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4/5
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The Taste of Things
(2023)
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James Croot
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Those who prefer dialogue or action-driven cinematic fare may find this not their Taste, but if you’re in the mood for slow-cooked (and most-assuredly not half-baked) drama with all the visually arresting trimmings, this offers a nourishing narrative.
Posted Jun 30, 2024
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4/5
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The Road to Patagonia
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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On a big screen, with the cinematography glowing the way it should and Daniel Norgren’s unexpectedly excellent soundtrack playing over some decent speakers, The Road to Patagonia is a pretty rhapsodic way to spend 90 minutes of your life
Posted Jun 30, 2024
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3/5
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Hate to Love: Nickelback
(2023)
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James Croot
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While Leigh Brooks’ intimate look doesn’t shy way from the criticism of the group, the overall feeling is of a warm portrait of a band of brothers, cousins, schoolmates and a succession of drummers (and yes, that is as Spinal Tap-esque as it sounds).
Posted Jun 30, 2024
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3.5/5
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Federer: Twelve Final Days
(2024)
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James Croot
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Those looking for a Lleyton Hewitt-to-Hubert Hurkacz lookback at the Swiss master’s lows and many highs are going to be sorely disappointed, the small snatches of archival footage mainly there to compare and contrast early and late-career Federer.
Posted Jun 30, 2024
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4/5
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
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James Croot
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Yes, it lacks anything akin to the first movie’s “Bing-Bong moment”, but the tension is palpable and your emotions definitely feel invested, as Anxiety threatens to destroy all the Joy in Riley’s life.
Posted Jun 27, 2024
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4/5
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A Quiet Place: Day One
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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A Quiet Place: Day One... happily retains the human scale of the earlier films. Although clearly inspired by Signs, War of the Worlds, The Thing and early Alien films, it was Polanski's The Pianist I was most reminded of.
Posted Jun 27, 2024
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3/5
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Despicable Me 4
(2024)
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James Croot
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There are quite a few Mike White-esque gags about rich people and parodies of mid-20th century set sitcoms, but the overall storyline feels like a cross between Zoolander and a B-grade version of the classic The Simpsons episode Cape Feare.
Posted Jun 25, 2024
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4/5
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The End We Start From
(2023)
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James Croot
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Evoking memories of everything from Children of Men and Spielberg’s War of the Worlds to the 1980s BBC version of The Day of the Triffids, this nightmarish and brilliant near-future-set British drama deserved a far better fate than as an online rental.
Posted Jun 25, 2024
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2/5
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die is nothing more than an extended version of its own trailer. The plot is nonsensical, but the chemistry and goodwill between Smith and long-time co-star Lawrence is as unforced and intermittently enjoyable as ever.
Posted Jun 19, 2024
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2/5
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The Watchers
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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I walked out of The Watchers thinking it was one of the daftest films I'd seen in months and laughing to myself that the Shyamalan family firm is in safe hands. And yet, just as with her Dad's films, there were moments that will stay with me.
Posted Jun 19, 2024
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5/5
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The Promised Land
(2023)
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James Croot
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Proof they can – and do – still make them (period dramas) like they used to (at least in Europe), this is one of the best reasons of the year so far to visit a cinema near you.
Posted Jun 19, 2024
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2/5
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The Exorcism
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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The last-third of this film arrives in a hot rush that looks like it has been cobbled together out of re-writes and reshoots that no one was really invested in.
Posted Jun 19, 2024
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3.5/5
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Shooting Stars
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Shooting Stars is a mostly low-key and thoughtful portrait. Director Chris Robinson has a deft touch with the on-court scenes and handles the relationships and drama equally well.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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4/5
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How to Rob a Bank
(2024)
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James Croot
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This is a vibrant, zesty tale brought to vivid life via a crowd-pleasing cocktail of archival news and home movie footage, modern-day interviews with key players, the judicious use of “re-creations” and illustrated and animated “storyboards”.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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4.5/5
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Hit Man
(2023)
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James Croot
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Far more so than Maverick or Anyone, this showcases Powell's true abilities and star power. His chemistry with Arjona is Lopez-and-Clooney-in-Out of Sight-esque palpable, but so is his comedic timing and ability to play things straight when needed here.
Posted Jun 14, 2024
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3/5
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Unsung Hero
(2023)
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James Croot
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Sure the narrative follows a predictable path and the messaging about “not making your dreams your master” and putting family first is laid on a little thick, but it’s hard not be won over by the trials and tribulations of this proto-Partridge Family.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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2/5
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Freud's Last Session
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Brown smothers a potentially interesting project with stultifying good-intentions and clumsy staging. All that survives of Freud's Last Session is a dull person's idea of what a smart film might look and sound like.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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4/5
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Copa 71
(2023)
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James Croot
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The storytelling is compelling, the on and off-field dramas riveting (a bad-tempered, controversial semi-final here, a potential strike threat there) and some of the skills on display truly breathtaking.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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3.5/5
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HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle
(2024)
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James Croot
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You have to admire director and co-writer Susumu Mitsunaka’s ability to stretch a single game to feature-length without it ever becoming dull and his attempts to make things as immersive as possible
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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2/5
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The Garfield Movie
(2024)
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James Croot
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Sure Pratt possesses the right amount of snark in his voice, but to transform one of the world’s most iconically inactive pop-culture characters into an action hero is just plain wrong.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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Jim Henson Idea Man
(2024)
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James Croot
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Both a fabulous primer on one of the world’s true innovators and humanitarians and an emotional trip down memory line that is likely to not only potentially leave you in tears, but instantly wanting to seek out his legacy.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Beach Boys
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Marshall does pretty well at capturing the paradox of a band whose popular image stands almost in opposition to their greatest musical achievements.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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4/5
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You Were My First Boyfriend
(2023)
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James Croot
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Aldarondo and co-director Sarah Enid Hagey’s approach and style might not be for everyone, but, persevere, and this may offer some of the most thought-provoking and therapeutic viewing of the year.
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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4/5
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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In its best moments, there's a The Road-meets-Road Runner energy to this film that will leave no one who loved Fury Road feeling short-changed.
Posted May 27, 2024
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BlackBerry
(2023)
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James Croot
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A fascinating, entertaining and – somewhat ironic – look back at a one-time, must-have item that once made up 45% of the cellphone market.
Posted May 26, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Way, My Way
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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The Way, My Way is a film that delivers exactly what the marketing is promising. This is a cheerful, modest and good-hearted movie – and I hope it finds the audience it deserves.
Posted May 26, 2024
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1.5/5
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The Strangers: Chapter 1
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a compendium of bad ideas, shot through with a nasty line in creepy misogyny. There is nothing here that a hundred other films haven't already done better.
Posted May 26, 2024
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4.5/5
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The American
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Dance... lends itself almost too perfectly to film – and Robertson and his crew have maybe set a new benchmark with Joika for just how excruciatingly well the physicality and the stresses of dance – ballet especially – can be put on screen.
Posted May 26, 2024
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3.5/5
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Stewart
(2022)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Jackie Stewart might not win the sport any new fans, but it is an immersive and affectionate piece of work.
Posted May 26, 2024
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3/5
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Arthur the King
(2024)
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James Croot
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Those who enjoy a good underdog story with a message, or are committed fans of the increasingly shaggy charms of down-to-earth “everyman” Wahlberg, will find their King in solid, if unspectacular form and territory.
Posted May 26, 2024
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3.5/5
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IF
(2024)
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James Croot
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While cloaked in celebrity voices, a cadre of kooky animated creations and Ryan Reynolds in full charm-offensive mode, adults may find more in this cross between Drop Dead Fred, Sixth Sense and Monsters, Inc than they perhaps banked on, or bargained for.
Posted May 15, 2024
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4/5
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Unfrosted
(2024)
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James Croot
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This scattershot farce may seem like the Austin Powers of the recently burgeoning making-of-a-brand genre (see Tetris, Air, The Beanie Bubble), but is in fact a whip-smart parody of the Space Race and a pointed satire of both 1960s and today's politics.
Posted May 13, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Idea of You
(2024)
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James Croot
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A reminder of just what a charismatic and compelling presence noughties star Hathaway can be, more proof of Galtzine’s leading man potential and that Tinseltown really should make more of these kind of complex, messy, thought-provoking romances.
Posted May 13, 2024
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4.5/5
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Robot Dreams
(2023)
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James Croot
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Filled with clever match shots, colourful characters, a terrific soundtrack and a series of simply fabulous flights of fancy, Robot Dreams is an endearing, engrossing, delightfully enveloping tale that multiple generations can fully enjoy.
Posted May 09, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Lie: The Murder of Grace Millane
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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If the film's existence in any way speeds up a ban on the so-called "rough sex" defence, and helps to spare another family from having to sit through a trial in which that is deployed, then it will have achieved a great deal.
Posted May 09, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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This is a film that knows how to put on a show. If it had a story that made just a tiny bit more sense, and was smart enough to generate any tension or intrigue at all, I might even have liked the damn thing a bit more myself.
Posted May 09, 2024
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2/5
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Before Dawn
(2024)
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James Croot
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Despite its title, this works best in the daytime scenes, where you can really feel for the mud-caked troops. But while the young cast do their best to bring this intimate epic to life, they are hampered by a soggy script that offers few fresh ideas.
Posted May 09, 2024
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4/5
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The Moon Is Upside Down
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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This is a literate, clever and blackly funny gem that will be a polarising and provocative entry into the local roster. It swings from tender and reflective one moment, to raucous and gleefully filthy the next, without striking a false note.
Posted May 09, 2024
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3.5/5
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Golda
(2023)
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James Croot
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While screenwriter Nicholas Martin’s dialogue occasionally veers into the territory known as overly-portentous, director Guy Nattiv’s use of monochrome both enhances and benefits greatly from the script’s tight focus.
Posted May 09, 2024
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4/5
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Fremont
(2023)
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James Croot
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Shot in a crisp monochrome, our protagonist occasionally seemingly staring straight back at us, Iranian-born film-maker Babak Jalali’s deliberately understated drama is a touching tale of loneliness and isolation.
Posted May 09, 2024
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2/5
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Boy Kills World
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Star Skarsgard has the abs and the moves to sell the stunts – but Boy Kills World’s jokes just don't work and the incessant voice-over from Bob's Burgers' H. Jon Benjamin quickly becomes an irritation.
Posted May 09, 2024
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2.5/5
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Back to Black
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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The 2015 Amy is the sprawling, heart-breaking and jaw-dropping film her life demands. Back to Black is not.
Posted May 09, 2024
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4.5/5
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(2024)
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James Croot
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The commitment to world-building, character and storytelling is impressive, as are the sometimes truly breathtaking and awe-inspiring visuals spearheaded by our own wizards of Wellington Wētā FX.
Posted May 08, 2024
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The Royal Hotel
(2023)
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James Croot
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While cleverly giving the story a crowd-pleasing finale, Aussie director and co-writer Kitty Green’s take just never quite engenders the same sense of voyeurism – or nausea – that made the documentary Hotel Coolgardie such unforgettable viewing.
Posted Apr 28, 2024
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4/5
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Eileen
(2023)
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James Croot
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Like Lady Macbeth, this provides a terrific showcase for his multi-talented leading lady, even if Hathaway gets all the best lines and outfits.
Posted Apr 28, 2024
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4.5/5
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Girls State
(2024)
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James Croot
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You might be eniticed by the wild incongruity of cupcake stations alongside very adult discussions, but you’ll most certainly stay because of how it offers an intimate, in-depth, potentially inspiring platform for a generation’s hopes and fears.
Posted Apr 21, 2024
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4/5
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Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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An affectionate and respectful swing at a storied and fascinating life.
Posted Apr 21, 2024
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4.5/5
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Origin
(2023)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Telling such a vast and potentially unwieldy story in a way that remains human, entertaining and relatable is a hell of an achievement.
Posted Apr 21, 2024
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3.5/5
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Challengers
(2024)
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Graeme Tuckett
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Writer Justin Kuritzkes is clearly loving the power of cinema to skip across a decade and director Guadagnino is equally happy to construct an intricate puzzle of a film, but still have it tick the boxes of a sports rom-com and box-office hit.
Posted Apr 21, 2024
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4/5
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Abigail
(2024)
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James Croot
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An extremely visceral, blood-soaked thrill-ride that boasts a rich vein of black humour.
Posted Apr 21, 2024
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