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News, Reviews & Features

Review: Unicorn Store sparkles but doesn't shine or, er, something

Movie Review | Luke Whiston | 23rd April 2019

Hey everyone, it's the new movie starring Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson! You know, the one where she has to make a bunch of defining choices regarding her responsibilities in a fantasy setting! While making quips! Actually Unicorn Store was completed a few years ago but has only just been released by Netflix, in what is presumably a Captain America-style tactical decision to capitalise on Brie Larson's new-found Marvel fame. But don't read too much into this apparent dumping on a streaming service because while it's not exactly a Vision to behold and a bit low-key (Loki) on the life-affirming front, it's not a Hulking great mess either! Thanos!

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Review: Pet Sematary is flatter than a run over cat

Movie Review | Becky Suter | 5th April 2019

The long list of Stephen King adaptations run from the great (The Shining, Misery), the so-so (original Carrie), to the just downright silly one where everyone gets alien bum worms called "Shitweasels" (Dreamcatcher). Following on from the passable remake of It, where Pennywise became a sewer daddy for thirsty millennials wanting to bang clowns, the latest of Kingâ€™s books to be resurrected is a confused and uninspiring mess that proves, as one character helpfully puts it, sometimes dead is better.

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Review: Us is an iconic horror that doppelgÃ¤ngs up on our innate fears

Movie Review | Matt Looker | 25th March 2019

Of all the books I read while studying English Literature at university, there are very few that I can say really stuck with me so much that I think about them on a near-daily basis. One that did is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe called William Wilson. If youâ€™re not familiar, itâ€™s a deeply sinister tale in which the narrator describes being tormented throughout his life by infrequent run ins with his doppelgÃ¤nger, a figure that looks, acts and dresses exactly the same as him, until he is eventually driven mad. The story struck a chord mainly because my professor made a compelling case at the time for how this horror works on a psychological level, but also because he had us analyse the many thematic instances of â€˜doublesâ€™ throughout the text. This, he explained, includes William Wilsonâ€™s own alliterative initials, which are made up of two 'W's or, rather, 'double-you's. And it was at that point that I thought he was just really reaching.

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Review: Alita: Battle Angel has one foot in the future, one in the past

Movie Review | Ali Gray | 13th February 2019

Does James Cameron's name attached to a movie mean anything anymore? With the skidmark of Terminator Genisys refusing to fade from the collective pop culture underpant, and the inevitable Avatar sequel debacle still a few merciful years away, we have a new Cameron project to mull over in the meantime. Alita: Battle Angel, a live-action sci-fi epic based on a popular Japanese anime, has been on JC's to-do list since the early 2000s but he's finally delegated it off his plate, handing over his dusty old screenplay to best pal Robert Rodriguez. I don't like the phrase 'sloppy seconds', but, well, I've said it now, it's out there, and in actual fact, in saying it I've basically answered the question I set out in the first line, so here we are, the review has begun, strap yourselves in everyone.

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Review: Cold Pursuit sees Mr Plow out for revenge in a temperate thriller

Movie Review | Becky Suter | 7th February 2019

Over the past decade, Liam Neeson has had an interesting evolution from Serious Actor to Tough Action Dad, exclusively playing single-minded individuals dispensing their own brand of vigilante justice. Since Taken, heâ€™s developed his particular set of skills to work within the same template over and over again, becoming a one man wrecking crew in the likes of Run All Night, Non-Stop and then Non-Stop-But-On-A-Train, The Commuter. Heâ€™s even punched a wolf in the face. All batshit crazy, yet enjoyable nonetheless. But in a recent controversial interview, Neeson revealed he was once almost in his own version of American History X, contemplating taking a cosh to any â€œblack bastardâ€ who crossed his path to quench his own insatiable thirst for revenge. His telling of this story was probably intended to highlight how revenge never helps anyone, but instead highlighted that this is a reality for black men and people of colour, and attempts to rationalise these thoughts could be seen, at best, as attempts to normalise racism. And to think, my main concern before seeing the film was how many snow puns and Simpsonsâ€™ gags I could shoehorn into this review.

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Review: Vice shows Dick Cheney as a man with few virtues and ohhh, I see what you did there

Movie Review | Becky Suter | 21st January 2019

My knowledge of Dick Cheney pretty much started and ended with knowing him as the veep who shot a guy in the face whilst on a hunting trip. Had I bothered to actually watch all of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart episodes I've recorded over the years, I would have known that Cheney has always been the dark heart of American politics; a man rotten to his very core, which itself is a tiny black hole from which no joy or light can escape, who's been haunting the White House long before President Trump gleefully served McNugget BBQ sauce out of the Lincoln silver gravy boats to those footballers. Luckily, Adam McKay is here again to distil complex information to dummies like me, although newsflash - the political system is like, totally corrupt, you guys.

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Review: Glass is a fragile follow-up with wasted promise

Movie Review | Matt Looker | 17th January 2019

No one knows the importance of a good ending like M. Night Shyamalan. He has built his entire career on them. He knows that many film flaws can be forgiven along the way if, right before the credits roll, he can suddenly wow an audience so that they leave only talking about that ending. Itâ€™s a circus approach to storytelling, saving the big top narrative stunt for the final act, but it works. In the case of Split - an otherwise divisive film - it worked so well that the ending itself manifested a whole sequel. But no one should be in any doubt that itâ€™s a cheat. A big last-minute reveal teasing a forthcoming crossover might be an original way to have a shock twist, but it doesnâ€™t automatically make for a good ending to what came before it. Just as it doesnâ€™t automatically make for a good beginning for what comes next.

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Interview: Oh look, it's Olivia Colman

Movie Feature | Ali Gray | 18th December 2018

There's a slight chill in the air as I arrive at London's Dorchester Hotel at 8.55am on a grey November morning. I am directed to the Executive Suite on the fourth floor, where I'm told Olivia is having breakfast; I thank the friendly PR and make my way into the extravagant dining suite, where all manner of jams, marmalades and pastries are laid out alongside eight blends of coffee. Colman is sitting eating alone, and when she sees me she stands up, smiles and greets me warmly, the sun refracting off the room's chandelier, lighting her up like a true movie star from the Golden Age.

None of this is true, of course, because my interview with Olivia was conducted over email, but I've always wanted to write one of those wanky GQ interview intros where the writer fills up his word count with about a thousand words comparing his subject to an ancient Aztec princess or Anne of Cleves or some shit.

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Review: Ralph Breaks The Internet, but is that what kids even want?

Movie Review | Matt Looker | 28th November 2018

Due to what I'm sure were very important reasons, we never got round to reviewing the recent Suspiria remake here, so apologies for that. It is, however, a truly exceptional film that chills to the bone and slowly builds to a darkly disturbing crescendo of menace and gore. Its only major problem is that there is an early scene so horrifying, so deeply, core-shakingly terrifying, that nothing afterwards can match it for sheer horror. It is truly nasty beyond reproach and is hands-down the most repulsive film scene of 2018. I mention this because, against all odds, Ralph Breaks The Internet contains a sequence that comes a close second.

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Caption this photo of Paul Dano immediately you cowards

Movie Feature | Ali Gray | 2nd November 2018

I like Paul Dano. He is good at acting. He is what Empire called "a 27-Percenter" i.e. someone who makes a movie 27% better just by being in it. He makes great career choices. He is a compelling screen presence. He has all the makings of a great film director. And yet: he looks like a right tit in this magazine article. Join me as I attempt to make sense of this conundrum.

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