Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Review

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Review

With yet another reboot comes greater responsibility: Spider-Man Homecoming The previous “Amazing Spider-Man” movies showed us that Spider-Man’s most implacable foe was studio interference and while I personally enjoyed what Marc Webb and Andree Garfield were trying to do, there’s no denying “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” was a convoluted and overstuffed mess of studio-mandated world ..

I.T. (2017) Review

I.T. (2017) Review

You’ll want to switch it off, but you’re unlikely to switch it on again. If you thought lacklustre 2006 Harrison Ford cyber-thriller “Firewall” was just too action-packed, then have I got a movie for you. Best cancel all your plans, because this is one “I.T.” call that’s beyond a helpline. As self-made aviation millionaire Mike ..

WandaVision Episode 6 – All-New Halloween Spooktacular! Review

WandaVision Episode 6 – All-New Halloween Spooktacular! Review

The dizzying pace of WANDAVISION continues as we effectively skip the 1990s and crash into the 21st-century sitcom stylings of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE. ALL-NEW HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR!’s credits boast a couple of surprises themselves, with a conspicuous addition to the roster – and no I’m not talking about Pietro Maximoff’s still-puzzling presence. For all its ..

Beautiful Creatures (2013) Review

Beautiful Creatures (2013) Review

After the dull and muddled disappointment of “The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones”, I was a bit reluctant to continue catching up with all the ‘young adult’ adaptations vying to be the next “Twilight”. Thankfully, “Beautiful Creatures” is quite a different beast: a kind of easy-going, down-home, selectively antebellum gothic love story. In the small ..

If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change. Start with the man in the mirror. Us (2019) Review

If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change. Start with the man in the mirror. Us (2019) Review

Creepy, disturbing and deliciously, irresistibly open to multiple interpretations, Jordan Peele’s follow up to “Get Out” brings us another mischievously deep dive into the shameful psyche of America with a psychological sci-fi thriller of identity politics through the looking glass. As a young child, Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) wandered away from her parents on the ..

The Machine (2014) Review

The Machine (2014) Review

In the early 1980s, there was a popular conspiracy theory that the CIA was covertly funding specific Hollywood productions (“Star Wars”, “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”, “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial”) with a view to softening the public up for imminent contact (or the announcement of previous contact) with aliens. I wonder if those same ..

Spy (2015) Review

Spy (2015) Review

Much like “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” was for Spielberg, “Spy” is Paul Feig’s take on a Bond movie, based on the not unreasonable supposition that ‘they’d never let him direct one’. After seeing this, though, they just might. When the CIA’s top agents identities are compromised during an operating to recover a rogue nuclear ..

Craggus’ Trek Trek – Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Review
Ender’s Game (2013) Review

Ender’s Game (2013) Review

I’d heard of “Ender’s Game” before but never got around to reading it. When I learned they were making a movie of it, I figured I should probably check it out before I saw the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and was curious about how it would be adapted for the screen given the ..

AssHat is happy to collude with Netflix for repeated viewings of Russian Doll

AssHat is happy to collude with Netflix for repeated viewings of Russian Doll

For many years Netflix has desperately sought out a “kooky” dark comedy that is smarter than the sum of its parts and with “Russian Doll” the company has finally succeeded. Created by the exceptionally talented duo of Amy Poehler and Natasha Lyonne, who also stars as the show’s main protagonist; Nadia Vulvokov, comes a tale ..

Into The Storm (2014) Review

Into The Storm (2014) Review

In my review of “Sharknado 2: The Second One“, I posed the question of what would those films be like if they had a proper effects budget and better production values? The answer, it turns out, is “Into The Storm”. Dispensing with the gimmick of improbably homicidal marine life (although the tornadoes do pick up ..

Quantum Of Solace (2008) Review

Quantum Of Solace (2008) Review

I don’t really want to spend much time on “Quantum Of Solace”. After all the producers clearly didn’t. The shortest Bond film in the whole series, it’s still not short enough. Developed from a plot created by Michael G Wilson, the script was drafted by the “Casino Royale” team of Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and ..

Seven Seconds Season One Review

Seven Seconds Season One Review

Given the escalating events over the past few years involving the treatment of young black men in the United States, “Seven Seconds” is a show that feels like it’s been a long time coming but, hopefully, will not age well as time goes by. Peter Jablonski (Beau Knapp), a young white cop starting out as ..

I, Tonya (2018) Review

I, Tonya (2018) Review

Trashy, foul-mouthed, blessed with talent and a wild, impetuous, unpredictable streak, “I, Tonya” is a mirror image of its troubled subject, notorious American figure skater Tonya Harding. Craig Gillespie’s capricious, powder keg biopic takes us on a whirlwind tour through Harding’s life from her burgeoning talent as a youngster to her rise and fall as ..

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) Review

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) Review

You don’t have to be Yoda to sense ‘much fear’ in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker If the “Star Wars” prequels have taught us anything, it’s that near-universally reviled trilogies will only be reconsidered and re-evaluated once there is a new trilogy to strike down with all of the hatred. With “The Rise Of ..

A Babysitter’s Guide To Monster Hunting (2020) Review

A Babysitter’s Guide To Monster Hunting (2020) Review

Directed by the perennially underrated Rachel Talalay from a screenplay adapted from his own novels by Joe Ballarini, “A Babysitter’s Guide To Monster Hunting” is a candy-coloured kaleidoscope of “Men In Black”, “Beetlejuice”, “Spy Kids” with just a pinch here and there of darkness and a generous scoop of family friendly Halloween fun. When High ..

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Review

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Review

GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH is a sequel unlike any other. Returning to the director’s chair, Joe Dante uses the greater latitude afforded by the success of the original to mount an anarchic, multifaceted metatextual satire which simultaneously expands on and honours the conventions of the first film while also mercilessly subverting and mocking them, ..

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (2017) Review

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (2017) Review

Dead men may tell no tales but dead horses are still ripe for flogging it seems as Disney cranks out yet another sequel to the surprise 2003 smash hit based on a veteran theme park attraction with fifth instalment “Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge”. When a down-on-his-luck Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) trades his precious ..

Craggus’ Christmas Countdown Day 7: Bad Santa (2003)

Craggus’ Christmas Countdown Day 7: Bad Santa (2003)

A Christmas movie to watch once the kids are safely tucked up in bed, “Bad Santa” is not for the easily offended. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Willie Soke, a washed up, bitter con man who spends his Christmases working as mall Santa so that he and his heist partner Marcus (Tony Cox) can rob ..

Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation (2018) Review

Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation (2018) Review

Legendary animator Genndy Tartakovsky returns for a third time to bring us the further adventures of Dracula and his growing family. Although he’s often spoken about stepping away from the series, we should be thankful he’s stayed onboard because it’s his involvement that keeps this amiably undemanding series from sliding inexorably towards mediocrity. Mistaking her ..

Salem’s Lot (1979) is a vampire tale to get your teeth into!

Salem’s Lot (1979) is a vampire tale to get your teeth into!

There are few of Stephen King’s books I’ve read more often than “Salem’s Lot”. There’s something so perfect about the mix of the gothic sexual horror of vampire lore and the petty intrigues of small-town American life and King balances both aspects perfectly through a blend of tight plotting and great characterisation. He even manages ..

Grabbers (2012) Review

Grabbers (2012) Review

When a trawler crew witness a meteor splash down in the sea off the coast of Ireland, they naturally go to investigate and are never heard from again. Meanwhile, on nearby Erin Island, alcoholic Garda officer Ciarán O’Shea (Richard Coyle) is reluctantly welcoming his new partner, bright-eyed, eager and by the book Garda Lisa Nolan ..

Midsommar (2019) Review

Midsommar (2019) Review

Ari Aster’s Swedish folk horror Midsommar (2019) combines the existential terror of a trip to IKEA with the crushing tedium of a trip to IKEA In following up on “Hereditary”, Ari Aster’s sophomore effort “Midsommer” was almost predestined to become the latest yardstick by which that most rarefied strata of cinephiles would embrace to prove ..

The Expendables 3 (2014) Review

The Expendables 3 (2014) Review

There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth from die-hard action movie fans when it was announced that “The Expendables 3” was (deliberately) looking likely to get the coveted PG-13 rating (12A for us Brits) as it chased a wider, younger audience. While the film is deprived of virtually any blood and gore, ..

Borg vs McEnroe (2017) Review

Borg vs McEnroe (2017) Review

Gripping, insightful and quietly powerful, “Borg vs McEnroe” brings us a thoughtful examination of sporting drive and athletic rivalry at a watershed moment for international tennis. In the run-up to the 1980 Wimbledon Championship, Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) contemplates the possibility that he could become the first person ever to win five consecutive Wimbledon titles ..

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) slices, dices and occasionally surprises.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) slices, dices and occasionally surprises.

Knowing nothing of the original Manga on which it’s based (the closest I can claim is that I quite enjoy the 2009 animated movie “Astro Boy”, which shares a surprising amount of story with this film), “Alita: Battle Angel” still held a strong appeal thanks to the names behind and in front of the camera. ..

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016) could be Professor X’s pre-school.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016) could be Professor X’s pre-school.

Marvel movies are notoriously not allowed to use the ‘m’ word and you’ll find it curiously absent from Miss Peregrine’s… even if it feels like an “X-Men” story co-written by J K Rowling and Roald Dahl. When his grandfather dies in mysterious circumstances, Jake (Asa Butterfield) decides to visit the children’s home that featured in ..