Film Reviews 2025

 

Drama

General

Best: Conclave - Better than the book as no clues (Prime)
Soundtrack: Tornado – Nasty Tim Roth and gang chase girl to retrieve gold. Does not end well. Ace music by Budapest Art Orchestra (Prime)
Magical realism: The Son of a Thousand Men - Fisherman longing for a son finds connections to other misfits in this Portuguese offering based on a book (Netflix)
Classic: This is England - Everyday tale of skins in 1980’s Britain. Strangely our first watch (Film 4)
Scenic: Train Dreams – Logger helps clear land for railway across America, prettily filmed at golden hour (Netflix)
Quirkiest: When You Finish Saving the World - Social work mum struggles to connect with teenage son. Funny and quirky directorial debut by Jesse Eisenberg (Netflix)
Low budget: Greyhawk - Blind army vet searches council estate for stolen dog (Prime)
Social issue: The Old Oak - Syrian refugees win hearts of Durham ex: mining villagers in gooey Mike Leigh film (Netflix)
Romance
Emily - Imagined affair of Emily Bronte, quite dark in places then they all died, ha, ha! (Netflix)
Action/Thriller

Best: The Accountant 2 - Wolf and brother solve missing family case, rescue trafficked kids. Clever, enjoyable sequel (Prime)
Close second: Dirty Angels - Crack female team rescue girls kidnapped by ISIS. Manic and graphic in places (Prime)
Twistiest: Exterritorial - German woman gets trapped in US consulate (Netflix)
Daftest: Fast X - Jason Momoa hilarious as the camp baddie in this tenth ludicrous outing for Vin and crew. Shut the front door’! (Netflix)
Stunts: G20 - President Viola Davis foils terrorists. Imaginative stunts (Prime)
Fun: The Critic - Ian McKellan hams it up as nasty critic with fatal results (Prime)
So bad it’s good: Left To Die - Rich people dump victims on island to harvest organs. Bad but fun (Prime)
Pedestrian: Relay - Lily James seeks protection from ex: employers (Prime)
Maddest: Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell as fake gambling lord in Macau (Netflix)
Disaster: The Bullet Train Explosion - Bomb on Japanese bullet train means it can’t stop or slow down. unoriginal and overlong but entertaining and perp not who you’d expect (Netflix)
Adventure: Beyond the Mask - Former East India Co mercenary thwarts evil uncle and wins fair maiden while aiding Franklin to establish independent US (Netflix)

Bio
Best: Minamata - Photojournalist Eugene Smith (J Depp) investigates chemical poisoning in Japan. Excellent (Prime)
Close second: The Way Back - Prisoners escape Siberian Gulags, walk to India (Prime)
Hillbilly Elegy - J.D. Vance reflects on grim early life. Would be inspirational if he’d turned out decent (Netflix)
Crime: The Order - FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) hunts white power supremacists led by nutter Bob Matthews (Nicholas Hoult) in 1980’s Pacific Northwest (Prime)
British: Bank of Dave 2 - The Loan Ranger - See what they did there? Gentle, funny, entertaining (Netflix)
Political: Words of War - Human rights journo Anna Politkovskaya (Maxine Peake) reports on horrific events in Chechnya. Unauthorised version of true events (Prime)
Grim: Sound of Freedom - Ex: FBI agent foils traffickers and rescues kids. Grim but good (Prime)

Disappointing omission: Sing Sing - Convicts seek rehabilitation through the arts. Mainly non-actor cast. Would have been better if the actual play was included, as the comedy Hamlet clips were hilarious (Prime)
Educational: Experimenter - Psychologist Sydney Milgram is maligned for ‘evil’ experiments (Prime)
The Promised Land/Bastarden - Mads Mikkelson as man who battled the odds to cultivate Jutland helped by Tater people (BBC iPlayer)
Royal Tales: Margrete, Queen of The North - Danish queen unites Nordic countries, long-dead son returns, or does he? (BBC iPlayer)
Grace of Monaco - Nicole Kidman as the princess and Tim Roth as Rainier, navigate tricky times with France (Prime)
Jeanne du Barry - Woman becomes lover of Louis XV (an amusing J Depp). By and starring Maiwenn (Prime)
Religious: Jesus Revolution - Intriguing story of the hippy Christian movement (Netflix)

Romance: Priscilla – A life with Elvis. Girly but okay (Netflix)

 

Spy

Inheritance - Woman follows dad in globe: trotting spy larks (Prime)
Chief of Station - Agent whose wife is killed uncovers dastardly CIA twisty doings (Prime)

Crime

Grimmest: Red Riding Trilogy – Part 1, young journalist uncovers corruption in 1974 in this classic telly film, excellent cast, grim, depressingly not much changed since; Part 2, set in 1980, at time of Yorkshire ripper, just as cheery; Part 3, in 1983, best of the lot. Based on David Peace’s Yorkshire Noir books.  (Netflix)

Action: She Rides Shotgun - Ex: con tries to protect daughter from nasty supremacist gang. Good acting and action, if predictable (Prime)

Convoluted: The Minute You Wake Up Dead - Convoluted series of murders, including sheriff Morgan Freeman. Entertaining (Prime)

British: The Thursday Murder Club - Old poshos solve crimes in gently comedic fashion (Netflix)

Low budget: Irish Ashes - Man returns to inter mum’s ashes, uncovers family’s gangster past. Superior acting to most cheapies (Prime)
Mystery: The Woman in Cabin 10 - Journo Keira Knightly gets to bottom of mysterious doings on bellend’s yacht (Netflix)

Prison: Animal Factory - A wiry Willem Dafoe befriends a young Ed Furlong in the pen (DVD)
Locations: Equalizer 3 - Denzil creates mayhem in Italy. Good locations, Italian dialogue required subtitles (Netflix)
Heist: Goodland - Men plan bank heists in smalltown Kansas, slow and relaxing till it all kicked off. Reminiscent of spaghetti westerns (Prime)
Den of Thieves- Pantera - Grumpy Gerard Butler infiltrates heist gang. Flash with funny bits (Prime)
Sequel: Inside Man- Most Wanted – Crew rob Nazi gold from Federal Reserve. A touch of the Money Heist (Netflix)
Crime Musical - Emilia Perez: Mexican cartel boss recruits lawyer to help him transition. Odd Oscar-winning French opera libretto do, amazing choreography. (Netflix)
Crime Comedy: See How They Run - People planning a Mousetrap movie get bumped off in theatre. Nice locations and décor (Film 4)
Spoof: Hooligan Factory - Hilarious Brit hooligan film spoof, despite a disappointing lack of footie (DVD)
Stupidest: Clue - Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd in old caper based on the game. Daft but a laugh (Netflix)
Mediocre: Death Pursuit - Vinnie Jones in predictable, mindless mayhem (Prime)
Riff Raff - Ex: crim’s old family come visiting. In a great cast, Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde) the funniest (Prime)
Most dragged out: Wake Up, Dead Man (A Knives Out Mystery) - Benoit solves murder of priest, fun and entertaining but overlong (Netflix)

War

Iraq: Warfare – ‘Honest’, real-time telling of US Navy seal operation gone wrong (Prime)

WW1: 1917 - Overdue rerun, lots of running, massive sets, awesome sound (DVD)

WW1 Bio: Britannic - Titanic sister ship comes a cropper (Prime)

Company K - Rare tale of Gis in trenches. Cheap and hokey but interesting (DVD)

WW2: Sisu - Finnish gold prospector foils Nazis (Netflix)

Bio: The Captain - Mad true story of deserter Willi Herold pretending to be a decorated captain, overseeing executions in last days of war. Artily made, clever juxtaposition with modern Germany during end credits (Prime)

The World Will Tremble - Jews escape first Nazi death camp to tell the world. Not cheery but very good (Prime)

Comedy: The Wipers Times - Soldiers at Ypres produce satirical paper (Prime)

Grimmest: The Painted Bird – Abandoned boy crosses Poland, encountering violence and abuse from locals and Nazis alike. Grim but good (Prime)

Field Post - German soldiers on eastern front at bitter end of the war escape from Soviets. An accidental Christmas film (Prime)

Romance: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Writer visits said society post-war, falls in love (BBC)

Western

Best: Place of Bones - Heather Graham and daughter eke out living in wild west while besieged by men (Prime)

Horror: Ghosts of the Ozarks - Young doctor encounters eerie goings on in remote post-civil war community. Cheap, creepy, good (Prime)

Sci: fi: Bad Land- Road to Fury (aka Young Ones) – Drought-stricken farmer hangs on for water. Echoes of Power of the Dog (Prime)

Sci-fi

Best: Civil War - Journos traverse a near-future dystopian warring US to find despot president (Prime)
Fast-paced: Terminator- Dark Fate - Second viewing of this excellent romp. Linda Hamilton amusingly sarcastic (Netflix)
Time-travel: Our Times - Mexican couple travel from 1960’s to 2025, minds blown by tech and social changes (Netflix)
Animation: Beneath - Explorers below ice on Titan face danger. So-so story, good CGI (Prime)
Music: Helix - Cop in post-apocalyptic Vancouver uncovers mistakes in governing computer system. Mediocre but good music (Prime)

Mind-bending: Bonded by Blood – (Spoiler) Cloned boy turns out to be killer (Prime)
Hypnotic - In a world of constructs created by ‘hypnotics’, a cop teams up with agent to solve mystery of missing daughter. Interesting (Prime)
Baffling: Ultrasound - A confusing tale of intertwined lives and weird experiments (Prime)

In Vitro - Aussie cattle rancher clones wife. Motive oddly unfathomable (Prime)
Riverworld - Deceased from different ages are reborn in mysterious land. Pilot of unmade series based on Philip José Famer saga. Great riverboat (Prime)
Lockdown: Portal - People in various locations investigate alien doors. Anthology of 4 films, made amidst covid lockdowns (Prime)
Glasshouse –South African cultish family sheltering in greenhouse from airborne virus take in injured outsider. Inspired by and filmed during the pandemic. Weird (Prime)
Low budget: The Artifice Girl - AI created to hunt paedophiles gains awareness (Film 4)
Out of Time - LA detective hunts down escaped aliens (Prime)
European: Brick - Mysterious wall traps German couple in apartment (Netflix)
Religious: Fair Rain - After the rapture, resistance protect holy book from evil government. Different (Prime)

Horror

Best: Frankenstein - Gullermo Del Torro’s brilliant telling of the old classic, faithful to the book, great sets and locations (Netflix)

Creepiest: A cure for Wellness – Sinister goings-on in Swiss sanatorium (Netflix)

Modern times: Locked - Thief gets locked into expensive car by rich owner (Prime)

Interesting: The Offering - Hasidic Jewish undertakers battle demons (Netflix)

Low budget: Interlopers - No-budget Brit flick in 3 parts, made during weekends over 3 years round Manchester (Prime)

Underwhelming: Holland - Nicole Kidman in seemingly idyllic community suspects husband of affair (Prime)

Christian: The Remaining - Apocalyptic and scary telling of the rapture trope (Netflix)

The Devil Conspiracy - Satanic bio-tech clone Lucifer, or is it Jesus? Bonkers (Prime)

Exorcism: The Ritual - Al Pacino plays real-life Fr. Theophilus Riesinger exorcising Emma Smidt/Anna Eklund, documented 1928. Spooky! (Prime)

The Pope’s Exorcist - Russell Crowe as Fr. Gabriele Amorth expels demons (Netflix)

Exorcist The Beginning - Prequel reveals origins of the evil. Well thought-out, spookily convincing, unlike The Exorcist Believer (the fourth instalment) which was slow and unscary, Ann Dowd (aka Aunt Lydia) the highlight (Netflix)

HP Lovecraft: The Whisperer in Darkness - Sceptical prof uncovers monsters in Vermont. Effectively filmed in fake old-style by HP Lovecraft History Society (Prime)

Call of Cthulhu - Old silent film based on HPL story. Good monster (Prime)

Stephen King: 1922 – Man’s written confession of wife’s killing, adapted from S. King’s novella in Full Dark No Stars (Netflix)

Vampire: The Last Voyage of the Demeter - Vampire tale based on a chapter from Dracula (Prime)

Zombies: Herd - Couple mystifyingly go camping amidst zombie apocalypse. Some good ideas (Prime)

Road Wars - Low rent Mad Max effort with rabid zombies (Prime)

War Horror: Ghosts of War - GIs hold a French chateau occupied by Nazis in 1944. All not what it seems, takes an odd turn (Prime)

Sci-fi Horror: Osiris - Marines run around shooting, get sucked up to spaceship, run around shooting aliens with unconvincing Russian Linda Hamilton (Prime)

Comedy                                             

Best: Barbie - NOT a kid’s film in my opinion. Hilarious (Prime)

Freaky Tales - Lives collide in 1980’s Oakland, lots of period detail, very entertaining (Prime)

The Wrath of Becky - Orphan seeks revenge on men who killed those she loved. Very funny (Netflix)
Silly: Mindhorn - Apparent IOM serial killer will only speak to fictional detective. Silly fun (Netflix)
The Killer’s Game - Hitman Dave Bautista takes out contract on himself, changes his mind, bedlam with madcap fight scenes ensues (Prime)

Head of State - Idris Elba and John Cena get stuck after Airforce 1 crash. Amusing mayhem (Prime)
Zoolander 2 - Daft model Derek goes in search of his son. Bonkers (DVD)
Get Duked - Lads on DOE mission come across undead old people. Amusing in places (Prime)
Touching: Dough - Jewish baker employs young refugee from Darfur, suspicion turns to friendship. Touchingly funny (Prime)
The Problem with People - Irish man gets Yank cousin to go meet dying dad (Prime)
Self Reliance – Man recruited to dark web reality show thwarts assassins (Netflix)
Indian - Ek Chata r Naar (A Clever Woman): Young woman gets the better of corrupt men (Netflix)
Action: The Nice Guys - Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe team up to rescue missing girl (Prime)

Back in Action - Ex: agents Jamie Fox and Cameron Diaz drag their kids into action (Netflix)

Bio: Nonnas - Grieving man recruits grans to cook in Statton Island restaurant (Netflix)

Misbehaviour - Women’s Lib founders disrupt Miss World 1970. Full of amusing cliches (Netflix)
Sci-fi  - Asteroid City - Wes Anderson nonsensical amusement (Netflix)                                                                                                                                       
Crime - Deep Cover - Bent cop Sean Bean recruits improv comedians to infiltrate drugs gang (Prime)
Horror - Boys from County Hell - Northern Irish take on the vampire tale based on belief that the legendary evil dwarf Abhartach inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Prime)
Death of a Unicorn - Man and daughter on way to meet millionaire Richard E Grant run over unicorn, attempts to harness magic power, come a cropper (Prime)

The Menu - Chef reveals dark side to restaurant diners on remote island. Surreally satirical, like an updated Luis Buñuel (Film 4)Musical: The Return of Captain Invincible - Disgraced hero returns to save world from evil Chris Lee, in 1983 Aussie romp, echoing Rocky Horror (Prime)
Historic: Anonymous - Roland Emerich imagines Shakespeare isn’t the real playwright (DVD)
Stockholm Bloodbath - Entertainingly told tale of power struggle between Denmark and Sweden 1520 (Prime)
Spoof: Cunk on Life - Philomena expounds on life’s mysteries, bigger budget spent on unnecessary globe-trotting and odd meta segue into Black Mirror, but still funny (Netflix)
I’m Still Here - Joaquin Phoenix does bad hip hop, director Casey Affleck denies it’s a mockumentary (DVD)

Musical

Bio: Bob Marley One Love - Biopic of the legendary Marley, good singalong (Netflix)

Maria - Last week of Maria Callas’ life with flashbacks. Dreamy, pretentious, clever, Angelina Jolie amazing (Netflix)

Kids: Wonka - Timothe Chalamet as the eponymous character in this jolly prequel (Prime)

 

YA:

Historic: Born to be Great- Alexander of Macedonia - Watchable telling of Alexander’s early life (Prime)

Sci: fi: The Electric State - Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in a land of robots (Netflix)

Fantasy: Damsel - MBB foils evil royals. Ace dragon (Netflix)

 

Fantasy

Best: Aquaman and The Last Kingdom - Colourful mayhem (Prime)

Low budget: The Hallowed Knight - Knight runs away from losing battle to spooky forest. Arty black and white, good music. Apparently made for the grand price of £3k (Prime)

Visuals: In the Lost Lands - Witch Milla Jovovich and hunter David Bautista team up. Long-winded but good visuals (Netflix)

Weirdness: The Show - Alan Moore oversees strange goings-on in Northampton. Weirdly entertaining, mad soundtrack (Prime)

Needless spoiler: The Rats: A Witcher’s Tale - Dolph Lundgren joins the gang in this season 4 prequel. Starts with needless spoiler (Netflix)

Comic

The Old Guard 2 - Charlize Theron & co fight original ‘immortal’ Uma Thurman, or is she? Perplexing, possibly set up for part 3 (Netflix)

Dampyr - Son of ‘Drac’ becomes vampire hunter during Balkan wars. Based on Italian comic, more planned (Netflix)

Hellboy: The Crooked Man - Comic character goes questing. Moderate amusement, good music (Prime)

 

Arthouse

Arthouse/Fantasy: The Book of Vision - Dreamlike mystery flitting between present day and 18^th century (Prime)

Melodrama: Helen of Four Gates - A long overdue watch, literally silent, amusing pathos (BFI)

 

Documentary

The Thinking Game - Creation and evolution of AGI Deep Mind, quite interesting, Not Sci: fi as the blurb said! (Prime)

 

Christmas

War/WW2: Winter in Wartime - Dutch boy hides British pilot from Nazis. A repeat watch for this excellent story (DVD)

Documentary/AI: A Very Pagan Christmas - Explains links between pagan traditions and modern-day customs such as Christmas tree, Santa, illustrated by AI graphics (Prime)

Horror: The Wolf of Snow Hollow - Alcoholic cop pursues serial killer in small mountain town (Prime)

Crime/Romcom: Jingle Bell Heist - Shopworker teams up with sacked employee to con boss. Romcom masquerading as heist film (Netflix)

Film Reviews 2024

 

Drama                                                                                                                           

Best: Tár - Cate Blanchet aces role as cancelled maestro (Netflix)

Amsterdam - Three friends foil depression era coup. Very loosely based on true story (Prime)

Grimmest: Black Flies - Rookie NYFD para-medic pairs with jaded veteran Sean Penn. Grimly good (Prime)

Most picturesque: River Queen - Woman searches upriver for half-Māori son. Lovely NZ scenery (Prime)

Most touching: The Beautiful Game - Bill Nighy coaches Homeless World Cup team. Inspired by real stories (Netflix)

Play: Good - David Tenant and Sharon Small in updated CJ Taylor play. Darkly funny in places (NT Live/BBC iPlayer)

YA: The Railway Children Return – Child evacuees in Haworth save underage US conscript (Netflix)

Satire: Triangle of Sadness - Rich people on cruise come to sticky end (Netflix)

Sport: Race for Glory: Audi vs Lancia - Truish tale of insanely competitive rally driving (Netflix)

Action/Thriller

Best: The King’s Man - Kingsman prequel. Rhys Ifan’s Rasputin hilarious (Channel 4)

Cheesiest: Top Gun-Maverick - As cheesy as the original, great flight scenes (Netflix)

Daftest: Expendables 4 - Old jokes abound, satisfyingly puerile (Prime)

Primal - Animal trapper Nic Cage vies with mad psycho and captured white leopard on boat (Prime)

Best foreign language: Sayen trilogy– Mapuche girl seeks revenge on land-grabbing gran murderers, gets badass (Prime)

 

Bio

Best Musicals: La Vie En Rose - Grim early life of Edith Piaf, interspersed with later year antics. Brilliant (DVD)

De-Lovely: Cole Porter hits sang by various people, potty in places (Prime)

Genius – Story of the prodigious Leonard Bernstein, great music, very posh (Netflix)

Most revealing: No Man of God - FBI agent Elijah Wood interviews Ted Bundy (Prime)

Funniest: Daliland - Ben Kingsley as the nutty, decadent Dali in 1970’s NY. Amusing and interesting (Prime)

Worthiest: Shirley - First black congresswoman runs for president (Netflix)

Most inspirational: Dumb Money - Amateurs buy GameStop shares to beat hedge funders (Prime)

British: Mr. Nice - Rhys Ifans as Howard Marks in sort-of true caper. David Thewlis great as mad IRA guy, albeit his standard character with Irish accent (Prime)

Einstein and the Bomb - Docu-style tale of Einstein’s latter years in a shed in Norfolk and US, reflects on link between his theories and atom bomb (Netflix)

Most fanciful: Boudica - Imagined story of Iceni queen fighting Romans. Flying sword and apparition of dead daughters rather fanciful but saved by battle scenes (Netflix)

Religious: Mary - Dramatisation of Jesus’ mother’s youth. Hopkins relishes playing evil Herod (Netflix)

Father Stu - Ex-boxer/criminal Mark Wahlberg gets ordained. Crotchety dad Mel Gibson very funny (Netflix)

Educational: Black Pioneer - Slave helps Mormons found Salt Lake City (Prime)

Weird: The Day of The White Lotus - Propaganda by The Theosophical Society , the original new agers (Prime)

Historic

Most ambitious: Babylon - Epic Hollywood antics amidst transition to talkies. Margot Robbie amazing, impressive score. Mixed reviews, box office bomb, future cult classic? (Netflix)

Best cinematography: Straw Man- Young photographer is recruited to watch incumbent pope JP II in 1950’s communist Poland with sinister results. Well made in monochrome (Netflix)

Best Asian: Dragon Blade - Jackie Chan teams up with fabled lost legion on Silk Road (Prime)

Best Tudor: Firebrand - Katherine Parr as regent, heretic and survivor (Prime)

Best Viking: The Northman - Viking prince seeks revenge for dad’s killing by uncle. Cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman and Bjork (Prime)

Most sumptuous: The Last Duel - Ridley Scott’s story of Medieval chauvinism and rivalry (Film 4)

Spy

Best: Despite the Falling Snow - Russian woman spying for US falls for mark. Not too soppy (Prime)

Factual: Blunt- The Fourth Man - Old BBC film about the 1950’s spy ring. Interesting (Prime)

Daftest: The Take/Bastille Day - Idris foils baddies in Paris romp (Netflix)

The Union - Halle Berry recruits schoolmate Mark Wahlberg for fun globe-trotting capers (Netflix)

Heart of Stone - Gal Gadot saves the world from evil hacker. Silly, shiny, fun (Netflix)

Most prescient: Icon Parts 1 and 2 - Virus outbreaks target specific Russian ethnic groups. Prescient but possible fuel for Disease X conspiracy theorists (Prime) 

Crime                    

Most stylish: Yakuza Princess - Young woman seeks revenge on family’s killer, teams up with ronin Rhys-Mayers (Prime)

Flashiest: Lift – Inane heist flick, entertaining flight scenes (Netflix)

Best detective: Eye for an Eye - Travolta PI returns to small-town Texas, uncovers murder and corruption (Prime)

Best Assassin: Fast Charlie - Piers Brosnan as hitman with a heart. Funny scenes include a gun/car mishap and dead bird beak stabbing (Prime)

Most original: Dangerous - Parolee trying to not be a psycho, encounters old gang on small island. Original idea, good turns from Scott Eastwood taking after his dad and Mel Gibson as psychiatrist (Netflix)

Rebel Ridge - Ex-marine seeks justice from corrupt cops. Different (Prime)

Best foreign language: Justice - Disgraced Polish ex-agent uses old-style Commie techniques to solve bank robbery/murder (Netflix)

Best dialogue: Street Kings - Cocky cop Keanu goes up against gangs and corruption. Some funny lingo (DVD)

Best line: Confidentail Informant - NY cop fakes own death to get insurance. Reminiscent of old noirs. ‘No disrespect; go fuck yourself!’ (Prime)

Best title: The Silence of The Marsh - Crime writer Pedro Alonso (Money Heist’s Berlin) in marshy Valencia, tells tale of corruption and violence (Netflix)

Worst reboot: Transporter Refuelled - Not-Statham in mediocre antics Prime)

Oddest: Bless Me Father - Young gangster confesses sins to priest, gets a shock (Prime)

Villains - Hapless criminals take refuge in house of freaky couple keeping kid in basement (Netflix)

Oddest Covid: Zeros and Ones - Ethan Hawke plays brothers on opposing sides during lockdown (Prime)

Crime Horror: Darkgame - Cops and FBI attempt to trace source of live-streamed Russian Roulette (Netflix)

Crime Comedy: Bullet Train - Daft assassin antics on train, Brad Pitt a hoot (Netflix)

Crime Bio: Casino Jack - Washington lobbyist Kevin Spacey comes a cropper (Prime)

Ageing men with health issues: Dying of the Light - CIA agent Nic Cage goes after terrorists, both terminally ill (Prime)

A Killer’s Memory - Contract killer with dementia Michael Keaton, plans for his imminent demise (Prime)

 

British Crime

Best: Gassed Up - Everyday tale of London moped gang, surprisingly watchable (Prime)

Best script: Firecracker - Botched heist on bonfire night. Low budget, good script, twisty plot (Prime)

Most confusing: Riot - Met cops in violent time-jumping effort (Prime)

Damaged - Cop Samuel Jackson goes to Edinburgh. Somewhat perplexing (Prime)

Most imaginative: Jackdaw - Motocross champ agrees to courier job to save kidnapped brother. Entirely filmed in Hartlepool area (Netflix)

Darkest: Hooligan Legacy - Convicted hooligan reeks revenge with bloody results. Dark and moody (Prime)

White Collar Hooligan 2-England Away - Hiding in Spain, spotted at footie match, Larks and unpleasantness ensue (Prime)

Meet The Firm: Revenge in Rio - Last and funniest in the ‘white collar’ trilogy (Prime)

Most disappointing: Rise Of The Footsoldier: Vengeance - Pat Tate rampages to Ibiza. Entertaining but (apparently intentionally) not as funny as ‘Origins’ (Prime)

 

War

American: Blackbear - Afghan vet returns to MMA (Prime)

Buffalo Soldiers - Bored US troops in 1989 West Germany, engage in amusing sidelines and japes (DVD)

Most educational: Submerged: The Hunley - Confederate sub comes to sticky end (Prime)

WW1: Passchendaele - Story of the famous battle centred round a Canadian soldier, a nurse and her brother. Great battle scene (DVD) 

WW2: Zone of Interest - Rudolph Hoss and family lead idyllic life across the Auschwitz wall. Ace cinematography and sound, surreally good (Prime)

Bio: The Six Triple Eight - Only black US WAC battalion sort mail backlog (Netflix)

Funniest: Wheels of Terror - The Sven Hassel classic, criminal German regiment on Eastern front, a hoot (Prime)

Comedy: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - Guy Richie’s amusing take on Operation Postmaster, based on book by Damian Lewis from recently declassified files (Prime)

Oddest: Condor’s Nest - US vet seeks Nazis in South America, encounters Heinrich Himmler. Odd mix of fact and fiction, slow start, mad ending (Prime)

Alternate: Resistance - D Day has failed, Welsh villagers ruled by Nazis. Low key (DVD)

Rescues: Saving Private Ryan - Overdue watch of the inexplicably true tale of Americans saving a GI (Film 4)

Wolves of War - Crack team go to rescue Prof Hopper from Nazis (Prime)

Grimmest: Arctic Convoy –Norwegian ships deliver munitions from Iceland to Russia (Prime)

Days of Glory (aka Indigenes) - Algerians fight for France, treated appallingly (DVD)

The Pianist – Jewish musician in Warsaw Ghetto, shambling round at the end like Dr. Zhivago (DVD)

Liberation - Danish school teacher tries to do right by German refugees, resistance unimpressed (Prime)

Western

One of Twelve over Twelve Months (all on (Prime): Heart of the Gun - Man seeks wife, rescues abused woman

A Guide to Gunfighters of the Wild West - horses the stars in this funny story

The Woman Who Robbed The Stagecoach - Real ‘Pearl’, arrested, jailed, pardoned. Filmed on iPhone

Tales of the Natchez Trace - Series of short stories featuring the likes of Davey Crocket. Prompted discussion of less 17^th century wild west tales before the arrival of writers and journalists

Western Horror: Unnatural - Old hunter forced to take orphan grandkids on trek to eradicate evil (Prime)

Western Sci-fi: Grey Eyes - The Gunslinger meets Children of Men in this moody, well-shot Spanish tale of post-apocalyptic colour blindness (Prime)

Irish Western/Crime: In The Land of Saints and Sinners - Liam Neeson comes out of retirement when IRA bomber appears in his twee Irish village (Netflix)

Sci-fi

Best: Alien Intervention - Alien returns to retrieve object from woman 25 years after he gave it to her (Prime)

Best acting: Leave the World Behind - Cyberattack interrupts family holiday. Laden with symbolism, racist and classist undertones (Netflix)

Quirkiest: Acidman – Woman visits reclusive UFO-seeking dad in rural Oregon (Prime)

Steampunk: Rebel Moon part 2: The Scargiver – Enjoyable alternate universe/futuristic lark (Netflix)

Thriller: Don’t Worry Darling - Florence Pugh and Harry Styles in apparently idyllic community (Prime)

Covid: Zero Contact - Tech magnate Anthony Hopkins posthumously gets 5 people to stop his teleportation invention coming to fruition. Cleverly filmed over zoom during lockdown (Prime)

Dystopian: The Domestics - Couple on post-apocalyptic road trip encounter assorted baddies (Prime)

The Platform/Platform 2 - In Spanish ‘vertical social management system’, food descends on platform once a day, death and cannibalism ensue. Sequel inevitably violent. Louis Bunel has a lot to answer for (Netflix)

Most implausible: 65 - 65 million years ago, spaceman crash-lands on earth, battles dinosaurs and meteors to save small girl. Imaginative, decent effects but far-fetched (Netflix)

Foreign language: Bionic - Brazilian Paralympics crossed with The Terminator, effective visuals (Netflix)

British: Breaking Infinity - Man in a time loop tries to stop world ending (Prime)

The Kitchen - Residents of last London council estate resist eviction, accompanied by DJ Ian Wright. Some good ideas but surely they’d form a militia and fight the fascist pigs (Netflix)

AI: Future World - Atlas - Jennifer Lopez battles evil AI brother. Excellent robots (Netflix)

Previously Saved Version - Man downloads wife’s brain into androids (Prime)

Megan - creepy robot doll (Model 3 Generative Android), predictably goes rogue (Netflix)

Subservience - AI Megan Fox inevitably turns out to be bunny boiler. Very shiny (Netflix)

YA: After the End - Boy navigates post-pandemic world, meets pregnant girl. Low key (Prime)

Uglies - Teens battle overlords in dystopian future. Mostly predictable, a bit of a twist at the end (Netflix)

Breathe - As earth’s atmosphere unbreathable, family live in bunker, oxygen thieves turn up. Good use of colour to convey mood and atmosphere (Prime)

Anime: Appleseed Alpha - In post-war 22^nd C., hired guns, woman and robot seek Atlantis. Lovely drawings (Netflix)

Fantasy

Best: Godzilla Minus One - Excellent prequel set in pre-war Japan, great historical accuracy (Netflix)

Best demons: Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace - Balthazar recruits Gabriel and friends to defeat Michael. Unusual, ambitious, striking demons (Prime)

Comic: The Batman - Another update, high budget, stellar cast, dark and atmospheric, overlong (Prime)

Best villain: Morbius - Marvel character injects himself with bat blood, Matt Smith a great villain (Netflix)

Silliest: Black Adam - The Rock and Justice Society in Avenger-style mayhem. Daft escapism (Prime)

Legend/Myth: Mortal - American of Nordic descent channels Thor (Prime)

Hercules - The Rock with hair leads Thrace armies to battle against warlord. Enjoyable adventure (DVD)

Bea Wolf - Made during covid lockdowns, unusually involves as many women as men (Prime)

Beowulf and Grendel - Yet another version of the old Norse tale (DVD)

Romance: Tristan and Isolde - Watchable telling of the old story (DVD)

Folk Tale: Maksym Oza- Gold of the Werewolf - First Ukrainian film to be based on graphic novel, in turn based on folk tale. Interesting and thought-provoking, prompted reflection on how stories are passed down (Prime)

Arthouse

Best: Nightwatching - Peter Greenaway’s interpretation of Rembrandt painting the famous work (Prime)

Most wasted talent: The French Dispatch - Wes Anderson ensemble piece, impressive cast, French dialogue impossible to follow due to rapid speech and tiny subtitles (Film 4)

Short: The After - Man fails to get over death of wife and daughter. Not for me! (Netflix)

Horror                                                                                                        

Creepiest: Umma – Off-grid Sandra Oh surprised by Korean uncle bringing dead mum in suitcase (Netflix)

Impuratus -The Devil’s Confession - cop hears unbelievable confession of civil war vet in loony bin (Prime)

Silliest: Ready or Not – New bride foils murderous family game (Netflix)

Dangerous Game-The Legacy Murders - Old psycho gathers family to find successor (Netflix)

Best soundtrack: Firestarter - Blumhouse remake of the old Stephen King, truncated but watchable, ace John Carpenter music (Netflix)

Gothic: The Crow – Salvation – Cheap, bad acting, grungy fun (Prime)

Werewolves: Eight For Silver - Gypsy werewolves wreak revenge on land-stealers (Netflix)

Worst: The Disappointment Room - Strange goings on in huge fixer-upper, was it all in her head. Not very scary, should have been called The Disappointment, full stop (Netflix)

Demons: The Deliverance - Family haunted by demons, creepily based on true story (Netflix)

Sister Death - Novice nun gets to truth of spooky goings-on in post-civil war Spanish convent (Netflix)

Veronica - Teenager invokes demon in loose follow up (Netflix)

Hammiest: The Hunter’s Anthology- The Demon Hunter - Protagonist traps people in tube train, ascertains which is the demon. Cheap, hammy fun (Prime)

Zombies: Outside – Filippino family hide out on farm during zombie plague. Different. (Netflix)

Apocalypse Z- The Beginning of the End? - Zombie virus epidemic creates worldwide chaos. Imaginative but inconclusive Spanish flick. Cheeky ‘?’ hints at sequel (Prime)

Vampires: The Invitation - Young woman escapes house of posh vampires (Netflix)

Blood Vessel - Creepy Nazi vampire gold ship. Naff but a laugh (Prime)

Comedy

Best: The Lost City - Cover model Channing Tatum rescues writer Bullock from millionaire Radcliffe (Netflix)

The Cobbler - Cobbler discovers old stitcher allows him to step into other’s shoes (Prime)

A Man Called Otto - Grumpy Tom Hanks reluctantly gets involved with neighbours for usual but watchable goo (Netflix)

American Fiction - Black academic writes trite ‘black novel’ for a joke. Some hilarious bits (Prime)

Best action: Jackpot! - Protection agent John Cena helps winner of deadly lottery survive the mob. Silly fun (Prime)

Northern Comfort - Group scared of flying stranded in Iceland. The excellent Tim Spall takes charge (Netflix)

Best Welsh: Brian and Charles - Mad inventor builds robot friend in his shed. A quirky laugh (Netflix)

Sci-fi Comedy: Free Guy - Game AI gains consciousness, escapes to better virtual world (Film 4)

Horror Comedy: A Vampire in the Family - Long-lost brother-in-law returns to Brazil, Count Dracula comes to vampire Halloween party (Netflix)

Musical Comedy: Dublin Crust - Irish punk band reform after 5 years. Songs not too bad if samey (Prime)

Romcom: Marry Me - Singer picks out maths teacher at gig to wed, scenes with adorable kids ensue (iPlayer)

Comedy Bio:

Best: Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game - Pinball fan Roger Sharpe convinces NY authorities it’s not gambling (Prime)

British: Wicked Little Letters - Littlehampton community scandalised by rude sweary missives (Netflix)

Funniest: Unfrosted - Loosely based on invention of pop tarts (Netflix)

Crime Comedy:

Most unbelievable: The Hot Potato – Chancers try to flog uranium, comedy capers incredibly based on a true story (Prime)

Oddest: The King of Bloody Fookin’ Britain - US interpretation of Cockney gangsters (Prime)

Brothers - Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage as unalike twins follow dysfunctional mum into crime. Enjoyable, hilarious in parts (Prime)

Christmas

Silliest: Red One - The Rock and Chris Evans rescue kidnapped Santa with Viking roots from Christmas witch (Prime)

Most gory: Violent Night - Santa, again apparently Viking, helps to foil robbers of rich family (Netflix)

Most disappointing: The Christmas Chronicles 2 – Started as a mad elf film, cheered up by Kurt Russell singing and Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus (Netflix)

Carry-On - Man plans to put chemical bomb on plane, motive uncertain. Lacks anything festive apart from taking place on Christmas Eve and a couple of songs (Netflix)