Wednesday, March 6

Medicine Man

Director: John McTiernan

Review: Hard to gauge the level of cultural sensitivity at play, but seems to have its heart in the right place with clear craft doing heavy-lifting at its core.

Watch it if: You want something that knows what it is.

And if you liked: Fern Gully, Dances with Wolves, Jungle 2 Jungle

The Hunt for Red October

Director: John McTiernan

Review: Engaging and thrilling with a complex plot that keeps you guessing and gorgeous use of colour.

Watch it if: You want something that carefully builds upon itself well.

And if you liked: Mission: Impossible, Goldeneye, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Check this out: The Hunt for Red October

Black Knight

Director: Gil Junger

Review: Nothing particularly engaging but nothing particularly offensive either apart from a few dips into areas of annoyance.

Watch it if: You want something reasonably distracting that doesn't ask much of you.

And if you liked: Army of Darkness, Tropic Thunder, A Knight's Tale

Friday, March 1

Dune: Part Two

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Review: An absolutely dazzling display of spectacle and escalation with an overlaying sense of doom coupled with some truly disturbing abstract imagery.

Watch it if: You want to be challenged by a blockbuster.

And if you liked: Dune (2021), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Beyond the Black Rainbow

Check this out: Dune

Tuesday, February 27

Drive-Away Dolls

Director: Ethan Coen
Review: A few decent laughs and not without charm but doesn't seem to really know what level to pitch itself with material that feels like faded imitations of earlier work.

Watch it if: You want something fairly light an inconsequential.

And if you liked: Raising Arizona, Dumb and Dumber

Hannibal Rising

Director: Peter Webber

Review: Just a bizarre plodding exercise in redundancy with mysteries that give up on themselves and a lead performance that hits its ceiling pretty early on.

Watch it if: You're a completionist.

And if you liked: Batman Begins, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Red Dragon

Check this out: Hannibal Rising

Friday, February 16

Poor Things

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Review: Engrossing in its style and approach with a touching throughline and a large amount of affecting humour.

Watch it if: You're ok with a large amount of explicit sexuality.

And if you liked: 3000 Years of Longing, Pinocchio, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Monday, February 12

Ferrari

Director: Michael Mann

Review: Some interesting pieces and one incredible performance but never really lands on what it's trying to say or do.

Watch it if: You can handle a fairly brutal scene.

And if you liked: Foxcatcher, Top Gun

Nomads

Director: John McTiernan

Review: Impossible to say anything adds up or even works but is enjoyable as an absolutely gonzo piece of nonsense that will keep you surprised at how weird its choices are.

Watch it if: You want something that will baffle you for its entire runtime.

And if you liked: Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, Manhunter, Return of the Living Dead

Friday, February 9

Manhunter

Director: Michael Mann

Review: Atmospheric and unnerving with a real sense of theme and its own unique voice.

Watch it if: You want a different angle on a serial killer detective movie.

And if you liked: The Dead Zone, A Clockwork Orange, Red Dragon

Check this out: Red Dragon