Reviews

From acclaimed British director Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers and High Rise), and executive produced by none other than cinema veteran Martin Scorsese, **Free Fire is an action-comedy flick with a stellar cast and a simple, real-time concept. Set in 1970s Boston, two gangs meet at an abandoned warehouse for a weapons deal. As tensions rise and personalities clash, things get out of hand between the two gangs, weapons are fired, and a shoot-out inevitably occurs, forcing them all to take cover in different areas of the warehouse. ...

A lot of hype has surrounded the release of Hereditary, the hotly anticipated debut feature from independent filmmaker Ari Aster. Causing a storm at Sundance Film Festival in January of this year, it has been a long wait for the regular movie goer to sink their teeth into this slice of modern horror cinema. From A24, the same studio that brought us the underrated The Witch among many other great modern horrors recently, Hereditary was in good hands, and crafted by Aster’s even better ones. ...

GLOW, or Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, was the underdog of 2017, having been nominated for various awards at the Golden Globes and SAG awards yet not taking home any prizes. With little other mass exposure on the internet, **GLOW is somewhat of a hidden Netflix gem, and it does not disappoint. We first meet Ruth Wilder (an almost unrecognisable Alison Brie), a struggling actress in 1980s Los Angeles. After failing to gain any success at any of her auditions and in a desperate attempt to earn some form of income, she is given a mysterious opportunity by a casting agent. ...

Dario Argento’s cult horror classic **Suspiriahas garnered a lot of attention recently following announcements that a remake is set to be released later this year. Widely considered as one of the best horror films ever made, we have decided to take a trip back in time to experience the original in all its glory. Jessica Harper stars as Suzy, an American student who travels to Germany to join a prestigious dance school. Upon her arrival, strange events and brutal murders begin to occur, with the school mysteriously linked to them all. With the school being run by an enigmatic but absent matriarch, questions continue to arise, causing Suzy to delve deeper into the school’s secrets. ...

The release of Avengers: Infinity War has raised a lot of questions. Can a film successfully balance this many characters and still function as one cohesive movie? Can Thanos really be a villain worth the attention of all the Avengers combined? Can the film tackle Marvel’s issues with the third act and the lack of stakes? And, most importantly – can it live up to the hype? Turns out that the answer to all of the above is the same; yes, yes it can. ...

It’s Day 89 of we’re-not-sure-what, and the Abbott family are out shopping for supplies. Barefoot, they creep across a shop floor. We don’t know how it happened, we don’t know why it happened; all we know is that they can’t make a sound. As we soon learn, there’s something deadly out there waiting to hunt them down if they do. The family have adjusted to living without noise. They play Monopoly with pom poms, eat dinner off leaves instead of plates, have tracks painted on the floor so as to avoid creaky boards, and create tracks out of sand to mask the sound of their footsteps. ...

Making a good impression working at a bank after moving 400 miles across the US, Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) is a smart but somewhat unapproachable woman trying to move on after suffering at the hands of a stalker. Struggling to fit in this new city, she reaches out to a support group for victims of stalking, talks to a therapist, and fills in some paperwork. After admitting she’s had suicidal thoughts to the therapist, she mistakenly signs up to be voluntarily committed to a mental health facility. ...

It’s not very often that Wes Anderson fans are treated to a new film from the acclaimed auteur, with it being 4 years since the release of one of his best works, **The Grand Budapest Hotel. **Isle of Dogs is Anderson’s latest, and is also a return to the unique animated style which was a big part of the success of previous animal tale **Fantastic Mr Fox. Set in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki in the not too distant future, all dogs have been banished by Mayor Kobayashi to a small island (nicknamed ‘Trash Island’) following an outbreak of snout fever and dog flu that has become a threat to human health and safety. A 12-year-old boy, Atari, travels to the island in a bid to track down his beloved pet, Spots, and is aided by some fellow canines. ...

Everyone goes to the movies for different reasons. Some go for pure escapism, some to challenge their minds, and some to experience new things vicariously through the screen. One thing that can often be lost in the movie-going experience is something very important that we take for granted far too often – fun! **Ready Player One is one of the most fun experiences you can hope to have in a movie theater, and there’s a lot to be said for that in these trying times. ...

Netflix has been knocking it out of the park lately. Between success with the Marvel Universe, smash hit anime series like* Devilman Crybaby*, and numerous live action series too, Netflix has become a production juggernaut and is making a name for itself as a studio to be reckoned with. **Altered Carbon, based on a novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan, seeks to be the next in their rapid fire chain of hits. ...