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Judas and the Black Messiah

The inimitable Lakeith Stanfield plays FBI Informant (or Judas) Bill O’Neal in this biographical drama surrounding the betrayal of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1960s Chicago – I’m not sure if this makes Hampton the Black Messiah or a very naughty boy. In 1968, 19-year-oldContinue reading “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Sound of Metal

The exceptional Riz Ahmed plays a “Please Kill Me” tattoo-sporting American drummer (Ruben Stone) and one half of punk metal duo Blackgammon in this emotionally-draining indie film. Stone lives in and tours the United States in an RV with the band’s singer and his partner, Lou (Olivia Cooke, Ready Player One). Darius Marder directs andContinue reading “Sound of Metal”

Nomadland

A film that combines scripted reality and docufiction isn’t your typical Oscar winner – or more appropriately, triple Oscar winner (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress). Directed by Beijing-born Chloé Zhao and based on the 2017 non-fiction book ‘Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century’, Nomadland focuses on a woman in her sixties who joins theContinue reading “Nomadland”

Tenet

After a long absence I have returned to the cinema, adorned with a mask, and armed with a large tub of popcorn – not the best combination. The film I returned to the cinema for was the summer sci-fi blockbuster tasked with saving cinema, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. It won’t save cinema. Hopefully it won’t needContinue reading “Tenet”

Parasite

Parasite is a somewhat genre-less film about a poor family, the Kims, and the way in which they con their way into the lives and household of a rich family, the Parks. This is until additional layers are revealed and it all begins to unravel for the Kims, like a cheap pass-the-parcel. I describe theContinue reading “Parasite”

Birds of Prey

Or to give it its full name: ‘Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’. Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie) is emancipated. However, she is dealing with the grief of separating from a long term partner as most people would do, by blowing up her Ex’s power plant, acquiring a hyena from aContinue reading “Birds of Prey”

Uncut Gems

Uncut gems is a Safdie brothers (Josh and Benny) film, about an enigmatic jeweller (Howard Ratner – Adam Sandler) that is always on the look-out for his next big score, whether that is chasing a seven-figure win and feeding his gambling addiction, or importing stolen uncut opals from Ethiopia, whilst attempting to balance his business,Continue reading “Uncut Gems”

Bad Boys for Life

It’s great to have detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Bennett (Martin Lawrence) back together after 17 years (Bad Boys 2 – 2003) where we have no idea what the guys have been up to. Lowrey remains single and is now going through some sort of midlife crisis, whilst Lawrence becomes a granddad andContinue reading “Bad Boys for Life”

Richard Jewell

Richard Jewell is a tale of the security guard that found a suspicious package under a bench in Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He managed to secure a perimeter before the bomb exploded, saving hundreds of lives. However, he was afforded just a couple of days as a hero, appearing on nationalContinue reading “Richard Jewell”

1917

Having written positively about both the Gentleman and Jojo Rabbit, I was expecting to be doing the same for this year’s favourite for the Best Picture Oscar. Alas, I am not. I appreciated the camerawork and the realism and as such understand why it is 1/10 favourite to win Best Cinematography at the Oscars; IContinue reading “1917”