Film Reviews – Mark My Words

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Review: An assured, outrageous sequel

Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig create a giddily entertaining follow-up to 2019’s Knives Out in a thoroughly different, incredibly irreverent, new mystery

“Strange World” Review: A thoroughly enjoyable adventure

Brilliantly inventive world building coupled with a sobering central message make this Disney film feel incredibly daring and distinct

“Matilda the Musical” Film Review: An uplifting, effervescent tale with a dash of whimsy

The film adaptation of Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly’s 2011 stage musical is a family friendly spectacle.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris Review: A wonderfully earnest, touching film

A film about a hardworking, genuinely good human being pursuing their crazy dreams of buying a Christian Dior dress may well be the cinematic highlight of the year

Hocus Pocus 2 Review: a Wickedly Good Time

The long-awaited sequel to 1993’s cult classic successfully balances nostalgia whilst offering audiences something fresh

13: The Musical Review: A good score is not enough to elevate this middling coming-of-age tale

13: The Musical is jam-packed with catchy, uplifting tunes but overly simplifies the teenage existence to a fault, losing a lot of the charm of the original

“Thor: Love and Thunder” Review: Balances whacky humour with raw emotion

“First off, the name is Mighty Thor! And secondly, if you can’t say Mighty Thor I’ll accept Doctor Jane Foster!”

Lightyear Film Review: Not quite infinity, but certainly beyond

Pixar’s latest release, while capitalising on the beloved Toy Story franchise, manages to create an instalment that feels wholly unique to what has preceded it

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Review: A relentlessly pacy spectacle

Sam Raimi’s first contribution to Marvel since oft-derided Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness mostly succeeds at being entertaining in its own right, but still relies on a certain amount of fan service

“The Lost City” feels highly familiar, but thoroughly engaging

With stars Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum repeating tried-and-tested performances, “The Lost City”‘s success feels assured

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is a return to form

For all of the controversy surrounding the latest instalment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, it is heads and shoulders above The Crimes of Grindelwald and crafts a captivating, tense and imaginative magical tale

The Phantom of the Open: a shining portrayal for the World’s Worst Golfer

Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins elevate Simon Farnaby’s farcical script into something with genuine emotional heft amongst the folly

Turning Red review: Unashamedly female

Pixar’s first female-directed film is a beautifully resonant coming-of-age tale

The Batman Review: The Darkest of Knights

Matt Reeves’ take on Batman feels miles more personal, but not necessarily more engaging

Cyrano Review: Dinklage is exceptional, but the music is lacking

Despite an assured, nuanced performance from Dinklage, Cyrano falls down from horrendously forgettable, lumbering songs

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Film Review: Beautifully Uplifting

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’s film adaptation demonstrates what all good musical theatre films need: a coherent narrative drive

Red Notice: Brilliantly entertaining action romp

Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson’s winning chemistry elevates an otherwise unremarkable, though twisty, heist flick

Uncharted Review: Haven’t we seen this film before?

Director Ruben Fleischer’s adaptation of the Uncharted video game series does not reinvent the wheel, but proves pleasant enough due to the watchability of lead Tom Holland

The Thing About Harry: A cute queer love story without the gay trauma

A gentle romantic comedy with queer protagonists with a happy ending! That’s how low the bar is!

Death on the Nile Review: Just as captivating as its predecessor

Kenneth Branagh’s sequel is sumptuously shot, gorgeously cinematic and incredibly performed, though is a little slow out of the harbour

‘The King’s Man’ is perhaps the most egregious modern example of cashing in

Despite intentionally branding itself as a prequel to quirky spy thrillers Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The King’s Man lacks any of the levity and silliness that made its predecessors successful

‘Tick, Tick…Boom!’ is inspirational, rousing and affecting – with a career best from Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield is simply sensational in the Netflix adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical stage musical

‘Single All The Way’ gives the gays what they want

Is Single All The Way setting the world alight for its complex plotting? No. But it’s about time that the gays had a clichéd, fluffy Christmas film, isn’t it?

Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ is everything that a movie musical should be

The second film adaptation of Bernstein and Sondheim’s 1957 musical is a cinema highlight of 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a frantic, no-holds-barred celebration of the Spider-Man’s cinematic legacy

Tom Holland’s third outing as the teenage superhero is the perfect evolution from Homecoming and Far From Home

‘Encanto’ weaves a magical, heartwarming and surprisingly pointed tale

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 60th feature film proves fresh, relatable and given heaps of energy with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s reverent soundtrack

‘Eternals’ is epic and character driven, but flawed

Chlo´´é Zhao’s ‘Eternals’ continues Marvel Phase Four’s trend of character development, but suffers when it comes to pace and clarity

Diana: The Musical is entirely unexpected, dizzyingly chaotic and ferociously camp – but that doesn’t mean it’s not wonderful

As camp as a row of tents, Diana: The Musical, recently released as a filmed version on Netflix, is completely incongruous with what the world has come to expect of an adaptation of The People’s Princess’ life, but it’s deliciously addictive all the same.