Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 2021

  ★★★★ Watched 23 Feb 2023

  Marcel finally makes it to UK cinemas two years after its US release. I'm a sucker for stop-motion so have been waiting patiently for this, having enjoyed the YouTube shorts which inspired this.

  It's a twee, cutsie affair, reminiscent of Aardman's Creature Comforts and works in the same way - the humour coming from the juxtaposition of the human dialogue overlaid on little Marcel the Shell.

  If you've haven't seen the YouTube shorts I'd check these out first and if you want 90 minutes more then this is for you!

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  Empire of Light 2022

  ★★★★ Watched 09 Jan 2023 1

  This is a slow-paced, contemplative film that blends in themes around racism, mental health and the beauty of cinema. It's all sumptuously shot in, of all places, Margate, and is a love-it or hate-it movie depending on how you respond to the pacing and its multiple strands, none of which feel fully realised by the end of the movie.

  Despite these concerns I enjoyed the movie thanks to the knockout cast featuring Olive Coleman, Michael Ward and Toby Jones. I…

Popular reviews

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  The Electrical Life of Louis Wain 2021

  ★★★★ Watched 01 Jan 2022

  This isn’t the quirky, fun film about cats that the trailer suggests. Instead, it’s a much more melancholy biopic of a Victorian artist who spent his life battling mental health issues at a time when these conditions were ill understood. This could have been a fairly dour affair, but the creative team have worked hard to make this a constantly engaging and fascinating journey. I particularly appreciated the visual flourishes and the theremin-based score from Arthur Sharpe which combined to…

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  Last Night in Soho 2021

  ★★★★½ Watched 29 Oct 2021 1

  Edgar Wright’s new movie is a stylish horror story that looks and sounds great. Thomasin McKenzie adds another top-notch performance to her CV as the naïve student at a London fashion college. It’s a fairly standard is-she-mad-or-is-she-haunted plot with Anya Taylor-Joy looking the part as the 60s starlet who wants to make it as the next Cilla Black.

  The photography tricks switching McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are seamless as the 60’s world encroaches into the modern day and these effects provide…