Escapism

The primary cast of female actors are three Black women in a story that is presented as one about revolution, yet it still feels like the White males in the story occupy prominence over them.  One Battle After Another is the latest film from director Paul Thomas Anderson. It tells the story of a group of revolutionaries led by Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), who are forced to disband after a mission to upset the established order goes awry. Bob (Leonardo DiCapario) a former revolutionary who has been living off the grid to protect his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti), is forced into action when an old adversary resurfaces 16 years later.  This is Paul Thomas Anderson’s largest film to date with the budget rumoured to be upwards of $130 million. He is the sole writer of this film and his ambition with the scope of this it is large. Despite the expanded scale and gigantic budget, One Battle After Another still feels uncompromised and would fit neatly amongst his filmography. The bein...

That sequence felt like something Spielberg directed himself, and it wouldn’t feel out of place if it were cut into the original film.  Back in 2022  Jurassic World Dominion  was released and billed as the ‘epic conclusion’ to the  Jurassic saga. Fast forward three years and we already have another film in the franchise. This time it’s helmed by Gareth Edwards the director of 2014’s Godzilla  and  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story . Jurassic World Rebirth  follows Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) who along with Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) venture on an expedition orchestrated by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), to extract DNA from three massive dinosaurs in order to aid a groundbreaking medical breakthrough. The initial narrative set up is serviceable but it’s the character work that had me engaged at the beginning. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey combine to create the most likeable cast since t...

Warfare captures the shock that can send soldiers into a paralysed state of fear, unable to process their thoughts as they struggle to regain the composure required to survive. Warfare tells the story of a surveillance mission that goes wrong for a platoon of American Navy SEALs in insurgent territory within Iraq. It’s billed as an authentic account of an experience, writer and director Ray Mendoza endured during the Iraq War. With this film he has collaborated with Alex Garland who wrote and directed it alongside him. This film primarily focuses on the experience of the soldiers amidst the chaos of war, where situations can spiral into unpredictable outcomes. It’s a tense film that is paced in a manner that feels grounded. The first act is slow but I didn’t find that to be an issue because it allowed for the downtime during operations to displayed. Usually moments like this wouldn’t make it into the script for a war film, let alone the final cut. It’s during this opening act that we...

This isn’t one of those sequels that feels like the director is simply going through the motions. Instead it feels like a shot of adrenaline in cinematic form with the energy and style you’d expect from Danny Boyle. Back in 2002 Danny Boyle and Alex Garland combined to create 28 Days Later , a British horror film that revitalised the zombie sub genre and introduced new elements which in the two decades since have proved to be very influential. 28 Weeks Later is a surprisingly good sequel which released in 2007. Now 28 Years Later has arrived in cinemas and marks the return of the original’s creative pairing, Boyle and Garland. 28 Years Later follows a group of survivors who live on a small island isolated from the mainland where the rage virus continues to spread. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his son Spike (Alfie Williams) to the mainland to teach him how to survive amongst the infected, whilst there they discover new secrets and horrors that have mutated. From the very first ...

There’s not many films that can give you that specific thrill when the pieces are in place and the domino effect is triggered. This franchise is still capable of creating that adrenaline rush. Final Destination is one of the most popular horror franchises to emerge this century. This year it celebrates its 25th anniversary with the release of the sixth instalment which comes 14 years after the last. I am a big fan of this franchise. My experience with the first three films around the age of 11, served as one of my primary gateways into the horror genre. I was obsessed with these films back then and would always welcome a new instalment, especially because we don’t get them as frequently as other horror franchises. Final Destination: Bloodlines follows Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), a college student plagued by reoccurring nightmares of a disaster that claimed many lives. In a search for clarity she heads home to track down the one person who may be able to break the cycle of death, a...

The 70mm IMAX presentation is pristine and completely encapsulating. It’s used to great effect in a number of key scenes. It’s a truly phenomenal experience when the film expands from the 2.76:1 aspect ratio to the 1.43:1 70mm IMAX frame. Sinners is the latest feature from writer director Ryan Coogler who is responsible for the acclaimed films Fruitvale Station , Creed and Black Panther . This is the first time he’s written and directed a wholly original film that isn’t based on true events or an existing IP. He has labelled Sinners his most personal film to date as it was inspired by his late grandfather who had an affinity for the delta blues genre of music, and grew up in Mississippi which is where this story takes place. Set in 1932, Sinners tells the story of twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan) who seek to leave their troubled lives in Chicago behind, when they return to Mississippi to start anew and open up their own Juke joint. During their op...