Caution Spoilers

Film reviews from a Rotten Tomatoes critic

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy 4 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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Bridget, now widowed, gets back in the dating game – and finds a much younger man. Bridget is back, and she has become, dare I say it, slightly more sophisticated. Where once she slurped blue soup now she quaffs blue cocktails; and she has gained a beautiful Hampstead house, possibly accidentally swapped for her hairbrush…. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy Read More

Alien: Romulus 4 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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A young woman and her android brother battle xenomorphs in an abandoned research station. Seven films into this franchise, Alien: Romulus manages to be both terrifying and comforting; the audience revisiting their haunted childhood home, relieved to be tucked up in their old bed even if it does levitate.  There is no comfort for our… Alien: Romulus Read More

Better Man 4.5 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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The highs, lows and eventual triumph of singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, as portrayed by a chimp. Better Man certainly brings back musical memories, though rather than the nostalgia-fest one might expect they force us to face the uncomfortable truth: as the real Robbie Williams belted out Angels from the stage and thousands of us sang it… Better Man Read More

Monty Python & The Holy Grail 5 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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King Arthur sets out on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Doing for bunnies what Benchley and Spielberg did for Great Whites, and demolishing fourth walls with the glee of a cowboy builder, the Pythons’ second big screen outing is a hoot, a meandering delight that also firmly skewers the genial pointlessness of quests… Monty Python & The Holy Grail Read More

65 3 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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A space pilot crashlands on Earth 65 million years ago, and has to fight prehistoric predators while getting himself and his young charge Koa to their escape vessel. (My re-cap article is here) 65 million years ago, Man meets Dinosaur. That’s 64 million years before Raquel Welch met Dinosaur. (I hope you’re all feeling bad for… 65 Read More

The Boys In The Boat 3 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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An underdog team of novice rowers from Washington University defies expectations, making it to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. (Note: for my plot re-cap go here.) It’s a shame George Clooney’s feelgood rags-to-Olympic-riches story wasn’t released here over Christmas as it was in the US, as it would make a great cross-generational family cinema trip. It’s… The Boys In The Boat Read More

A Haunting in Venice 3.5 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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Hercule Poirot is dragged out of retirement to investigate the murder of a famous medium during a séance at a haunted palazzo. (Note: for my plot-re-cap go here) “I talk to ghosts all the time. They say you’re a fake.” says the hilariously precocious young Leopold, who prefers Edgar Allan Poe to parties and calls… A Haunting in Venice Read More

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 3 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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Ethan Hunt is tasked with tracking down a key that can be used to shut down a newly sentient AI super weapon. I suppose every story about a world-ending mega weapon needs some quasi-religious guff to add a sheen of mysticism to your common-or-garden Armageddon scenario, and in the rather bonkers Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning… Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 Read More

Meg 2: The Trench 2 stars☆☆☆☆☆

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An illegal sea floor mining operation accidentally releases more megalodons into the waters above, threatening Jonas Taylor’s crew and an island full of partygoers. Meg 2 hasn’t exactly been overflowing with good reviews, but is it all, um, megatives? It’s worthy, but is it see-worthy? I saw Meg 2: The Trench with my typically bloodthirsty… Meg 2: The Trench Read More