There are some aspects of Del Toro’s monster love story that are nigh on perfect. At the top of this list is Michael Shannon’s portrayal of the malicious, deranged authoritarian Strickland who so easily could have been a two dimensional character. He adds the kind of depth and friction that… Continue reading
As with Wonder Woman, there is an unfair burden placed on Black Panther. It has to excel because it has the weight of representation on it. Justice League, Batman vs Superman, these can suck and that’s shrugged off. If either of these movies had sucked execs and white audiences would… Continue reading
Lady Bird is a gestalt film, in that it is greater than the sum of its parts. There is no stand out scene, moment of high drama, showy camera work or pivotal set piece, but at the end of it you find yourself missing its overall tone as if a… Continue reading
This JJ Abrams production was (apparently) released on Netflix unexpectedly after an ad at the Super Bowl. This has caused some musing about release schedules and campaigns in the digital age, but is really just an expensive version of ‘straight to video.’ Sadly this may be the most innovative thing… Continue reading
Fassbender used to be one of those actors you could rely on. His films might not always be great, but his presence was usually a benchmark of some quality, and he was always watchable. After the puzzlingly dull Assassin’s Creed and infuriatingly pointless Alien Covenant, he is on something of… Continue reading
