These are essential movies, highly-rated by both critics and viewers
Ari Aster’s Hereditary delivers gut-wrenching terror which builds like a gathering storm, slowly digging into the darkest recesses of our nightmares. It’s not for the faint of heart. From the outset, Hereditary creates a dreaded sense of uncertainty, serving up shock moments and constantly playing games with our own perceptions. It is a glorious, nail-biting art-horror film. The focus […]
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Why make your film linear when you can flit between past and present, and leave audiences crying “Wait, what?” Martha Marcy May Marlene has a free-moving timeline that messes with your head, and it’s completely absorbing. It’s a tense, oppressive movie with one of the most difficult titles to remember, at least after you see the film. […]
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Ten years after Brian De Palma and Al Pacino made Scarface, they came back with Carlito‘s Way, another gangster epic and classic action-thriller. Carlito Brigante is much quieter and wiser than the raging Tony Montanna in Scarface, but he still chases a dream with a speeding bullet right behind him. Carlito’s dream, however, isn’t a pot of cocaine or power and wealth, like […]
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The first John Wick is the definition of a sleeper hit. When it dropped in 2015, it looked like another generic revenge movie, but it turned out to be a terrific, action blast. John Wick: Chapter 2 is bigger, bloodier and builds on everything that happened in its predecessor. You better believe it: the second chapter is […]
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You’d be forgiven for thinking Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was going to be straightforward. It seems like a simple revenge tale. But it’s not. It’s more a tale of how life can hurt, heal and transform people in the strangest ways. Right from the off, it completely denies you the comfort of an easy viewing. If you […]
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There’s nothing like a British “grit-film” to give you a slice of life, in the bleakest way possible. Tyrannosaur, like most British films, doesn’t hold back on its depiction of violence and abuse. For want of a better phrase, this is an up-close-and-personal kind of movie. It focuses on Joseph (Peter Mullan), a middle-aged widower, […]
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FBI agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) goes undercover to infiltrate the New York Mafia, under the name Donnie Brasco. Veteran gangster Lefty (Al Pacino) brings Donnie into the mob and schools him on the ways of the wise guy. Donnie must take the gang down, but – gasp! – he becomes genuine friends with Lefty. One false […]
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What happens to a good cop in a rotten system? Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) found out the hard way. Serpico is a classic 1970s film dealing with police corruption and it’s based on a true story. Beyond his hippy looks and rogue street tactics, Frank Serpico represents justice. He epitomises a brave and law-abiding person, standing up […]
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Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is the kind of guy that would ridicule anyone who went to see a psychiatrist. Meaning, he would never go to see one himself. Well, he really needs to since he spends his spare time killing people for fun. (Or does he?) I’ve seen American Psycho a couple of times now, so you’re […]
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There are crime films and then there are TRUE crime films. Zodiac falls into the latter category. It’s based on California’s notorious Zodiac killings, in which the killer in question took great pride in giving clues by sending letters to the press. Yet still, the cops hit brick wall after brick wall in their pursuit. “The Zodiac” was […]
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Taxi Driver: Travis Bickle (Robert DiNero) is a lonely cab driver working a night shift. He’s an insomniac. Cruising through the streets of NY City, he’s disgusted by the sleaze he finds. It drives him over the edge and so he goes wild as a nutty vigilante. 41 years later and this timeless film still has […]
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Who in their right mind would spend 150 million on a sequel to Blade Runner, released in 1982? Sequels are notoriously disappointing and we all know it’s impossible to recreate a classic, especially one as experiential as the original Blade Runner. Its legacy makes it a tough act to follow. So, it feels like an impressive feat that Blade […]
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