The Review at the End of the Universe
Michael Bay brings us another dose of giant robot action in his fifth entry to the Transformers cinematic canon; Transformers: The Last Knight. Anyone who has seen any of these movies before this one will know the drill. Nothing about this is any different nor is there any real desire to reinvent what has come…
A young couple are tested when they are forced to face the realities of adulthood in Daniel Jerome Gill’s Modern Life is Rubbish. Liam (Josh Whitehouse) is a penniless musician who has dreams of taking the country by storm with his music. His ambition is simple yet clear; he wants to be in a successful band…
“Looking for Mr. Goodbrain Part 1” iZombie sets the stage for the season finale with a growing anti-zombie sentiment and further complications coming out of the woodwork. One of the many things iZombie has been doing particularly well lately is playing around with the standard format. The case of the week structure has diminished in…
A middle-aged Irish Farmer sets off on a brutal revenge mission after his mother is murdered in Chris Baugh’s Bad Day for the Cut. Revenge thrillers are fairly common in today’s cinematic landscape. I suspect this is because the stories can be really simple and it’s easy to justify a large amount of brutal action without…
The story of the Voyager probe mission is chronicled in Emer Reynolds’ eye opening documentary, The Farthest. It should be no surprise to readers of this site that I’m a massive nerd for space exploration. I love Star Trek and also love the real world stories of the achievements humanity has made in reaching out to learn…
A young woman forges an unlikely friendship with her cantankerous old neighbour when faced with the prospect of an eviction in Simon Aboud’s This Beautiful Fantastic. The story focuses on Bella (Jessica Brown Findlay), a strange young woman who was protected by ducks when she was a baby until she was found by an old man…
Jonathan Teplitzky’s Churchill follows Wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 96 hours before the D-Day landings that heralded the end of World War II. The biggest problem with biographical films is that the cradle to grave approach can be very limiting from a storytelling point of view. With a lifetime to cover it inevitably…
The 71st annual Edinburgh International Film Festival opens with Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country; the story of a Yorkshire Farmer who struggles to confront the truth about himself. Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) is immediately established as someone who has a less than ideal life. He is essentially stuck in his situation due to his father’s…
“The Eaters of Light” Doctor Who heads to Roman occupied Scotland to learn the reason for the disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion. This episode is an important one even if it doesn’t seem like it. Peter Capaldi’s time as the Doctor is coming to an end and this is the final stand alone episode…
A man faces various challenges when trying to raise his genius level niece in Marc Webb’s Gifted. The story primarily focuses on Frank (Chris Evans and his niece Mary (McKenna Grace) with the core relationship being their combination of a father/daughter and an uncle/niece bond. This immediately stands out as being somewhat unique as Frank’s…
