A three person mission to Mars faces disaster when they discover a stowaway aboard threatening all of their lives. Stowaway is the ethical dilemma known as “The Trolley Problem” writ large on a science fiction canvas. As with all good science fiction films, it uses speculative and futuristic concepts to explore human behaviour. In this … Continue reading Stowaway
After six retrospectives I have elected to pick a director who for the first time does not hold a special place in my heart. That is not to say I have not enjoyed their films, in fact there are two films in her career that I absolutely adore. It is just that their films have … Continue reading Kathryn Bigelow Retrospective
When Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) secures a place at film school her father Rick (Danny McBride) fears he is losing her until he lands on a brilliant idea. Road trip! Piling the whole family into their trusty old estate they travel across America. The only thing that could stop them is a robot apocalypse. The … Continue reading The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines
Anthony (Jamie Dornan) and Rosemary (Emily Blunt) have grown up on neighbouring farms and whilst Rosemary has had a romantic eye on Anthony since she was a young girl, Anthony is oblivious. Although there is also the complication of a land dispute and who will inherit their farms when their parents die. Anthony’s father Tony … Continue reading Wild Mountain Thyme
U.S. Navy Seal John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) seeks revenge against those that killed his pregnant wife. Without Remorse is based on a Tom Clancy novel published in 1993 and features a lead character that recurs throughout Clancy’s universe that features Jack Ryan, a character that has to date featured in five films played by … Continue reading Without Remorse
Fern (Frances McDormand) has lost everything in the Great Recession of 2011 and has moved into her van to join the itinerant workers of America. The wait for Nomadland to arrive on UK screens has been frustrating. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival just over seven months ago it has been … Continue reading Nomadland
Ex-cop James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) is looking for a friend’s missing teenage daughter when he discovers a mysterious cult obsessed with the supernatural entity of “The Empty Man”. The Empty Man is an ambitious and occasionally dazzling film marred by its 137 minute running time. It is brimming with ideas and whilst some might … Continue reading The Empty Man
Cassandra (Carey Mulligan) is haunted by a tragedy from her past. On the cusp of her thirtieth birthday she is still living at home and working in a coffee shop having dropped out of her medical degree. On the weekends she spends her time at nightspots, pretending to be blind drunk, laying in wait for … Continue reading Promising Young Woman
Chicago, 1967. Car thief Bill O’Neil (LaKeith Stanfield) is arrested for impersonating an FBI agent and is offered a deal by Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). Infiltrate the Black Panthers and feed them information on charismatic leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) or go to prison for years. Judas And The Black Messiah is exhilarating, … Continue reading Judas And The Black Messiah
A Korean family moves from California to Arkansas in the 1980’s to start a farm. Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun) and Monica Yi (Yeri Han) moved to America some time ago and after a decade of sexing chicks in California they have enough money to pursue Jacob’s American dream of being self sufficient. With them are … Continue reading Minari
Phil the Bear's Film Reviews 