Films articles
The Dark Knight Rises review - a warning to edgy teen communists
The Dark Knight’s War on Terror analogy ended with Harvey Dent, representing the US, being effectively absolved of his crimes to preserve his image - but in real life, the opposite happened. The disappearing evidence of Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction”, subsequent terror attacks, and the threat of ISIS all...
The Dark Knight review - exploring the post-9/11 Western psyche
If Batman Begins was popular, The Dark Knight was a sensation - and a controversial one at that. I remember listening to a radio debate around whether the film should have received a 12A rating due to its darkness and violence, and while it’s never particularly bloody, it certainly covers...
Batman Begins review - all roads lead to Bruce Wayne
My life will soon undergo significant change, so to mark the end of the current era I’ve been revisiting some of the media that has meant the most to me - watching the films, playing the games, and listening to the music that has served as the background to significant...
Gran Turismo review
I love Gran Turismo - I’ve been playing it since the 90s. But if you asked me to choose a video game series for a film adaptation, it would be near the bottom of my list. After all, racing games are full of on-track action, but no matter how good...
Asteroid City review
Not many films will get me to the cinema these days, but 2023 is due to have a few of them. First up, faced with a weekend without any football or motorsport, I took a Saturday morning trip to see Wes Anderson’s new picture, Asteroid City. I’ll start with the...
The Menu review
I’m very glad I didn’t go to see The Menu at the cinema. Not because it’s a bad film, but because as somebody who suffers from intermittent anxiety, visiting a restaurant can sometimes be quite a tense experience. Will I like the food? If I don’t, should I eat it...
Glass Onion review
Just before Christmas 2022, Netflix released Glass Onion, the next film in the Knives Out series. Expecting another clever, witty mystery from Rian Johnson I sat down to watch it over the holiday period, but was disappointed to find it did not deliver anything close to the quality of its...