Rogue One: The Force A’weakens…

Star Wars. So much to say but such restricted word count to say it all. Undoubtedly the biggest film franchise in history, but perhaps at the same time, the most overrated. With the start of the original trilogy in 1977, the now much-hated prequel trilogy in 1999, and last year’s continuation The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the official eighth film in the saga, though it’s not an episodic entry and is intended to serve as more of an “in between-quel.”

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them - Filmmaking At Its Most Magical

Move over Harry, Ron and Hermione - there are some new wizards (and a nomaj) in town...

When Harry Potter first hit cinemas in 2001, it cast a spell upon millions the non-wizarding-world over, and even with the series’ last entry in 2011 marking the end of the era of the boy who lived, the spell still hadn't dissipated. Based on the seven record-breaking bestsellers by J.K. Rowling that spawned eight films, a theme park, a studio tour, countless merchandising lines, spin-off books and so much (Potter)more, there's no argument that Harry Potter is the most magical franchise in cinematic history. And now, five years since the last instalment, that spell remains as unbreakable as ever, with the new West End play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child filling theatre seats quicker than a Quidditch match, its respective book flying off shelves faster than any snitch, and now, the release of the eagerly-anticipated spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 

The Suicide Squad Might Not Be The Heroes DC Deserves, But They're The Heroes It Needs...

Thirteen movies into the MCU, and Warner Bros. lands just its third “DC Verse” entry, making it clear who the tortoise in this race is. Since the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel have invested incredibly well, taking their time to establish the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” and never once rushing a release. But it would be a lie to say that they haven’t stuffed their films with adverts for future instalments, as it would be to say that every one of their films to date has been great. Nevertheless, while Marvel have been busy conquering the real universe, Warner Bros. have been desperately trying to catch up, with this year’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice being stuffed to the point of suffocation itself with its less-than-subtle foreshadowing for next year’s Justice League movie - DC’s answer to Marvel’s Avengers Assemble. 

Ghostbusters 2016 review

I won’t lie and say I’ve been a Ghostbusters fan since the original movie came out in 1984, being the same age and all - give or take a month or two. But amongst my vast – and ever-growing – Ghostbusters merchandise collection, there are only remnants of the toys I possessed as a child. As is usually the case, things disappear over the years. That, or your mother takes them to a car boot sale once you’re considered ‘too old’ to play with toys. So perhaps over the last few years I’ve been subconsciously trying to make up for this by collecting almost every piece of Ghostbusters merchandise under the sun. I certainly haven’t been to any car boots in the hope that some of my old toys are still circulating though… No, that wasn’t me.

Now You See Me 2 offers a different kind of movie magic

When Now You See Me came out in 2013 it was, for the most part, considered to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Whilst a financial success, it was criticised for its failure to flesh out its characters and conclude key plot points. But with a cast that included the likes of Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg and Mark Ruffalo, it was hard not to imagine a sequel being put together backstage. 

Central Intelligence has plenty of Hart but not enough brains

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in the cinema that I ended up having to discreetly pick popcorn from the hair of the person in front of me, although I did come close with three of my most favourite comedies in recent years: 2008’s Step Brothers, 2013’s Anchorman 2 and the highly-underrated This Is The End. A lot of it is personal taste, of course. But for the most part, comedy movies miss the bullseye, sometimes veering too far off-target altogether, with this year’s Zoolander and Bad Neighbours sequels being the most recent examples of unfunny and plain wrong standing in for concrete comedy writing. 

Independence Day: Resurgence gives new meaning to ‘disaster movie’

Back in 1996, cinemagoers were blown away (as was the White House and many other famous landmarks) by what is arguably the best alien invasion movie of all time. Independence Day delivered an unforgiving alien assault on our planet in the most epic way ever seen on screen, with King of the 90s Jeff Goldblum’s hair-raising one liners, Fresh Prince Will Smith’s bad boy charm, and Bill Pullman’s unforgettable speech.

The Secret Life of Pets is no secret worth sharing

Ever since Toy Story broke new ground in 1995 with its computer-animated timeless storytelling, there has been a plethora of CGI movies. Of course, they’ve not all had the luxury of critical or box office success, but what is it about these movies that we love so much? Is it the bright colours, the wide-eyed characters and the total escapism? Partly, yes. But mostly, we’re drawn to the story. The animated world is just a beautiful and creative way to convey that story. Without one, it’s nothing more than eye candy.

The Conjuring 2 Review

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that a good horror film these days is rare, whether that’s because people just don’t scare easily anymore or because most horror films are complete rubbish, lacking in both atmosphere and execution. But in more recent years, the likes of Sinister, The Purge, Insidious and It Follows (all thanks to Blumhouse Productions, with the exception of the latter), with five sequels collectively, have started to drastically change the landscape of horror, returning it to its rightful place.