Rachel Joyce adapts her own novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry for a British version of a road movie. Harold Fry (Jim Broadbent) is a retiree who lives in South Devon. When Harold receives a letter from an old work colleague staying in a hospice, dying from cancer, he decides to walk the length and breadth of […]
Author: Kieran Freemantle
Polite Society Review
Nida Manzoor makes her move from television to feature films with her directional debut Polite Society. It’s one of the most creative and eclectic films of 2023, so far. Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) is a teenage girl who wants to become a stuntwoman. She doesn’t want to fulfill cultural or gender expectations. Ria is close with […]
Evil Dead Rise Review
The Evil Dead franchise makes it for a fifth cinematic entry. Evil Dead Rise aimed to mix the carnage of the original trilogy and the more serious tone of the 2013 reboot. Beth (Lily Sullivan) is a guitar engineer who’s constantly on tour. When Beth finds out she’s pregnant she visits her sister, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), a single mother […]
Women Talking Review
Women Talking is a drama based on a novel by Miriam Toews which was inspired by true events in Bolivia. In an isolated Mennonite colony the girls and women have been the victims of systematic abuse. They have been drugged and raped when they were unconscious. When the perpetrators are arrested the colony elders plan to […]
Allelujah Review
Allelujah is a dramedy based on a play by Alan Bennett. This film focuses on the staff and patients in a small hospital in Yorkshire. The Bethlehem, or as it is known to the locals, “The Beth”, is a small geriatric hospital in Wakefield. It’s loved by the patients and the community but is under threat […]
Suzume Review
Suzume is the latest film by the acclaimed anime director Makoto Shinkai. This time Shinkai tells a story about a teenager travelling across Japan in a fantasy adventure. Suzume Iwato (Nanoka Hara) is a high school student who lives in a seaside town in Kyushu. Her life changes when she encounters a drifter, Soto Munakata (Hokuto […]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review
Super Mario is one of the most recognisable characters in pop culture, let alone in video games. He teams up with the animation titan Illumination so the character can have a second cinematic adventure. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are brothers who start a plumbing business. They try to build their reputation by […]
Renfield Review
There have been many featuring the Prince of Darkness himself, Dracula. Renfield is the latest film to feature the famous vampire. Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) is Dracula’s familiar. He must do the usual things for his master: find accommodation, get victims, and protect the Count from the forces of good. When Renfield finds himself in New Orleans […]
The Pope’s Exorcist Review
The Pope’s Exorcist is a supernatural horror film based on the supposedly true story of Father Gabriele Amorth. Father Gabriele (Russell Crowe) is a priest who specialises in exorcisms and reports directly to the Pope (Franco Nero). In 1987, Amorth is ordered to go to Spain where an American boy, Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) has been possessed by […]
Pearl Review
Pearl is a prequel to the slasher throwback X. This film shows the origins of X’s slasher villain. Pearl (Mia Goth) is a Texan farm girl who lives with her mother (Tandi Wright) and disabled father (Matthew Sunderland). She longs to leave her hum-drum life and become a dancing star in the pictures. She may get a chance when […]