I'll Be Right There (2023)
Directed by Jim Berggarly this film stars Edie Falco, Jeannie Berlin, Charlie Tahan and Kayli Carther. A divorced middle aged woman spends her days running round doing things for her family.
Not the deepest film you will ever see but it is pretty genuine and mostly real. Solid performances from the cast and some restraint that stops things from becoming sappy. A decent little film.
3/5
Babes (2024)
Directed by Pamela Adlon this film stars Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau. A young woman gets pregnant and finds out her one night stand has since died.
I found this film to be fairly fun, it is essentially the rom-com structure but for female friendship. Nothing is earth shattering or surprising here. Some may find the protagonist a little annoying but if you can over look that this is fine.
3/5
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Directed by Peyton Reed this film stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Kathryn Newton, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas. Our heroes are dragged into the quantum realm.
Lacking much in the way of character arcs and throwing CGI at everything in sight there is not much heart to this film. Where previous Ant man films had a fair amount of personality to carry them it all gets lost in this one. Ultimately rather forgettable.
2/5
Brighton Seagoing Electric Car (1897)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. A short snippet of an electric car in the sea.
A fascinating clip of old technology. Sadly the clip is so short you barely get to see the strange vehicle. I wish this one was longer.
3/5
An Interesting Story (1904)
Directed by James Williamson this is an early short film. A man is so engrossed in a book he gets run over by a steam roller.
Mixing two gags here the man also get reinflated after being steam rolled. Pretty funny for a film of the period and could easily be remade with a “kids always on their phones” modern update. The pacing could be a little faster is my only complaint.
3/5
A Very Short Film About Longing (2023)
Directed by Eimear McBride this short film stars Joe Alwyn, Natalia Kostrzewa and Lashay Anderson. A teacher has an affair with a married neighbour while one of his pupils stalks him.
Two tales of longing that are interconnected, it is pretty well done. Enjoyable and evocative especially with the cinematography. Decent if not stellar performances.
4/5
Attack on a China Mission (1900)
Directed by James Williamson this is an early short film. A scene from the Boxer rebellion.
There is a decent amount of action in this short film, especially impressive for the period. Cuts off before we get a complete resolution. Helps to know your history a little to get the context of what is happening.
3/5
The Girl with a Bracelet (2019)
Directed by Stephane Demoustier this remake of the Argentinian film The Accused (2018) stars Melissa Guers. An eighteen year old girl stands trial for the murder of her best friend.
I really like the way this film keeps you on the edge, you never really know what happened even at the end. Having not seen the original I have no idea how the two compare or how closely the film follows how the French legal system works. Certainly thought provoking and tense.
4/5
The Wasp (2024)
Directed by Guillem Morales this film stars Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer. A woman asks a former school friend to kill her husband.
Starting off as something approaching a farce the film improves a lot once it takes a much darker turn in the second half. With a stronger first half this could be a really good film. Both actresses give good performances, I especially enjoyed Dormer's west country accent.
4/5
It Ends with Us (2024)
Directed by co-star Justin Baldoni this adaptation also stars Blake Lively. Following the death of her father a young woman from Boston opens a flower shop and starts a new romance.
The cheesy romance tone of this film is not set up to deal with the serious subject of domestic violence that arises as the story progresses. I hope this is a bad adaptation because otherwise I can see no reason why the novel on which it was based is so popular. A disappointment of fairly large proportions.
2/5
Early Fashions on Brighton Pier (1898)
Directed by James Williamson and George Albert Smith this is an early short film. People walk about on the pier at Brighton.
I am sure some people get a great deal out of this as a historical record, for the casual viewer there is not a huge amount going on. People mill about without a lot of action. Needs a bit more to it to make it watchable.
3/5
The Inexhaustible Cab (1899)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. A cab is filmed with a lot of people.
A simple gag fairly well done. There is not a huge amount to this one beyond the obvious sight gag. Decent for the period.
3/5
Weekend Dad (2022)
Directed by Dorothy Allen-Pickard this is a short film. A man with problems takes his daughter for an evening out.
A slice of familiar life for many families around the world. Does not go anywhere especially deep but I do enjoy the hinted at undercurrent of problems with the father. A decent little short film.
3/5
A Perfect Spy (1987)
Directed by Peter Smith this series based on the novel of the same name stars Peter Egan. We follow the life of a man from his childhood to becoming a spy.
In my opinion telling the story in such a linear fashion compared to the novels non linear structure is a mistake, it takes things far too long to get going in this series. Some of the acting is a bit much at times as well. Not my favourite le Carre adaptation by a long shot.
2/5
Skincare (2024)
Directed by Austin Peters this film stars Elizabeth Banks, Lewis Pullman and Luis Gerardo Mendez. A skincare expert in Hollywood gains a new rival.
While this film is fairly fun once it is clear what is going on it takes a bit too long to get to the conclusion. I found the middle of the film really dragged. Otherwise fine for what it is.
2/5
Afraid (2024)
Directed by Chris Weitz this film stars John Cho, Katerine Waterston and Havana Rose Liu. A marketing expert brings home a new AI assistant for his family to try.
There are a lot of good ideas here, none of which really go anywhere sadly. I really think the script needed a few more drafts to take this somewhere really interesting. Ultimately forgettable.
2/5
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (2024)
Directed by star Kevin Costner this film has a large cast that also includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Will Patton. In 1859 white settlers get massacred by the local Indian tribe.
When Costner returns to the western genre you have big expectations and this film falls short in almost all regards. There are too many stories, nearly all of them incredible generic and none of them going anywhere interesting. All of the characters are stock characters, there is really nothing original here.
2/5
My Eyes Are Up Here (2022)
Directed by Nathan Morris this short film stars Jillian Mercado, Ben Cura and Pooky Quesnel. A disabled model tries to ditch her one night stand and get the morning after pill.
I found both the writing and the acting of this one to be a bit awkward. A bit more work on the script and this could have been more interesting. One of those short films that needed a bit more effort.
2/5
Honestly (2021)
Directed by Roxy Rezvany this short film stars Emily Renee, Aidan O'Neill and Natalie Radmall-Quirke. An actress repeats a reading for a needy director.
I am not entirely sure what this short is getting at. Emile Renee get a really good show case of her acting abilities as she repeats the scene over. I would have been more interested in the scene they are reading rather than the scene of them reading it.
3/5
The Dull Razor (1900)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. A man shaves himself.
There is nothing here that really indicates the razor is dull, the man seems to be getting along pretty well shaving himself. Not a lot to this short. As far as films from Smith go this is not one of the most riveting.
2/5
Making Sausages (1897)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. Men making sausages use a variety of live animals.
A simple gag aimed at unscrupulous sausage makers. Pretty funny even if you do see one of the animals escape from the hopper. Possibly the first piece of vegetarian propaganda?
3/5
The Good Half (2023)
Directed by Robert Schwartzman this film stars Nick Jonas, Brittany Snow, David Aquette, Alexandra Shipp and Elisabeth Shue. A man returns home for is mother's funeral.
As grief movies go there is nothing new here and it is not especially well done. There are a couple of recognisable moments for anyone who has been through the process but for the most part this is a fairly ham fisted attempt. Not one I would recommend.
2/5
Blood for Dust (2023)
Directed by David Ebeltoft this film stars Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas. A salesman desperate for money to support his sick kid agrees to traffic some drugs.
Pretty familiar for anyone that has seen any crime film ever, we all know how the plot is going to play out. For a rehash of familiar elements this is fine I suppose. Nothing new or original here.
3/5
Spiders on a Web (1900)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. Two spiders climb around in a confined space.
I am not able to make out a web in this short film, otherwise it is pretty cool. A very early close up of natural life. Not much more than what it claims to be.
3/5
The Death of Poor Joe (1901)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. A man with a torch walks past a gate then a poor person arrives and dies.
I really like the attempt to use in scene lighting here, shows an attempt at innovation. While the backdrop is nicely painted you can unfortunately see it move in the breeze which rather destroys the moment. Being unfamiliar with Bleak House I have no idea of the relevance of the scene this is based on.
2/5
The Old Maid's Valentine (1900)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. A spinster receives mail on Valentine's day.
So many relatable modern day elements, being a cat lady and getting spam. Not the most hilarious joke in history, it does at least work. Fine for a simple short.
3/5
Two Clowns (1906)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. Two clowns drink and have fun.
A very simple short film in terms of the action. What is impressive about this film is the early use of colour, the image is very colourful. Pretty fun even if it is a bit simple in content.
3/5
Comic Face (1897)
Directed by George Albert Smith this film stars Tom Green. A man drinks a pint of beer and makes increasingly silly faces.
You have to wonder if the subject is a bit of a lightweight with how fast things turn silly on just one beer. Pretty fun, nothing that special about this short. One of the more basic films from the director.
3/5
After Love (2020)
Written & directed by Aleem Khan this film stars Joanna Scanlan, Nathalie Richard and Talid Ariss. A woman who converted to Islam for her husband finds out he has another family after he dies.
For me this film never really takes off. There is a lot of potent up emotional energy that never gets released, which you could say is very British. Feels like there could have been more to this one.
3/5
MaXXXine (2024)
Written & directed by Ti West this sequel stars Mia Goth, Elizabeth Dehicki, Moses Sumney and Kevin Bacon. A porn star tries to break into mainstream cinema while a killer is on the loose in LA.
You can definitely see the Dario Argento influence on parts of this film. As slashers go this is fine, a lot less interesting than the prequel Pearl. Not really memorable and some of the cast seem a bit under utilised.
3/5
Fight or Flight (2025)
Directed by James Madigan this film stars Josh Hartnett and Charithra Chandran. A mercenary boards a plane to find their target only to discover half the people on the plane want to kill the same person.
Clearly this film wants to be Bullet Train (2022) on a plane but does not have the same level of talent behind it. The script appears to have been a bit of an after thought at times, the Macguffin is a Mission Impossible reject that gets glossed over pretty fast. I suppose the action parts are not too bad, they are just not enough to hold the film together.
2/5
