FILM REVIEW

FILM OF THE MONTH: The History Of Sound starring Paul Mescal & Josh O’Connor (January 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Tuesday 6 January, released in the UK Friday 23 January 2026 RUNTIME: 128 minutes

It’s the gift of Paul Mescal’s singer Lionel to ‘see’ sound that compels him to seek out Josh O’Connor’s musician David as the latter sits at a piano playing a rare folk song familiar to both men.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a melancholic, quietly understated film which will eventually be regarded as a classic
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FILM REVIEW: Pillion starring Alexander Skarsgård & Harry Melling

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK? ****

The winner of this year’s British Independent Film Award for best film revels in being both an unflinching look at a BDSM relationship while colliding with a very embarrassed British sense of humour more likely found in fare like Four Weddings And A Funeral.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is funny, thought-provoking and far more warm of heart than you might expect
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FILM REVIEW: Wicked: For Good starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande & Jonathan Bailey

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? 21 November 2025 on its day of release RUNTIME: 137 minutes

Wicked (Part 1) was a 5-star hit because it built on the beloved Act 1 of a classic musical giving it the visual flair and world-building that only cinema can with a superstar cast.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the satisfying conclusion to a tale which speaks to our lives now set up beautifully by its magical 1st film
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FILM REVIEW: Plainclothes with intro by its star Russell Tovey

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? *****

WHERE? BFI Southbank, film released in the UK Friday 10 October 2025

‘Shame is such a wonderful thing to play as an actor,’ says Tovey as he reflects on how his part in Angels In America next door at the National Theatre saw him cast here.

  • Read on for reasons including how we can see why Tovey referred to this as a film he would have loved to have seen when he was younger
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FILM REVIEW: Materialists starring Pedro Pascal, Dakota Johnson & Chris Evans

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

Dakota Johnson plays failed actress turned successful matchmaker Lucy who meets the perfect man, a financier played by Pedro Pascal, at the wedding of a client where her ex is working as a waiter.

  • Read on for reasons including how Materialists undoes a lot of the good work that marked out Song after Past Lives
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FILM REVIEW: 28 Years Later starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Jodie Comer

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Danny Boyle (T2 Trainspotting) returns to direct the 3rd film in this series which focuses on the Kes-like training of 12-year-old Spike to defend himself which is intended to kickstart 2 further movies.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a thrilling reminder of what was so involving about this world
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FILM REVIEW: The Ballad Of Wallis Island starring Tim Key, Tom Basden & Carey Mulligan

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***** RUNTIME: 100 minutes

Key and Basden wrote the screenplay for this charming film which is essentially an unlikely bromance meditating on loss, nostalgia, music, its ability to bring together and the relationship between fan and star.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the best film of the year so far
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FILM REVIEW: Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy starring Renee Zellweger, Leo Woodall & Chiwetel Ejiofor

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

The return of Bridget Jones in this 1st film in the series for more than 8 years is like the reappearance of an old friend and, while we were expecting the laughs it conjured, we had quite no idea just how moved by it we would be.

  • Read on for reasons including how we we couldn’t help but think how surprisingly charming, life-affirming and sparkling this was
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FILM REVIEW: Nosferatu starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin & Willem Dafoe

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: **** RUNTIME: 133 minutes

This is the 1st film we’ve seen Depp in and the daughter of actors Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis is both other-worldly and hugely captivating in a pivotal role that must convince in this tale of 2 very different worlds colliding here.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a superbly crafted horror from a director at the top of his game
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FILM REVIEW: A Real Pain starring Kieran Culkin & Jesse Eisenberg

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2 RUNTIME: 90 minutes

Culkin won a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and is nominated for an Oscar in the same category while his co-star Jesse Eisenberg who wrote and directed this quiet gem of a movie receives a similar Best Original Screenplay nod.

  • Read on for reasons including how this elegant film is both brief and hard-hitting
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