FILM REVIEW

FILM REVIEW: Wicked Little Letters starring Olivia Colman & Jessie Buckley

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN?: Tuesday 20 February 2024, UK release Friday 23 February RUNTIME: 100 minutes

Wicked Little Letters is based on a true story from 1920s England of neighbours Edith Swan and Rose Gooding in the seaside town of Littlehampton when a series of obscene letters begin to target Edith and others, with suspicion falling upon Rose.

  • Read on for reasons including how the quality of the laugh-out-loud trailer is maintained throughout the film
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FILM REVIEW: Pet Shop Boys Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Wednesday 31 January 2024, also showing in selected cinemas Sunday 4 February 2024

‘A Friday night in Copenhagen – what could be better?’ asks Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant as the duo follow Taylor Swift and Beyonce into cinemas.

  • Read on for reasons including how some of the band’s greatest hits have recently featured in films
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FILM REVIEW: All Of Us Strangers starring Andrew Scott & Paul Mescal

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Growing up gay in the 80s wasn’t much fun with its AIDS and Clause 28 and Andrew Scott’s (Vanya, Duke Of York’s Theatre) screenwriter Adam is struggling with writer’s block, watching old episodes of Top Of The Pops and living alone in a high-rise London tower block which is sparsely populated.

  • Read on for reasons including why this is beautiful, haunting and likely to stay with you long after the end credits
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FILM REVIEW: Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet with music by Neil Hannon

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon contributes half a dozen or so original songs to this musical providing an origin story for Roald Dahl’s chocolate factory owner Willy Wonka.

  • Read on for reasons including the moment to melt the hardest of hearts
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FILM REVIEW: Past Lives written & directed by Celine Song

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Have you ever wondered whether there might be a finite number of people in the world and that all of us have past lives that occasionally bubble to the surface when paths cross?

  • Read on for reasons including why this is never afraid to disappoint and is 1 of the most perfectly executed films of the year
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FILM REVIEW: Barbie starring Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Mattel’s Barbie doll has proved so iconic and such a divisive figure that it fully justifies the homage to the film 2001 that it is blessed with here including Helen Mirren voiceover.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the funniest film of the year so far but also 1 to make you think
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FILM REVIEW: Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr & Emily Blunt

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***** WHEN?: Monday 24 July 2023

Welcome to the best film of 2023 so far and certainly the 1 most worthy of receiving Oscar consideration early in 2024.

  • Read on for reasons including how Nolan gives us 3 intertwining narrative strands which ultimately pay off
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FILM REVIEW: WHAM! on Netflix

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

We’ve not written a lot about George Michael because we regarded his imperial phase as WHAM! but never saw him live until he was solo at Wembley Stadium when his hunger for writing number 1s appeared to have been lost.

  • Read on for reasons including how WHAM! were a gateway for us to music we would go on to love
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FILM REVIEW: God’s Creatures starring Paul Mescal & Emily Watson

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

2023 has already been an incredible year for Paul Mescal with a Best Actor Olivier and Oscar nomination under his belt, although film God’s Creatures is very much for the Mescal completists.

  • Read on for reasons including how the best scene is where Mescal’s character is confronted by a woman in a line-up at a wake
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FILM REVIEW: Matilda the Musical starring Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson & Lashana Lynch

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Matilda songwriter Tim Minchin (Groundhog Day, Old Vic) took to social media over the holidays to explain why this film was available on Netflix on Christmas Day in every country apart from the UK.

  • Read on for reasons including why this film isn’t available on Netflix in the UK and why it’s worth a cinema trip
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