Thunderbolts* (2025)
Directed by Jake Schreier this film stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman and David Harbour. Anti heroes work together to get over their trauma.
When Marvel can actually be bothered they can turn out something with a point to it and character arcs. A refreshing change to the slop they have put out to keep the franchise going recently. Really helps to have a great actress like Florence Pugh who can lead a film and a subject like Sentry to dig in to.
4/5
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Directed by Julius Onah this sequel stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas and Harrison Ford. Sam Wilson tries to find out who is mind controlling assassins.
There is a lot of interesting things that could have been done here but this is another middle of the road entry in the MCU. Occasionally there are some hints of character development showing through they are just not capitalised on. Fine for another watch and forget entry in the series.
3/5
Chaos Walking (2021)
Directed by Doug Liman this film stars Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland and Mads Mikkelsen. A young man on a planet where men's thoughts are projected for all to see discovers a young woman in the woods.
Given all the talent involved in this film I wondered why I had never heard of it, having watched it I now know why, it is terrible. It seems likely the adaptation butchers the source material. Definitely squanders any potential.
2/5
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Directed by Guy Ritchie this film inspired by real events stars Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez and Alan Ritchson. A group of soldiers go on a disavowed mission to stop the supply to U-Boats in the Atlantic.
This film does not take itself or history seriously which makes it hard for me to take it serious in any manner. I do not think there is a single character arc in the entire film. Completely without depth, the equivalent of fast food.
2/5
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
Directed by Mimi Leder this film inspired by real events stars Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer. We follow the early career of future supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
I found this to be one of those Hollywood biographies that is a bit too obviously constructed and fails to really do the subject matter justice. To much is skipped over or condensed that it is hard to get a good sense of what made RBG who she was. In the end a bit too lightweight for my taste.
2/5
Civil War (2024)
Written & directed by Alex Garland this film stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny and Stephen McKinley Henderson. In the dying days of a civil war being fought across the United States, four members of the press travel to DC.
Beyond the surface level this film is just a bit too easy, it never offers any real depth. It does give us a hint of what it is like to live in a warn torn region but I am not sure it goes far enough. There is also no attempts to engage on a political level.
3/5
Alien: Romulus (2024)
Directed by Fede Alvarez this film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux and Isabela Merced. Young people trapped on a corporate mine world plan to escape by raiding an abandoned space station.
Mostly this is an average entry into the series, it does not add much and slightly over stays with the last twenty minutes or so. The plot offers something a little interesting in terms of social commentary then never goes anywhere with it. In the end a run of the mill genre piece that squanders the opportunities it has.
2/5
