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3/5
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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
This is a perfectly undemanding watch. Just don’t watch it with a historian.
Posted Jul 25, 2024
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4/5
|
Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
|
Olly Richards
|
From cameos to background Easter eggs to long-fan-ficked meet-ups, it’s a relentless onslaught of surprises designed to get audiences screaming and throwing popcorn in the air.
Posted Jul 23, 2024
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5/5
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I Saw the TV Glow
(2024)
|
Laura Venning
|
Visceral and intensely moving, this film feels like something you’d stumble across on TV in the small hours and never forget. It might herald a new era for queer cinema.
Posted Jul 22, 2024
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3/5
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Janet Planet
(2023)
|
Nicola Austin
|
This gentle and intimate coming-of-age drama from beloved playwright Annie Baker is an assured but frustratingly slow-paced directorial debut which evokes the bittersweet nostalgia of ‘90s pre-teen girlhood.
Posted Jul 19, 2024
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3/5
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Skywalkers: A Love Story
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
An unorthodox romance that will leave you sweaty-palmed and tearful, in equal measure. It doesn’t quite reach the heights it could, but there’s a hell of a view at the top.
Posted Jul 19, 2024
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4/5
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Aliens Expanded
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
The 4.5 hour-plus runtime might put some off, but that massive canvas only allows for the deepest of deep dives into a monumental achievement in cinematic science-fiction.
Posted Jul 17, 2024
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4/5
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blur: To The End
(2024)
|
Lou Thomas
|
Out front and backstage, this illuminating but not quite revelatory documentary shows a vulnerable, exhausted Blur and the band at their best. Interesting to casual fans, essential for devotees.
Posted Jul 17, 2024
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4/5
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Thelma
(2024)
|
Laura Venning
|
On paper, Thelma may sound unbearably twee, the kind of film that relies heavily on old people saying the darnedest things to win laughs. But the film is buoyed by a consistently funny script, real pathos and stellar comic performances.
Posted Jul 16, 2024
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3/5
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Chuck Chuck Baby
(2023)
|
Nicola Austin
|
An endearing tale of self-acceptance, wearing its heart fully on its sleeve thanks to the affecting central romance and joyous transformation of its protagonist.
Posted Jul 16, 2024
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3/5
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In A Violent Nature
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
It is beautifully shot and deeply considered. But it’s an approach that won’t work for everyone.
Posted Jul 15, 2024
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4/5
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Hundreds of Beavers
(2022)
|
Nick De Semlyen
|
A tale of pelts that pelts along, with more lunacy and creativity than a brace of other films, this film dares to go full beaver.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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4/5
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Twisters
(2024)
|
Beth Webb
|
Where the film underserves certain characters, it more than delivers on action. The concept of upgrading a tornado may seem like a strange one, but the sequel pulls it off with visual flourishes that range from terrifying to outrageously good fun.
Posted Jul 10, 2024
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4/5
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Longlegs
(2024)
|
Sophie Butcher
|
A chilling concoction, featuring a remarkable transformation of Nicolas Cage and a reminder of Maika Monroe’s star quality. Submit to its demonic darkness for a singular, sensory cinematic horror experience.
Posted Jul 10, 2024
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2/5
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Fly Me to the Moon
(2024)
|
Iana Murray
|
Berlanti's revisionist comedy offers a fresh take on the Apollo 11 moon landing, but its convoluted conspiracy fails to capitalise on the charms of Johansson and Tatum's workplace romance.
Posted Jul 10, 2024
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4/5
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Kill
(2023)
|
John Nugent
|
Kill lives up to its name, and then some: this is a breathless, ferociously gory action film, on a level rarely seen before in Indian cinema.
Posted Jul 08, 2024
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3/5
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Unicorns
(2023)
|
Ella Kemp
|
A compelling if formulaic star-crossed lovers’ narrative. Come for a wordless seduction, stay for the complexities of parenthood, drag queens and family loyalties that deserve more of your time.
Posted Jul 08, 2024
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3/5
|
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
(2024)
|
Olly Richards
|
Eddie Murphy’s on his best form in years in a sequel that recaptures some of the joy of the original.
Posted Jul 05, 2024
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2/5
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Space Cadet
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
It purports to celebrate the pursuit of science, but this film may have single-handedly set the space programme back a decade.
Posted Jul 05, 2024
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2/5
|
Despicable Me 4
(2024)
|
Barry Levitt
|
It looks fantastic, Gru is still loveable, and smaller viewers will be engaged enough. But Despicable Me 4 stalls in its overstuffed plot and its lack of an interesting narrative.
Posted Jul 05, 2024
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2/5
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A Family Affair
(2024)
|
David Opie
|
Not even Nicole Kidman playing off Kathy Bates — or Zac Efron singing Cher's Believe — are enough to save what should have been a surefire hit from Hallmark musings and tired clichés.
Posted Jun 29, 2024
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2/5
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Something in the Water
(2024)
|
Ian Freer
|
The female-first vibe is refreshing but Something In The Water is something old, nothing new, a lot that is borrowed and an eyeful of twinkly blue.
Posted Jun 28, 2024
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4/5
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MaXXXine
(2024)
|
Kim Newman
|
Mia Goth's Maxine is what you'd get if the Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster of Taxi Driver were fused in the telepod from The Fly.
Posted Jun 27, 2024
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4/5
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A Quiet Place: Day One
(2024)
|
Ben Travis
|
A solid A Quiet Place entry is elevated by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn’s affecting performances -- a surprisingly tender tale of the end of days.
Posted Jun 27, 2024
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4/5
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Fancy Dance
(2023)
|
Amon Warmann
|
A thoughtful, affecting debut feature from Tremblay that puts a necessary spotlight on Indigenous peoples -- featuring another exceptional performance from Lily Gladstone.
Posted Jun 25, 2024
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4/5
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Kinds of Kindness
(2024)
|
Lou Thomas
|
Another humane, odd and highly accomplished Yorgos Lanthimos film, one that sees him returning to the tone of his earlier work after The Favourite and Poor Things.
Posted Jun 25, 2024
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2/5
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Trigger Warning
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
An unremarkable and quickly forgettable B-movie. Jessica Alba makes a decent stab for John Wick’s particular brand of movie vengeance, but she needs better material than this.
Posted Jun 24, 2024
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3/5
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The Exorcism
(2024)
|
Kim Newman
|
There's a wobble about how committed this is to being a scary movie rather than an inside Hollywood drama, but -- like Exorcist III -- it springs one great lunge-out-of-an-unexpected-corner-of-the-frame jump scare.
Posted Jun 20, 2024
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3/5
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The Bikeriders
(2023)
|
Beth Webb
|
More of a slow burn than a thrill-ride, this study of bygone motorhead mentality at its most visceral and violent is gorgeously shot — but only nicks the surface.
Posted Jun 17, 2024
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3/5
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Under Paris
(2024)
|
Ben Travis
|
A solid shark thriller whose admirable but clunky eco-warnings almost get in the way of a good time. Best when it allows itself to really go in-Seine.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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2/5
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Freud's Last Session
(2023)
|
Helen O'Hara
|
It’s not the fault of either star, but the half-baked script makes this an unsatisfyingly thin exploration of the weighty themes it seeks to cover.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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3/5
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Federer: Twelve Final Days
(2024)
|
Liz Moody
|
... An entertaining, occasionally illuminating and at times surprisingly moving look at the final bow of a genuine tennis legend.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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3/5
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Treasure
(2024)
|
Alex Godfrey
|
It’s all a little too lightweight, and not above corniness and sentimentality, but it does earn its little emotional breakthroughs, modest as they are.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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3/5
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Arcadian
(2024)
|
Barry Levitt
|
Though things go off the rails in the third act, Arcadian’s intriguing premise and inspired monster design pack plenty of scares into this post-apocalyptic fable.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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3/5
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Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
(2024)
|
Helen O'Hara
|
It's fine for an epic to sprawl, but you want a sense of purpose at the same time, and this one sometimes loses its way. Still, it’s handsomely shot and well performed, a throwback to the glory days of event-movie horse operas.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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4/5
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
|
Olly Richards
|
This is probably its best film since Coco, and best sequel since Toy Story 3.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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4/5
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Sasquatch Sunset
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
Sasquatch Sunset is a gloriously vulgar film about made-up monsters from children’s stories — but it is also a terribly melancholy adult story about the violence of progress. What a remarkable, unique, sad little cult oddity it is.
Posted Jun 10, 2024
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3/5
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The Dead Don't Hurt
(2023)
|
Dan Jolin
|
A Western that hits many of the expected beats but which does so in an unexpected manner, being centred on a tender, loving relationship rather than gunplay and grit.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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3/5
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The Watchers
(2024)
|
Kim Newman
|
Fanning brings her A-game and there’s enough mystery about the monsters in the woods to string audiences along until the satisfyingly weird finish. As mid-list horror goes, perfectly fine.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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3/5
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die
(2024)
|
Nick De Semlyen
|
Scruffy and overstuffed, but contagiously good-natured. And frankly more films need to feature showdowns at abandoned alligator-themed amusement parks.
Posted Jun 05, 2024
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3/5
|
Jim Henson Idea Man
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
Howard’s genial account of the legendary Muppeteer plays it safe, with a fairly traditional documentary-making approach — but it still manages to be adequately inspirational, celebrational and, yes, even Muppetational.
Posted May 31, 2024
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3/5
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William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill
(2023)
|
Tom Ellen
|
Eschewing the linear approach, this erratic documentary occasionally drifts a little too close to self-indulgence. But it’s also a frank, funny and disarmingly deep portrait of a true screen legend.
Posted May 31, 2024
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3/5
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Young Woman and the Sea
(2024)
|
Helen O'Hara
|
It’s long and sometimes gets swept astray by currents of family drama and period detail, but Ridley’s plucky determination and can-do energy carries the whole thing along. The result is an old-fashioned inspirational pleasure.
Posted May 30, 2024
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3/5
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Sting
(2024)
|
Barry Levitt
|
Though it takes too long to get into the swing of things, Sting delivers faint echoes of the B-movie classic it wants to be, offering a memorable foe in a giant, bloodthirsty spider.
Posted May 29, 2024
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5/5
|
The Beast
(2023)
|
Steph Green
|
Bonello has created a wholly original work that pulses with prescience.
Posted May 29, 2024
|
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2/5
|
Atlas
(2024)
|
Helen O'Hara
|
Lopez throws everything at this, but even major movie-star charisma can't make up for the recycled story elements, tired exposition and endless psycho-babble.
Posted May 24, 2024
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2/5
|
The Garfield Movie
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
Pure kids'-movie-by-numbers. The cinematic equivalent of a Monday.
Posted May 23, 2024
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4/5
|
Hit Man
(2023)
|
Sophie Butcher
|
Glen Powell achieves certified movie-star status and Adria Arjona shines in this slick, seductive romantic thriller. Don’t let it get buried in your Netflix watch list.
Posted May 23, 2024
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3/5
|
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer
(2022)
|
Yasmin Omar
|
A watchable, if by-the-book, documentary. It’s only a pity that the conventional storytelling hems in such a deeply unconventional director.
Posted May 17, 2024
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5/5
|
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
|
John Nugent
|
The chassis may look familiar but there is a very different engine driving Furiosa from that of Fury Road: it’s a rich, sprawling epic that only strengthens and deepens the Max-mythology. It shall ride eternal!
Posted May 15, 2024
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3/5
|
IF
(2024)
|
Kelechi Ehenulo
|
Far from perfect in its execution, but once IF hits its stride, Reynolds and Fleming keep this emotional adventure entertaining enough.
Posted May 15, 2024
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