File this as one not to attempt on a long-haul flight when the sleep deprivation’s kicking in. Starts pretty off-kilter. Progresses along familiar yet unpredictable lines, and then – as far as I’m concerned – takes a huge leap into
The Menu
How this ever got described as a comedy is a bit of a mystery – but whatever the genre I found it a compelling (if absurd) watch. Having read nothing in advance about it, I really enjoyed the ongoing jaw-drops
The Whale
Good choice of film for in-flight watching, cos it translates well to the seatback screen. Pretty bleak stuff but very emotional and well-told. It’s incredibly fortunate that Brendan Fraser was cast (as he does a stellar job) rather than an
Bottle Shock
You’d think taking the story of The Judgement of Paris (the 1976 blind wine tasting where California beat France) and putting Alan Rickman in one of the key seats alongside Bill Pullman would be an instant classic – but this
Metal Lords
In summary this sounded like a fairly hapless teen-rock journey to confidence type story, so during the opening credits I was a bit surprised to see the monikers of Weiss & Benioff (of Game of Thrones fame). Don’t remember much
Unlocked
Nice action/thriller about a CIA doublecross and plot to unleash a weaponised virus, answering the question “Say, what have Michael Douglas or Orlando Bloom done lately?”. Cast led by Noomi Rapace, which I thought worked really well. Convincingly badass. More
Triangle of Sadness
Refreshing to find one of those films that leaves you thinking WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH?! I don’t understand how this could be so memorable, and yet so irritating. And yet I keep finding myself talking about it.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
What a deliciously ridiculous film! Trust Weird Al to put out a biopic that’s totally spurious… and I really enjoyed the implausibility of Dan Radcliffe in the lead role. Seldom laugh-out-loud funny, but it really had me smiling the whole
The Hateful Eight
This was an exercise in completism – I recall starting this a few times in the last 10 years, and never quite getting through it. In hindsight it probably wasn’t worth bothering, although some of the performances made it worth
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Well, that was an antidote to Marvel films, wasn’t it? Best multiverse story outside of Rick & Morty. Bloody staggering. Love love loved it. 👍👍