>
Sarah Cartland
Tomatometer-approved critic
I write for my own film website, cautionspoilers.com, which focuses on movie reviews, interviews and articles. My go-to films are John Wick, Reign Of Fire, Prometheus, and anything with bonnets.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) |
Doing for bunnies what Benchley and Spielberg did for Great Whites, Holy Grail is still a hoot - a meandering delight that also firmly skewers the genial pointlessness of quests and kingship, medieval myth-making, and much more. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Apr 05, 2024
|
|
|
|
Madame Web (2024) |
Not great but not the worst film ever made, and I didn’t even have to award a consolation star for the cat. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Feb 25, 2024
|
|
|
|
Dagr (2024) |
Blair Witch meets AbFab as found footage collides with fashion darlings giving overpriced clothes the Jean-Luc Goddard treatment. Moritz and Duckles are terrific as a pair of supremely confident, if breathtakingly naive, ethical YouTubers. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Feb 10, 2024
|
|
|
|
65 (2023) |
It was the worst of times, it was the end of times. For the characters anyway. Not as bad I had heard, 65 is improved by the performances and also the constant pummelling that pre-historic Earth doles out to poor old Mills.
- Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jan 21, 2024
|
|
|
|
Saltburn (2023) |
Emerald Fennell's definition of subtlety is bashing us over the head with a small Le Creuset frying pan rather than one of their massive casserole pots. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jan 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Boys in the Boat (2023) |
While Clooney’s Oscar-eyeing earnestness leaves much of the film plodding, it is spectacularly saved by the race scenes, which are both riveting and exhilarating. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jan 13, 2024
|
|
|
|
A Haunting in Venice (2023) |
Enjoyably melodramatic and nicely unnerving, though the tendency to shoot from above and at odd angles becomes headache-inducing, especially when one is trying to work out whodunnit (or indeed woohoodunnit). Camille Cottin and Emma Laird are stand-outs. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jan 01, 2024
|
|
|
|
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) |
Overlong if enjoyably bonkers, there's also an undercurrent of chaos, with bits of key turning up everywhere; at times it felt like there were enough for everyone to have a spare set. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 27, 2023
|
|
|
|
Meg 2: The Trench (2023) |
There's an enjoyable disdain for empathy as extras get munched, though mostly it's just not that exciting, and B movie tropes that should evoke knowing enjoyment seem simply dull. The green-washing makes it worthy, if not see-worthy. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 26, 2023
|
|
|
|
The Bounty Hunter (2010) |
Overlong, trope-filled and derivative, there’s still an endearing charm to Milo’s puppyish dimwittery — and it boasts a proper movie villain, who with his chiselled cheekbones and air of real menace looks like an evil Max Headroom (ask your A.I. nan) - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jun 03, 2023
|
|
|
|
One True Loves (2023) |
A slight, slushy yet just-endearing-enough romcom. It does look like an old-fashioned TV movie though, and the flashback to the world’s windiest wedding reception, everyone trying to ignore the waving gazebo, doesn’t help. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Apr 08, 2023
|
|
|
|
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) |
Deadly serious yet madly entertaining, John Wick Chapter 4 offers up a stream of astonishing, sometimes numbing battles broken up by aphorisms. Its callbacks to the first film reveal a man who can never escape his past or his path. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Mar 26, 2023
|
|
|
|
Follow the Dead (2020) |
A movie about Millennials reviewed by a Gen Xer. What could go wrong! Luckily this Irish zomcom is funny, chilling, and thoughtful about how a safe space can become a prison, as a family of slackers faces two threats — only one of which is already dead. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Mar 22, 2023
|
|
|
|
Plane (2023) |
Solid and enjoyable filmmaking that knows its limits. No overflowing passenger lists, no shoehorned subplots, it does exactly what it says on the tin, and then some. Truly, "redemption can be found in the most unusual places." - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Mar 18, 2023
|
|
|
|
Precognition (2018) |
Technology itself is morally neutral. But Tedder has done a good job showing us how easily it can be twisted, and how a combination of carrot and stick can make us give up our most basic freedoms. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jan 30, 2023
|
|
|
|
See How They Run (2022) |
Frenetic, amiable and supremely well-paced; and as a whodunnit it’s certainly more AgFab than whocares. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 09, 2022
|
|
|
|
Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot (2020) |
For a stripped-back Arthur, a character study of a king who has lost faith in himself and his role, there’s an awful lot thrown in here, without the time, budget or real insight to do it all justice. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 05, 2022
|
|
|
|
Reed's Point (2022) |
Clunky and awkward, with risible dialogue and a damp squib ending; though director Dale Fabrigar does offer us an impressive monster, and Anthony Jensen has fun as local guide Hank. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 05, 2022
|
|
|
|
Maneater (2022) |
Not a good film — with limited, repetitive shark footage and often lazy writing — though there’s a good turn from Trace Adkins as hoary old sea dog Harlan. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
When the Screaming Starts (2021) |
Very funny, very British and drowning in fake blood. And unlike a murderous cult breaking into your house while you’re having a dinner party, it never outstays its welcome. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 21, 2022
|
|
|
|
The Reef: Stalked (2022) |
Sharks make good allegories, and unlike zombies they work best with only one, which is cheaper. The Reef Stalked is a welcome entrant in this genre - a scary, solidly entertaining shark drama as much about grief and guilt as about the toothy terror. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Aug 01, 2022
|
|
|
|
Persuasion (2022) |
There are some witty flashes and Cosmo Jarvis is excellent, a rumbling volcano of just held in check emotion. But this is an uneven disappointment, with Anne too frequently coming across as a Regency Bridget Jones. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jul 26, 2022
|
|
|
|
Gatlopp (2022) |
Surely a metaphor for Monopoly, which is the definition of hell and goes on for an eternity, GATLOPP is enjoyably believable, thanks to nuanced, sharply timed performances from all four actors. Emmy Raver-Lampman and Jon Bass are particularly impressive. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jul 01, 2022
|
|
|
|
Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
There are some stunning visuals and the new dinosaurs are terrific, especially the one that looks like an angry chicken; though they often seem like extras in an overlong potboiler thriller. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Jun 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) |
Old relics assemble! A superbly thrilling, witty and crowd-pleasing modern blockbuster, well worth the 36-year wait. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted May 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
Senior Year (2022) |
Yes it's derivative and heavily signposted but it's also exuberant and witty, a reminder to teenagers to let their hair down and to their parents not to assume that (and I’m showing my age here) modern life is rubbish. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted May 24, 2022
|
|
|
|
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) |
Overstuffed with plot and not as witty as the first film, though a late surge gives it the oomph to make it through an enjoyable final third. Thanks to Carrey, Robotnik remains a perfect villain for children: extremely powerful and eternally bumptious. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted May 20, 2022
|
|
|
|
Operation Mincemeat (2021) |
Not the "Colin Firth looking stoic in a Royal Navy-issue jumper" outing I was expecting - instead I discovered a surprisingly funny, consistently gripping and often moving film about war's imperfect stalwarts, working in the shadows. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Apr 17, 2022
|
|
|
|
Let the Wrong One In (2021) |
Grossly funny, peppered with great one-liners, this is also a touching paean to family and fake blood, which drenches proceedings in frankly extraordinary quantities. There's more gushing here than from British luvvies at the BAFTAs. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Apr 07, 2022
|
|
|
|
Death on the Nile (2022) |
Gorgeous, great fun and brutally funny in a way, that everyone there to celebrate Linnet's marriage also has reason to greatly dislike her. (To be fair some of the best weddings are like that.) - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Apr 03, 2022
|
|
|
|
Deep Water (2022) |
It does, finally, get under the skin, if you can make it through the tepid sex and stretches of tedium. Melinda and Vics transgressiveness may not be explained, or believable, but it eventually becomes oddly compelling. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Mar 21, 2022
|
|
|
|
Moonfall (2022) |
An enjoyable, old-fashioned blockbuster (yes, there is a pet) let down by an absence of humour (which might have lightened its rather lumpen earnestness). - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Feb 06, 2022
|
|
|
|
Silent Night (2021) |
Shorter than many family Christmas dinners that do actually feel like the end of the world, Silent Night bounces along until almost the end; beautiful, bitterly funny and bizarrely realistic. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Dec 30, 2021
|
|
|
|
Last Train to Christmas (2021) |
An overlong but moving tale. It says something for the writing and performances that the most jarring element of this story is how many spare seats there are in a British Rail train at Christmas. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Dec 20, 2021
|
|
|
|
A Castle for Christmas (2021) |
Mostly does what it says on the (Quality Street) tin, though its premise of two older, slightly broken people falling in love means welcome spikiness to offset the sugar. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Dec 01, 2021
|
|
|
|
Home Sweet Home Alone (2021) |
Neither great nor terrible. Despite the slapstick violence it lacks the darkness of a children's classic - everyone is just too nice, even the estate agent (who is actually the best thing in this). - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Nov 14, 2021
|
|
|
|
Yield to the Night (1956) |
A stunning film, its oppressive sadness feeling like a physical weight by the time we reach those final devastating yet inevitable scenes. Dors and Mitchell are superb. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Nov 11, 2021
|
|
|
|
Finch (2021) |
Miguel Sapochnik skilfully steers his affecting family drama away from the pitfalls of sentimentality. Landry Jones is terrific as Robot Jeff, a synthetic made sympathetic, struggling to understand the contradictions of the man who made him. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Nov 06, 2021
|
|
|
|
Spencer (2021) |
Both compelling and irritating, sometimes simultaneously. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Nov 06, 2021
|
|
|
|
No Time to Die (2021) |
As the closing of a chapter No Time To Die works exceptionally well, a heady yet comforting mix of nostalgia and the shock of the unexpected. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 10, 2021
|
|
|
|
Diana: The Musical (2021) |
I do love a rhyming couplet, and in this respect it does not disappoint, unless you're Shakespeare. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 08, 2021
|
|
|
|
Deerskin (2019) |
Absurdly funny and very bloody. Dujardin is both hilarious and deeply melancholic as a man with the world's first interesting midlife crisis. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Oct 02, 2021
|
|
|
|
The Wonderful: Stories From The Space Station (2021) |
Full of fascinating insights and much about family. Those familiar images of the Earth, hanging like a frosted blue Christmas bauble in space, still stun. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 26, 2021
|
|
|
|
The Green Knight (2021) |
A bold, gorgeous and darkly comic cautionary tale about the making of legends, and heroes who don't even own their own story. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 26, 2021
|
|
|
|
Oasis Knebworth 1996 (2021) |
Funny, sincere and wistful. Turn it up. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 23, 2021
|
|
|
|
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) |
Gunpowder Milkshake starts off like space dust sweets, all-too-briefly crackling on the tongue before dissolving to nothing; though it does pick up later, dragging us along for the ride. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 17, 2021
|
|
|
|
The Colony (2021) |
It's grim and the ending is baffling, but it also has a rusting melancholy beauty. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 12, 2021
|
|
|
|
Copshop (2021) |
A lurid, sweaty, snarky B-movie. Alexis Louder is always compelling as the inexperienced cop trying to keep her cool at the centre. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Sep 10, 2021
|
|
|
|
The Last Bus (2021) |
I love public transport and I cry at the drop of a genuine 1950s trilby hat, but The Last Bus is simply too earnestly clunky. Spall is terrific though, and Tom's tragedies movingly revealed. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Aug 31, 2021
|
|
|
|
The Nest (2020) |
A cautionary tale told with an unflinching gaze that suits the boldness of the decade in which it is set. It fairly whizzes by, compellingly, gruesomely, fascinating. - Caution Spoilers
Read More
| Posted Aug 28, 2021
|