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Fantastic Four
Poor. Like watching a half-finished comic book adaptation from the year 2000. →
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Hail, Caesar!
Smart, funny and left me wanting more. Particularly more of this. →
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Life
Summed up by my previous tweet on the ludicrous casting of Dane Dehaan as James Dean. Avoid this one. →
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The Secret World of Arrietty
One of Ghibli’s more sedate pieces that’s never grabbed me much in the past, but was nice viewing while tired and ill. →
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A Place in the Sun
A dreary, po-faced old morality drama. I can understand why it was rapturously received at the time but it’s faded away. →
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Big Trouble in Little China
So perfect it makes me want to cry. →
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The Black Panthers
A respectable documentary on The Black Panthers but felt a little dry in the end. Factual without much insight. →
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Cop Car
A decent half-hour short film ruthlessly padded to 90 minutes with overlong takes and repeated lines. Overstayed its welcome. →
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Bachelorette
An enjoyably-sour dark comedy in which nobody really learns anything or grows as a person. Recommended. →
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The Heat
A lot of fun, felt a bit like a modern update of Ackroyd & Hanks’ Dragnet. Check it out if you enjoyed Spy. →
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Crimson Peak
I really wanted to love it, but it kind of peters out half an hour before the end. Up until then, gorgeous & chilling. →
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The Cannonball Run
Appealingly naff. Worth watching for Roger Moore beginning a fight with the line “I should warn you — I’m Roger Moore”. →
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U Turn
Forgettable Oliver Stone piece from the ‘90s that seemed shot and written as if it was a parody of ‘90s Oliver Stone. →
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All About Eve
Another beautifully-sour, snappily-written Hollywood classic in which everyone is unhappy & nobody really wins. Loved it. →
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Jauja
Beautifully-shot but impenetrably slow and surreal. I wanted to love it, but there’s only so slow I can go. →
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The Heiress
One of those beautifully-sour dramas from the forties. Sharp dialogue, bitter sentiment. Can’t be faulted. →
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Batman: Under the Red Hood
Solidly- and lavishly-produced animation but kind of superfluous. Who cares about the Jason Todd story anyway? →
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Robin and Marian
The Dark Knight Returns edition of the Robin Hood myth, with ageing Connery & Hepburn. Tonally odd, but generally fine. →
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Honeymoon
A limp and forgettable horror. Barely worth mentioning. →
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The perfect Valentine’s Day film. Everyone’s so desperately unhappy! Hilarious. →