The stunts are fine but everything else is too much of a slog. By this point there is just so much back story that I did not care about or had forgotten.

2/5

Marginally better

 

The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission (1987)

Directed by Lee H. Katzin this made for television sequel stars Telly Savalas and Ernest Borgnine. A squad of convicted soldiers is sent to rescue scientists and destroy the gas that the Nazis have them working on.

Better than the previous film this second sequel does still not live up to the original. My main complaint is that the film tries to redeem a character that does not deserve it at all at the end. Suffers from the same problem of not having the run time to carry off the concept really.

2/5

They should have refused this mission

 

The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985)

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen this made for television sequel stars Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. Major Reisman takes a team to assassinate a German General.

Oh dear, this is just terrible with plot holes all over the place. The television run time means that even if the Dozen had any character depth there is no time to explore it. Compared to the original the writing is just dire.

1/5

Wakanda the beach episode

 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Directed by Ryan Coogler this sequel stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira and Tnoch Heurta Mejia. Wakanda faces the death of T'Challa and the emergence of another vibranium power.

There are bits and pieces of this film I liked, other parts I thought were missed opportunities. Towards the end neither of the focus nations takes any time to reflect on how they are starting to act like the paternalistic colonial powers they hate which is a big miss, I also did not like how Riri Williams gets sidelined towards the end without any agency. Really tough to follow up the first film after the death of Chadwick Boseman.

3/5

Silly Spaceman

 

Time Trap (2014)

Written & directed by Michael Shanks this short film stars Mark Taylor. A bumbling spaceman finds himself on a desolate Earth with the ability to wind back time in small pockets of space.

I suppose this is pretty fun if not that deep. The effects hold up well for the budget and era of the film. Not a huge amount to this one.

3/5

Familiar

 

Payasam And Other Careful Processes (2023)

Directed by Akshay Ravi this is a short film. A young man digs himself a hole by not telling his family the young lady he has invited over is his girlfriend.

Covers some common ground from the cross cultural dating arena. Fine for what it is even if it provides nothing particularly new. Fairly well done.

3/5

What is justice?

 

All Your Faces (2023)

Written & directed by Jeanne Herry this film has an ensemble cast. Three people working in restorative justice work to bring peace to victims and perpetrators.

As an advert for how restorative justice works and the possible benefits this film is really good, I would say where it falls down is it does not show where the process fails or does not work. To keep things a bit more realistic I think we would have need to have seen that the process is not perfect and it does not work on every one. Great performances from the cast, especially Adele Exarchopoulos in a very tough roll.

4/5

Peasants

 

The Alto Knights (2025)

Directed by Barry Levinson this film stars Robert De Niro (twice), Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis and Katherine Narducci. Two Mafia bosses who were childhood friends fall apart.

Covering familiar ground there is not much new to this mob film. Never my favourite genre this film does nothing to rise above what you expect. About the only remarkable thing is De Niro pulling off two leads in the same film.

3/5

Not that holy

 

His Holiness Pope Leo XIII (1898)

Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. Several clips involving Pope Leo XIII.

Possibly one of the earliest films to string together a number of shots. Unfortunately the image quality is a bit milky in places, not always easy to pick out details. No doubt an interesting historical record if not that entertaining.

2/5

Living life

 

Where Have You Been (2021)

Directed by Colman Haynes this short film stars George Hanover and Paul Sparks. A woman visits the man she left nearly twenty years ago.

A nice little look at how time does not heal all wounds. I enjoy how the characters are subtly standoffish with each other, very real. Nicely done short.

3/5

Kinda beta

 

The Alpha Invention (2015)

Directed by Mark Towers this film stars Billy Boyd and William Hope. A man talks to an AI he has invented.

There is something to be said for the way this film does predict the rise of LLM but it does not go into a lot of depth on AI. The main thing here is the twist as the film is obvious to predict up to that point. Would help if Billy Boyd could pronounce Turing Test correctly.

2/5

Punch, possibly drunk, no love

 

Has He Hit Me? (1897)

Directed by William K. L. Dickson this short film stars Fred & Tom McNaughton. A simple slapstick boxing match.

Pretty fun for what it is. Survives with good image quality. A nice little piece of history.

3/5

She's watching

 

This Time Away (2019)

Directed by Magali Barbe this film stars Timothy Spall and Jessica Ellerby. A widower befriends a robot.

Fairly simple and mostly heart warming short even if the twist at the end does make me a smidge uncomfortable. Well done, does not get overly sentimental. Maybe a little more subtlety in the dialogue would have been nice.

3/5

I did not Marvel

 

The Marvels (2023)

Directed by Nia DaCosta this sequel stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Mian Vellani, Zawe Ashton and Samuel L. Jackson. Connected by their powers three heroines have to save the galaxy from the Kree.

Obviously aimed at a slightly younger audience this film was not completely for me but it was fine. There are places where I would have liked a bit more work done on the script, something common of a lot of films in the genre these days. Fine for what it is, nothing memorable though.

3/5

Brushed under the carpet

 

The Friend (2024)

Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel this film based on the novel of the same name stars Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. A woman inherits her mentor's dog.

There are a lot of potential pitfalls here with some really obvious cliches and I am not sure the film entirely sidesteps them. While the film does not get as overly sentimental as you might worry it does fail to deal with the issue of the mentor being that literature professor who sleeps with his students. A bit of a let down in the end.

2/5

Blown out

 

From Monte Carlo to Monaco (1899)

Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. The view from a train ride in Monaco.

Part of what should be a nice view out over the sea appears to be completely blown out, otherwise a nice scenic short. We eventually get to see a decent wide view towards the end of the film. A fun little short similar to others of this type.

3/5

Super silly

 

Super Real Super Grounded (2024)

Directed by Margaux Susi this film stars Austin Williams. An aspiring actress is pushed to her limits in a remote audition for a tiny role.

Pretty funny and no doubt based on real experiences. Good effort by the lead actress to show her range. Works well as entertainment and a highlight reel.

3/5

It's not OK

 

It's OK, Johnny (2025)

Directed by Deniz Akyurek this short film stars Anthony Misiano. A man calls up the person he used to bully in high school to apologise.

To be honest this one comes across as an immature revenge fantasy. Needed a second or third draft. Decent performance from the star at least.

2/5

Should have been younger

 

Hector's Hell House (2023)

Directed by John Adam Krueger this film stars Gabriel Storm, Bill Mendieta, Christian Weissmann and Liesel Kopp. A young boy tries to face his fears and protect his family.

To be honest I think the kids were not cast young enough to make this one believable. Pretty decent idea just does not come off in the execution. Something that could be improved on at least.

2/5

Actually rare

 

Rare Medium (2024)

Directed by Emily Maya Mills this short film stars Dave Theune and Ryan Meharry. A man goes to see a medium but not all is as it seems.

An interesting little twist on what you would expect. A fun distraction if not the deepest short film. Pretty well done.

3/5