A dying father seeks a new family for his young son. There are times when I want to have my heart broken at the movies and times when I most definitely don’t. I’m currently in a “definitely don’t” phase, and had been deliberately avoiding Nowhere Special, but the recent heatwave sent me to the local… Nowhere Special Read More
Playing With Fire – kids’ review! 4.5 stars
Apart from Sonic The Hedgehog this is my favourite film at the moment and I think lots of kids my age would like it (I am 8). I’ve watched it about seven times now. I’ll probably watch it again later. It never gets boring. The story is that Jake, who everyone calls Supe, is a… Playing With Fire – kids’ review! Read More
Playing With Fire 2 stars
When firefighter Jake Carson and his team rescue three siblings in the path of a wildfire, they quickly realise that no amount of training could have prepared them for their most challenging job yet – babysitting. This movie – about an uptight smokejumper who ends up caring for three children he saves from a burning… Playing With Fire Read More
Little Monsters (London Film Festival 2019) 3 stars
Little Monsters is a great advert for teacher excellence, if not much of a recruiting tool – as multi-talented kindergarten teacher Miss Caroline has to save her class of small charges as they face down an attempted zombie apocalypse. I say attempted; it does feel a little half-hearted, as the world’s slowest undead hordes stagger round… Little Monsters (London Film Festival 2019) Read More
Two For Joy 4 stars
For the widowed Aisha (Samantha Morton) grief itself has become the driving force, rather than the reaction; with her family caught in an enervating circle of misery where the sheer exhaustion of getting through the day prevents them from escaping. It needs a huge catalyst to kick them off the repetitive cycle onto a different… Two For Joy Read More
Hereditary 4 stars
A creaky floorboard and a clicking tongue. Two sounds you don’t want to hear when you’re alone in the house and the only tongue clicker you know of is your dead sister. “I never wanted to be your mother” Annie says to her teenage son Peter (Alex Wolff), “it wasn’t my fault and I tried… Hereditary Read More
Shoplifters 4.5 stars
According to Osamu shoplifting is morally acceptable as “whatever’s in a store doesn’t belong to anyone yet”. Though it turns out that this family takes the “not belonging to anyone” reasoning into other areas too – decisions which actually seem in some ways less morally dubious, when they find themselves taking home a little girl… Shoplifters Read More
Big Bad Fox And Other Tales 3.5 stars
From accidental abandonment in a butcher’s van to being packaged up in a polystyrene-filled box, the adorable baby Pauline, star of the first film in this trilogy of tales, is never less than happy. Being a child of the 1970s I did question the necessity for the BBFC warning “some dangerous behaviours” at the start… Big Bad Fox And Other Tales Read More
Secret Of Marrowbone 3 stars
“He’ll never leave us. Not even dead” cries Jane (Mia Goth), about their evil father, a vicious brute who will try to kill anyone, even his children. Their terror is palpable, which makes one wonder why their mother took them to the one place he’d look for them outside of England – her childhood home,… Secret Of Marrowbone Read More