1. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
What an absolute classic! I wish they still made movies like this. A thriller not in any rush but also not slowly paced and just chock full of fantastic performances. Rebecca De Mornay was so much fun to watch.
[9]

2. Only The Animals
French multistory thriller where it all slowly comes together. I quite enjoyed this but, for once, I actually think it could have been a bit longer to let some sections breathe more. Plus some of the acting felt like the characters knew they were in a thriller.
[6]

3. Renfield
Quite fun action horror comedy. Made me laugh a few times and the action is mostly well done. Just a shame the filmmaking lacks anything you could call style. It's the modern basic filmmaking style but it just means absolutely nothing sticks in your memory. Plus the weird ADR at times showed it was retooled at some point.
[5]

4. Sisu
I know some people like this but I really, really didn't. I thought it was very poorly shot, looking like a bland straight to streaming glossy mess. I thought the action was, mostly, terribly staged and filmed and with too many sequences relying on "if the camera can't see it then it's not happening" stuff. Seriously, they're in a convoy, how do you not see stuff happening in the car in front. I don't understand why the Nazi's spoke English. Or why anyone really spoke at all, it never added anything worthwhile. And final nit-pick is that it starts by saying 'Sisu' can't be translated and then proceeds to translate it. I know they likely meant "directly translated into a single word" but still that was stupid. The mine sequence was good though.
[3]

5. Living
I connected very strongly with this film. Possibly partly due to my gran passing away recently but even apart from that it's a beautifully told version of a film story that you kind of know where it will go. The acting is brilliant, the score is stunning and it's just beautiful to look at. I hope the focus puller won some focus pulling awards.
[9]

6. Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles
People seem to love this but I thought it was a bit shit. I think they have a great story to tell of how they grew to be one of the biggest brands in the world but this doco doesn't know how to tell a story and so you get bits of the interesting stuff but it all becomes a hodge-podge as it goes from one element to the next with no real flow. Also don't show me 9/11 footage in a Wiggles doco tyvm.
[4]

7. Melody Time
Watching old Disney to listen to the Disneyversity podcast. This is back when they were doing short film anthology releases. The budgets are obviously a lot lower than their main releases and so the animation quality varies but there's some great stuff in here. The half live action samba sequence is amazing, I'm guessing they're using the same tech as in Mary Poppins for it. The final short is absolutely wild though. Insanely racist and sexist throughout with an old west fireside folk story. Definitely earns the disclaimer that does. 
[6]

8. Child's Play
Never seen any Childs Play stuff, I remember being scared of the VHS box as a kid and so maybe that stopped me. It's an interesting one. I like how serious the film is shot for such a silly concept. I also think that without Brad Dourif giving 110% on the voice acting it wouldn't land as well as it does. Pretty sure they put that kid actor in some situations that were likely not completely safe either. Can't go wrong at 80ish minutes either
[6]

9. Anatomy of a Fall
I liked this film but I didn't love it. Not entirely sure why. I liked how things were slowly peeled back but I think I just never really got into it.
[6]

10. Polytechnique
You can definitely see the Denis in this. I think it's just one of those early films where you've seen where his talent has taken him and this is just missing a few pieces. Still some powerful filmmaking though.
[6]

11. Asteroid City
Do I know exactly what this was about? No, not exactly. But did I enjoy every frame. Yes, yes I did. I love how Anderson keeps sneaking in little bits of stop-motion animation into his movies too.
[8]

12. The Invitation
A rewatch of Karen Kusama's classic little thriller. Even with knowing where the story is going it's still a great film and really well put together. 
[7]

13. The Zone of Interest
As much as I'd like more Jonathan Glazer films (same as Lynne Ramsay) I think I can handle a masterpiece every 8/9/10 or so years. Even though it it doesn't seem like it this needs to be watched on the biggest and loudest screen possible to let all the horror wash over you.
[9]

14. Dune
A rewatch before the sequel. A good home theatre tester and just a great modern sci-fi film. As much as I enjoy Marvel-style popcorn fodder is so nice to see big action blockbuster done by a filmmaker with a real vision. We just don't get it much anymore.
[8]

15. Whisper of the Heart
Slowly filling in the gaps in my Ghibli viewing. I wish the company would let other filmmakers make films with their animators like they did back then because it's lovely to see these different types of stories and this is definitely a cute one. Was interesting to see Miyazaki did the storyboards for this too.
[8]

16. Dune: Part 2
Did anyone really doubt that he would do this again. Definitely worth seeing on IMAX because those big scenes are biiiig! Stilgar is the MVP in this one and adds much needed heart and laughter. I think it just barely holds onto the scope of the plot it needs to tell but it's nice to see that it trusts the audience to follow the story beats without explanatory dialogue.
[8]

17. Dark Harvest
Usually David Slade makes good things. This was complete and utter garbage. It's making me real sick of all the shite that gets made for streaming platforms. There's so many elements in this that scream that streaming, quick turn around, low effort filmmaking. The fact that you can see the big floodlights in so many shots, or if you can't it's really obvious where they are and it makes no sense and doesn't look real. Seems they didn't have time to figure out how to film the monster well and so it just is shot the same boring way everytime even though the design is pretty cool. There's multiple instances of terrible editing but the main one was the people in the little bunker that the heroes try and get into, the way it plays out doesn't make any sense and the door just gets unlocked by someone who doesn't seem to have a key. Just lazy shite. I hated it. No idea why I finished it.
[1]

18. Saltburn
Weird how when someone makes a movie that hates men it seems that everything else they do gets scrutinised as soon as it gets released. Means I went into this knowing how it was going to play out because everyone just HAD to talk about it in detail. I don't know if not knowing would have helped any anyway seeing as it's a bit of a mess. The rich characters don't have any real character so there's no connection to them. Shifty Barry is doing a weird accent and changes what he's like from scene to scene. And it's just too damn long.
[4]

19. Argylle
This was a fun one until it went too long and kind of ruined it's own premise. But that first hour is great and shows how good Sam Rockwell can be when given centre stage. It also just looked like shit at times. Again, it's that quick and no care streaming platform filmmaking, "let's just do it in post!". Except it then looks proper terrible and it takes you out of the movie.
[5]

20. Dune: Part 2 Again
I'd booked in to see the IMAX film version (the only print in the Southern Hemisphere is here in Melbourne) and the demand was so high I could only get acceptable seats a few weeks after release. It was good seeing it again, it was just as watchable although it is still a bit too long. Interesting to see the film version too, kind of like comparing vinyl to CD/mp3. It might not be the perfect image but the slight softness and darker image makes it feel more filmic I think. Interesting to read they printed the film to film stock and then scanned it back in when doing the original colour grade to give it that filmic look in the first place.
[8]

21. Love Lies Bleeding
I was so keen for a new Rose Glass movie. This one shows she has a knack for visceral imagery with a few sequences making me squirm a bit. I think with this one she might have just been telling a few too many stories in one, I think cutting it down to one of those ideas would have tightened it up. I can name 3 movies I was thinking of as I was watching it and it doesn't quite hit the heights of those. Still a good watch though and I'm keen to see what she does next. 
[7]

22. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Films like this make me wonder when big movies forgot how to tell stories. Was it when studios and producers got more and more power and intent got muddled? I wasn't expecting much from this and it was entertaining enough but it just felt like there was no A plot. Just a series of C plots with no feeling of forward momentum and that what forward movement they found was based of half baked reasoning. Btw, filmmakers, the A plot was Pheobe and her emotional journey and the ghost if you wanted to know which strand you should have focussed on. There's some creepiness here and some nice throwback practical effects but there's also a whole bunch of funny people given no real jokes to give, a bad guy that comes in way too late, and no real stakes or true fun at any point. The guy with down syndrome in front of me had an awesome time and loved all the nods to old stuff though so I think that counts for something.
[4]

23. Joy Ride
I organised a movie night with friends to watch this and I think it's the way to go. In a group setting I was able to gloss over the fact that all the plot turns are done through happenstance and 'don't think about it, just go with it' scripting and just enjoy the laughs. It also covers up that a lot of the scenarios and jokes aren't as well executed as they could be. Which is a shame because I think with a bit tighter comedy and a little more effort placed in how the story moves forward I think it could have been a classic. It was just nice to watch a movie that had actual jokes at times instead of just improv bullshit.
[7]

24. Madame Web
It's fine really, perfectly cromulent and definitely not the worst thing ever. The score just takes knocks because the incessant ADR is as annoying as the zoomy shaky camera-work was quease-inducing. There's some fun to be had with it and also a whole lot of nits to pick but in a fun way. I like that CPR is the ultimate technique for all situations, I like that the song that is playing at the diner when she rocks up in the vision is playing when she gets in the car and has to speed to the diner to get there at the same time as when she strolled through the bush, I like that the 2003 setting means nothing except to remind you that so many big movies were this shit back then and maybe that's the point of using the time period? etc etc. 
[3]

25. The Omen
It's actually quite a fun movie really. Partly because of the setting and some of the politics but also because each of the horror set pieces still absolutely slap. I think it's because of the extraneous damage that occurs throughout them. Smashing through windows and the like. Made me realise how contained so many stunts are these days because the reset time would be too long. Also that kid is perfect casting
[8]

26. The Terminator
I know people will balk at the score but it's just a little harder to watch this one now knowing what is to come. I'm sure it blew minds back in the day but it just feels a little small and repetitive car chasey now. Still heaps of fun though.
[7]

27. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad
Watching through old Disney. They were so thirsty back then. And lecherous. Yikes. Note to writers, don't ever describe a woman as "ripe". Mr Toad is fun though and so is the headless horseman until it goes for too long.
[5]

28. The First Omen
Gee whiz female directed horror can often just not hold back at all. This film went to some places I was not prepared for. If you shave off the epilogue, get rid of the few unnecessary jump scares, and adjust that other wink wink line and you've got a bonafide classic. Just spoils it with those few things.
[7]

29. Godzilla X Kong
I'm a sucker for big destructiony action films and especially ones with monsters but I think this one tilted the movie a bit too much towards the monsters for me which kind of just made it feel like I was watching a cartoon for most of it. Not that that's bad but it just didn't work for me as much being set in hollow earth for most of it. Dan Stevens was fun though but like most of the humans that don't get enough to do to make it worth it.
[4]

30. Congo
A cabin DVD collection watch. Hadn't seen this for yonks. Had somehow forgot that Tim Curry is doing an absolutely shocking Romanian accent. Almost like he said he wouldn't do the film unless he could do an accent he'd been working on and so they said okay and then couldn't make him change it. There's a lot of money on screen in this from the amazing location shooting to the incredible animatronic and animal performance work. The miniature/SFX/VFX work on the end sequence is amazing too. Just a shame the film around it isn't great as it could have been another Jurassic Park like classic. Well maybe not that good but still.
[5]

31. The Wedding Singer
Another rented cabin DVD watch. There's some of the classic Adam Sandler humour in here that really hasn't aged well. He was always a big fan of pointing at overweight people or those whose looks are different to the hollywood norm and just saying "look at the fat person" as a 'joke'. That stuff ain't great but the rest of it here is still good. He's a good actor when there's some restraint placed on the character, like he's meant to be a real person and not The Waterboy. Drew Barrymore being charming also helps.
[6]

32. Wish
Ooft. This is genuinely the day the magic died. I don't think I've ever seen as creatively bankrupt a film as this. I realised that I had a genuine look of disgust on my face throughout nearly all of this. From the shamefully dull and half-assed art style that makes anything from midfield back have zero detail because of the line work, to the fact there's no life in the frame outside of the main characters. It's like they saw Spiderverse and thought they had to try something new and that was the best they could do. To the story that doesn't even try to set-up any of the characters with, well, character. Why does the lead want to become the Sorcerors Apprentice apart from it being a reference? Are the king and queen an actual couple because there's no sense of love there, she doesn't even care when he turns evil or when he's eventually defeated. Is this place a big city or does everyone know each other like they're bffs? Because people keep being talked about like the hundreds of people are also best mate with that person. Why does the star make animals speak? Did they always want to speak or are you just doing another reference to animals talking in Disney films? The songs are also genuinely terrible and completely unmemorable. I genuinely think this is one of the worst films I've ever seen and it's just because Disney has some of the best animation people in the world and this is a real piece of shit and they should know better. Can't believe they couldn't even put some 2d animation in here if this was meant to be a 100 year celebration, even for a flashback or something. Creatively bankrupt and the rest of the animation world is leaving them in the dust.
[0]

33. Late Night With the Devil
Would I have liked this more if History of the Occult didn't exist? Maybe. That one is just the better film in a similar style. Late Night is just a little boring throughout most of the runtime. I also don't like fake documentary footage when it isn't shot like a real documentary. I almost feel like they added the opening (very very) long voiceover setup after the fact to reframe the extra footage as doco. Maybe. It doesn't work though. David Dastmalchian is good though as he usually is. Just wanted a little more from it. Also shorter plz.
[4]

34. Southland Tales
Not sure what to say about this. A weird film that shows that Donnie Darko was a bit of luck for old mate. This has so many similar themes but without the restraint of DD it just is hogwash. It's genuinely funny at times and Sarah Michelle Geller is absolutely fantastic and her performance deserved a better film. Interesting to see The Rock used to have zero screen charisma too. Maybe it's because he's not so muscley. Glad I watched it and read the graphic novels but you can see why Kelly doesn't make films anymore.
[unscoreable]

Placeholder. Let’s actually watch more new movies.

1. The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) - Tony Scott doing peak Tony Scott in this decent remake of the 70’s original. Denzel is on fine form as usual with a solid supporting cast, with the only weak point being Travolta who went to the Al Pacino school of ham here. [7]

2. Saltburn - Keoghan will get all the plaudits I’m sure, but the whole cast were great in this and deserve recognition. I’d say the film doesn’t really live up to the performances, the knowing nods to privilege a bit too simple, and the moments that are meant to shock come across as a bit immature, but the premise of obsession holds up overall and a great homage to that scene from Love Actually at the end elevates it to a [7]

3. Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief - young lad is son of a Greek god and goes on a convoluted discovery/origin story to find the lightning bolt of Zeus. It’s all very average with Columbus (director) falling into the trap of having some decent CGI replace a boring plot. As for CGI, there is some good stuff here with the Medusa head being a highlight, especially as this was relatively early days of the tech. But, all that being said, this is not a good film but its not bad so it gets a [5]

4. The Black Hole - I vaguely remember this as a kid, and how creepy it all felt, like a haunted house in space. But I must have enjoyed it as my mom bought me two of the robot toys for Christmas one year (Vincent and Maximilian). Watching it now, it’s bad, really bad. The acting is terrible, the special effects, even for the time, are woeful and even the sets look cheap. I’m guessing a Disney exec said “remake Star Wars for us, but you have $50,000”. Oh and a special mention to the music, which is also bad, the composer could be great, but the director had clearly watched Star Wars and said every time there is a shoot out give it a really dramatic score, just like that scene where Luke and Leia swing across the bridge, but they do it for every scene. [2] - one for each of the toys I got out of it being made.

5. The Creator - all style over substance I think everyone here has said it all, though I didn’t hate it as much as some here. Edwards needs to stick to direction and let someone else write the screenplay as he doesn’t really have a clue about story [4]

6. I Think We’re Alone Now - wonderful little indie film about a man going about his business after the end of the world. Very grounded and great performances. Only let down by the third act that wasn’t needed [7]

7. The Marvels - Enjoyed seeing Ms. Marvel back again. There’s a lot to like here with the usual solid action, enjoyable characters, for the most part. What lets a lot of these latter Marvel films down is the script, they just can’t seem to nail the pacing or plot. Felt like and RPG side fetch quest for most of it. The core concept of the Marvels also wasn’t capitalised on nearly enough, after the training montage on the ship, I expected a more inventive use of those abilities, but they just seemed to go nowhere. And the baddie was just a bit nothing really. Is it as bad as Eternals? Absolutely not, but it’s filler Marvel and I was hoping for more. Good post-credits scene though. [7]

8. John Carter of Mars I know it should be a less than average film and I know it was a flop when it released but there is something so perfectly executed about this film that it makes me think of those films like The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea when I was a kid. They nailed the feeling of adventure. It didn’t need a massive back story, we know all we need to know about Carter in a few flashbacks. I just think it’s the perfect Sunday afternoon movie. Even though I watched it on a Tuesday night. [8]

10. Just got back from Dune: Part II and I loved it, it was, for me, so much more engaging than the first film. While Villeneuve can clearly do visuals and world building, there was certainly something off about the pacing of the first movie. He gave more time for the main characters, with Bardem having the most fun, a great character in Stilgar, Butler ridding us of the comical Sting version of Feyd, playing psycho very well and Chalamet was excellent here, growing into the messiah he needed to be. I think I gave the first film an 8, this is easily a 9, bordering on a 10 if it wasn't for the dodgy casting of Walken as the emperor.

11. Aftersun - Two excellent performances really make you believe in a dad and daughter on holiday, viewed through the lens of the daughter’s memories and video-cam footage, it all just felt so natural, not actually acting, though of course they were. I had this underlying sense of unease throughout the film that, having finished it, understand where it was coming from, but isn’t what I thought it was. It’s definitely a film to watch more than once [9]

12. American Fiction - Jeffrey Wright on top form as a frustrated writer in an American system obsessed with the "black" experience. It's bang on the money, yes there are funny moments, and the trailer would lead you to see it as a comedy, but there is more emotional heart here than I was expecting and some great supporting performances, with Sterling K. Brown, as his brother being a stand out. I was a bit disappointed with the meta stuff, which, ironically, felt a bit lazy, but then again, I wonder if that was part of the intent, in which case it was genius. [8] or a [9] if I think about it a bit more.

I now really want to see Wright and Giamatti in a film together, I think they'd be great playing off each other, maybe a decent remake of the Odd Couple?

13. The Northman - I don't get the Eggers love. Admittedly, I've only seen The Lighthouse, which I thought, with the exception of a great bit of acting from Dafoe, was just not very good. But having watched The Northman, I get his skill as a director. I thought it was excellent from start to finish. A really well told tale of revenge, it combined some great acting (big up Kidman here who was brilliant), some very well done action (the raid on the village was a great "one-take" scene), beautifully shot throughout, and the revenge was how revenge should be done. Loved it [9]

14. Incendies - Villeneuve does it again. This film bears his DNA that comes through in later work like Sicario, Arrival and Bladerunner 2049. The very considered shots are here, the landscapes are here, the use of time and memory, the realisation of events as they unfurl. It's a tragic and traumatic story that needs to be watched [9]

15. Ghostbusters Afterlife - great Saturday afternoon movie pays nice homage to the original without being too Easter Eggy. The two young kids were great, less so the Stranger Things kid. Rudd was typical Rudd so you know what you are getting. Overall really enjoyable and a nice touch at the end. Only negative? Could have been 20 mins shorter [8]

My list.

1. Sisu
It's the tail end of WW2 and the Nazis are retreating across Finland, leaving scorched earth in their wake. In the bleak landscape of Lapland, a gold miner and ex-soldier nicknamed 'The Immortal' by the Russians who faced him in the winter war and lost an estimated 300 troops to this one man, strikes the motherlode. The miner meets the Nazis, all drunk on war and defeat, and they try to take his gold. Mayhem ensues. Like a cross between Tarantino and Looney Tunes, Nazis are dispatched with gleeful ultraviolence as bodies explode, heads roll and the remnants of a company of Nazis find that The Immortal is well named and very, very good at killing. Pure unadulterated nonsense in a tight 91 minutes, it's the kind of manic action movie that is very rarely made these days. 8

2. Leave the World Behind
Was quite looking forward to this - an apocalypse film with three amazing actors in it? Yes please. Unfortunately, as is so often the case with Netflix exclusive films, this is an overlong and profoundly mediocre experience. The performances are decent enough, but the dialogue veers from unconvincing to terrible at times (Julia Roberts opening monologue is awful shite) and there's so many instances of the characters acting in ways that make no sense that the whole film quickly collapses in on itself. There's some decent ideas and some unnerving sequences, but they feel disjointed and not as profound as the film thinks they are. I'm sure there's some grand metaphor intended here, but I didn't really care enough to think it through. Knock at the Cabin did this much better and it was a bit shit. A massive wasted opportunity. 4

3. Barbie
Not as good as I'd hoped, but not as bad as I feared. Both leads are superb and the film leans so enthusiastically into the weirdness of the whole concept that it's hard not to have fun watching if you just let it happen. It's a lot stranger than I expected and despite the obviously intentional mixture of clever jokes for the adults about the patriarchy and subtle as a bag of exploding hammers jokes for the tweens about the patriarchy, it mostly lands all of them through pure enthusiasm. 7

4. No Hard Feelings
An odd one this - it's like 2 different films smashed together into one tonally schizophrenic comedy that makes eyes at being a rom-com but ends up being a hybrid of an indie coming of age story and a 1980s style sex-comedy. It really is all over the place. Although, not to say it's bad - it regularly made me laugh very loudly - plus Jennifer Lawrence has both a real gift for comedy and is absolutely smoking hot throughout this. I mean, goddamn she's gorgeous even when playing a man extremely morally questionable arsehole. She regularly makes herself look completely fucking deranged throughout this film and is the reason to watch more than anything else. 6

5. Whiplash
JK Simmons is superb in this mediation on what it takes to be best. Such a great film, Miles Teller is brilliant as well and that final gig and the denouement is at once both exhilarating and depressing. 8

6. Renfield
Hugely disappointing horror comedy that, despite some entertaining fight scenes, never really works either as a horror or a comedy. Nic Cage is excruciatingly bad as Dracula, not so much crossing the line into OTT campness as nuking it from orbit. Any goodwill that some inventive action carnage and great practical makeup effects generate is squandered by awful digital gore and dreadful direction. Pretty poor stuff which could have been so much better. 4

7. Get Shorty
A reminder that John Travolta used to be a very watchable screen presence in this funny, smart and breezy satire of Hollywood as a racket. What a cast as well - Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, James Gandolfini, Danny Devito all look like they're having a grand old time. 8

8. The Kitchen
British sci-fi dystopian social realism where the last housing estate in London, populated by underprivileged mostly non-white residents is under siege by the government who want to demolish it and get rid of the undesirables for whom it is the only community they know. Izi is trying to escape it when he stumbles across a newly orphaned boy who might be his son from an old relationship. This is an angry and defiant film that shows a not unrealistic possible future for the UK and is full of great performances - not least from Ian Wright who is brilliant as the resident pirate radio DJ who soundtracks the brilliantly realised world. A great debut from Daniel Kaluya. 7

9. Green Room
Phenomenal. A hardcore punk band touring the Pacific north west has a gig fall through and to replace it, they book a support slot in a roadhouse deep in the forests of Oregon. Thing is, it's a clubhouse for the local branch of neo-nazi skinheads and when the band stumble onto a murder scene after their set they end up under siege in the green room. Brutal and incredibly tense, this was Anton Yelchins last film and he's brilliant in it, only surpassed by a superb turn by Patrick Stewart as the club owner and lead Nazi. 9

10. Dune
Gorgeous looking hard sci-fi epic in which almost every frame is like a painted cover of a classic sci-fi novel. Can't wait to see the next one. 10

11. Bob Marley: One Love
Enjoyable but flawed biopic that isn't so much the story of Marley's life as it is the story of how they made Exodus. Even so, it misses an awful lot of the details of what happened in the time period it covers and is guilty of painting Marley more or less as an unimpeachable angel rather than the flawed genius he was. I wasn't expecting much from this, but it was really elevated by the lead performance and the soundtrack. 7

12. The Beekeeper
Fucking hell, what a load of nonsense. Statham is a Beekeeper on a revenge mission to take down a cyber-scam outfit that drains his landlady's bank accounts which results in her suicide. Absolutely ludicrous from start to finish, with an at times laughably bad script, but with some very entertaining action carnage - you know what you're getting with Statham. You're getting a film that could easily have been made in the early 90s with Seagal and it's exactly as fun as you think that would be, except better because Jase is much more likeable than Steve ever was. 7

13. The Flash
I had to watch this because I really like The Flash as character, but what a chore this was to sit through. It's so long and so unevenly paced that it's 2.5hrs passes, ironically, much slower than it should. There's some decent bits, particularly when Batman is on screen, but unfortunately the film manages to answer a question that hadn't occurred to me - what could be more annoying than Ezra Miller? Answer: Two Ezra Miller's. Plus, for a film that relies on CGI so much the special effects are at times absolutely laughable - some extremely uncanny valleys and sub-videogame cutscene quality shite really manage to take you out of what little engagement you've managed with the film. Michael Shannon, returning as Zod, looks completely bored - and the relentless cameos from alternate universe heroes lacks any of the charm of recent Spiderfilms. But it's not helped, again, by the terrible effects. Rubbish, but not quite as rubbish as the DC benchmark for burning shit-farms that Aquaman hit. 4

14. Goodfellas
I mean, what can you say that hasn't been said already? An absolute stone cold classic and maybe the best mafia film ever made. Watched it with my eldest son, who really liked it, and it was interesting to see his reaction to the style of film making - his generation don't seem used to slower pace with denser plotting. I'm sure, like I did, he'll appreciate it more on repeat views. It's an amazing piece of film making, with everyone firing on all cylinders and Ray Liotta never better. 10

15. Dune Part 2
Jaw dropping and truly spectacular sci-fi epic with, again, the cinematography as the true star. I can't quite get over how amazing this film looks and what an incredible job Villeneuve has done in building the world of Herberts books. It's almost hallucinatory at times, with the sequence on the Harkonnen home world doing what truly great sci-fi does - giving you the answer to something you hadn't even thought of. What does a world lit by a black sun look like? I can't wait to see this again. 10

16. Roadhouse (2024)
The original was a film that didn't really need to be remade, but here we are. Jake Gyllenhall is an ex -UFC fighter with a dark side (I mean, come on, they're all dark side aren't they?) who drifts from fight to fight in the underground. He's approached by the owner of a roadhouse in the Florida keys who has an issue with violent customers and agrees to help out. Cue some fantastically bone-crunching dust-ups with the best that the Miami small-business tyrant jet-ski dealerships can offer until it becomes apparent that the roadhouse is the target of the fail-son of a Miami gangster. He wants the real estate and will do anything to get it. Up to and including employing a cartoon psycho manifesting in the shape of several knots in a hairy rope with googly eyes glued on - otherwise known as Connor MacGregor. I'm probably being unfair to the hairy rope knots though as I'm sure they're a much better actor than the absolute car crash of a performance that he puts in. Jesus, it's awful - but is probably one of the reasons to watch, alongside Gyllenhalls wonderfully blank-eyed psycho. This is not your zen-master fighter that Swayzey played in the first film - but he's played like that same character on the way to becoming that. It's a great performance, so much better than the film deserves, and is almost eclipsed by the astonishing cum-gutter physique that Jake displays. I watched this on a flight to Lanzarote, during which I drank 2 beers and 4 whisk(e)ys and I think this might be the best way to enjoy this 80s throwback action theme-park. 7

17. Come True
I watched this last year and although I really liked it, I can't say that I remembered that much of it (I may have been under the influence) so it was due a rewatch. So glad I did, because this time I loved it. A really solid central performance anchors a fever-dream like film about a young woman who is struggling with insomnia and nightmares and so joins a sleep research clinic. Some incredibly unnerving imagery, a dread atmosphere, brilliantly stylised direction and a superb soundtrack all make for a compulsive and disturbing watch. 9

18. Mission Colon Impossible Dash Dead Reckoning Colon Part One
See Tom Run! Over punctuated 7th film in the franchise which until this one has been getting better and better since the dismal 2nd one. Despite being nearly 3hrs this rattles by like a McGuffin on an unstoppable passenger train heading towards an exploding bridge. It's great fun and has some truly spectacular and extended set piece action sequences which are incredible to watch and are brilliantly directed. But despite this and the genuine thrill of seeing Old Tom performing the stunts, I found myself being taken out of the film by some shonky special effects (which at times resemble really great video games cutscenes - not awful but also obviously fake) and at times ADHD editing. There's also a few unintentionally hilarious bad scripting moments culminating in a Simpsons-esque 'MENDOOOZAAA!' that made me do a LOL. Nowhere near as good as the last one with the lack of Henry Cavill's mustache really felt throughout. 7

19. Back to Black
When this finished, my thoughts were "That was alright I suppose..." But the more I've thought about this attempt at telling the story of Amy Winehouse, her rise to fame and the tragic results of burning too brightly too quickly the less I like it. I came out of the film liking Amy a hell of a lot less than I did going in and surely that's not right? As a biopic of her life and as the story of her musical genius, it dramatically fails on both counts. There's no attempt to get to the root of her addiction issues, no attempt to understand why she was so apparently reliant on men (bad ones at that) and no attempt to even look at how she created the music she did. Even the creation of the legendary titular album is boiled down to some guy saying "There's a new guy called Mark Ronson who's supposed to be great" and then 10 minutes later she's won 5 Grammy's. I've never watched a Biopic that is so disinterested in and actually disrespectful to its subject. It's often very factually wrong and seems more in love with portraying Blake Fielder-Civil as the real inspiration behind her success, rather than the destructive junkie enabler that he was. This is a shallow, poorly made and at times offensively bad film that has a final scene that appears to reduce the reasons for her death to a throwaway 'She was upset that Blake didn't want her and that he had a baby with someone else'. Fucking rubbish. 2

1. The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) - Tony Scott doing peak Tony Scott in this decent remake of the 70’s original. Denzel is on fine form as usual with a solid supporting cast, with the only weak point being Travolta who went to the Al Pacino school of ham here. [7]

I think I saw 8 films last year so I'm going to top that in 2024.

Clueless
Starting the year strong with the OG of classical literature meets high school romcoms. Alicia Silverstone is iconic, with decent support from a young Brittany Murphy.

I still need to update last few films in 2023 thread but think I ended with less than 100 new films last year so that’s the target this time around.

1. Capernaum
A young boy living in poverty in Beirut sues his parents for neglect. It’s revealed the boy is currently in prison for stabbing someone and the story is then told in flashback, providing insight into his life and how he reached this point. It’s a powerful but bleak and heartbreaking view of the lives of those living undocumented, limiting their options and access to improve their circumstances. The film rests largely on the performance of the young boy and he is incredible, driven by looking after his younger siblings and desperately seeking a better life. It challenges the role and responsibilities of parents in perpetuating the cycle, and how outside agencies could/should effect change. It’s an occasionally difficult but always compelling watch and brilliantly made. [9]

2. Saltburn - Keoghan will get all the plaudits I’m sure, but the whole cast were great in this and deserve recognition. I’d say the film doesn’t really live up to the performances, the knowing nods to privilege a bit too simple, and the moments that are meant to shock come across as a bit immature, but the premise of obsession holds up overall and a great homage to that scene from Love Actually at the end elevates it to a [7]

Oh - the soundtrack was top notch.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was on BBC today - uninterrupted by ads.

Decades since I watched this. What struck me is how breezy it is. It moved along at a great pace - faster than I remember. It's still a splendid film - a pleasing blend of action, comedy, character study and ultimately tragedy in the classical sense. The star quality of the two leads is there for all to see - that first shot of Newman in close up is eye popping.

3. Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief - young lad is son of a Greek god and goes on a convoluted discovery/origin story to find the lightning bolt of Zeus. It’s all very average with Columbus (director) falling into the trap of having some decent CGI replace a boring plot. As for CGI, there is some good stuff here with the Medusa head being a highlight, especially as this was relatively early days of the tech. But, all that being said, this is not a good film but its not bad so it gets a [5]

1) Saltburn.

Loved this. All the cast were fab and the soundtrack was superb. Really landed the ending too, which I tend to find rare in films like this. In fact, I think the ending lifted it... which, again, I find quite rare for a film.

Cast and soundtrack were great, the film itself didn't really do it for me, even with the ending.

Mafia Mamma
A one-joke comedy about an American suburban Mum inheriting control of a mafia family outside of Rome. Straightforward dumb fun. Inoffensive.

The Hunt For Red October

Good enough I suppose. Now on to the next two...

It’s all downhill from there really.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Surprisingly restrained and dark (literally, not emotionally) for a Harry Potter film. A solid [7] candidate with amazing costume and set work.