Film Reviews by TB

The first series of Killing Eve was great, especially that we were introduced to Jodie Comer. This new series clearly has a lot more budget to spend, but is not as quick, nimble or enjoyable. By losing Phoebe Waller-Bridge, it also seems to have lost a bit of it's mojo.

But there is still much fun to be had with the various set-ups. Comer shows she can master even more accents and is again the stand-out star of the show. Sandra Oh is also good as well.

I haven't as yet seen series 3, but definitely will. Hopefully it will be back to the high bar set by series 1.

Back when there was a sudden resurgence of interest in the Western genre, multiple films were made, some great, some not so great. This firmly falls into the latter. Despite having an amazing cast, with Russell Crowe on anti-hero duties and Christian Bale as the disabled, impoverished ranch hand who is offered a massive payday to transport Crowe’s character to the 3:10 prison train, it never truly catches fire and takes flight.

The film itself tries to deal with many heavy subjects, some of which it does quite well. It is especially well-shown how painful it is for Bale’s character to not be the father he feels they deserve. But there are also many slow moments and as much as there is the big action scene at the end, it is in many ways too little too late. Crowe also gives in many ways an autopilot performance, which is a shame considering how good he can be.

But the film itself is very well-shot and the rollcall of actors means that it is never boring to be around. I just wished it had been more than this. However, it is absolutely a 3-star film and worth a watch.

After their deeply unsettling & disturbing first collaboration Tony, Peter Ferdinando & Gerard Johnson turn their eye to the well-worn police detective genre. But they have more than a few tricks up their sleeves to make this a memorable and at times extremely difficult watch, but never anything less than compelling.

The tone is set from the outset: we witness a drugs bust, but the level of violence & brutality used makes it hard for a while to discern who the actual policeman are. This is where we first meet Michael Logan: a cynical, burned-out but extremely clever narc, who is not only the law but taking a significant slice of the business as well. Then new Turkish & Albanian gangs move into town and they have a VERY different way of doing business, which doesn't include cutting deals with policeman. From there, the stakes rise, along with the bodies.

Ferdinando is electric. The intensity of his performance keeps you glued in your seat, genuinely feeling every twist and turn Logan has to deal with. Stephen Graham, welcomingly showing with this and other performances that despite Hollywood having come calling, he hasn't forgotten his roots in the UK, is the revolting and smarmy police chief who becomes a thorn in Logan's side. MyAnna Buring also wonders with what is often the thankless role of the partner/girlfriend.

This film also pulls absolutely no punches and really earns it's 18 rating. One deeply unsettling and horrific scene involving sexual assault is seared onto your memory.

A thoroughly incredible film and I cannot wait for the next collaboration between Ferdinando & Johnson.

This is an interesting film, made in 1985, way before Hopkins became famous for Hannibal Lector.

Bill is a father who has gone through a horrific divorce and is now allowed only short visits with his son. As someone who used to be an outspoken advocate for women's rights and empowerment, he has now been burned by the system he supported so virulently, turning in completely the opposite direction. But he is also a man who has significant wealth and when he meets a man going through a messy divorce due to his wife coming out as a lesbian, Bill sees a chance to "get even" using another man's pain which his wealth can potentially heal.

The biggest issue with this film, which obviously when looking back close to 40 years later shows how much times have changed, is how unbelievably homophobic it is. Roger's wife, who reveals she wants a divorce and is gay, is never treated as anything less than an absolute pariah and demonic figure. The scenes where her suitability for raising her child due to her sexual orientation is held up for ridicule are particularly revolting. There is however one ace the film has up it's sleeve which I hope was done deliberately and as a way to satirise this narrative: there are an enormous number of LGBTQI actors cast in the roles; Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Frances Viner and most memorable of all, Simon Callow.

As much as it does pose some interesting questions however, it never really transcends it's television film status. There is quite a soapy feel to a lot of it, although it is a solid piece of drama.

For me, the most powerful thing of all is quite simply that it shows how far we have come as a society from then to now. It should be a matter of huge pride that in a UK courtroom today, no-one would even think of referring to or treating someone of a different sexuality the way that some of the characters are treated. Thank God we have moved on from that way of thinking.

A beautifully shot and incredibly moving film.

The true story of James Braddock, coming up through horrific poverty and destitution to claim the world title is so much more than the standard boxing biopic. This is mainly due to the incredible performances from Russell Crowe and Rene Zellweger.

The whole look of the film, as well as the choreography of the fights is exceptional. I loved it and was on the edge of my seat towards the end.

Masterful, moving and flawless.

I really struggled about what score to give this film. In many ways, it's a pointless addition to the Matrix world. And nowhere more is that evident than by the actions over many years of The Wachowskis.

After Revolutions, there were repeated offers/requests made by Warner Bros for another film. Repeatedly, The Wachowskis turned them down. This was probably down to partly the trilogy completing and coming to a relatively concrete conclusion and also the fact that the movies became more poorly reviewed/badly received with each installment. Certainly Revolutions, except for some moments of brilliance, was mainly an unbelievably bloated film which spent very long amounts of time and exposition to just spew words at the audience. And the final fight, rather than being the most incredible of the trilogy, just kept going and going and going until it seemed someone from the editing department said "You really need to bring this to a close!"

But years later, Lana decided to revisit the world, with Lily refusing to get involved again. And whilst it absolutely is great to see Keanu and Carrie-Ann back sharing the screen again together, the biggest thing for me was that there wasn't really much of a reason for the film to exist. But the film does have, amongst the long scenes of exposition, which didn't often make sense, some elements of brilliance.

By far the best thing about this film, eclipsing even Reeves and Moss, is Jessica Henwick as Bugs. She is such a good character, so well written and stealing every scene she is in. I could quite happily have watched an entire film based around her character. In a movie where certain characters have been recast and others not, it takes an original character to really make this film enjoyable. And it also shows that, when The Wachowskis want to, they can create amazing people.

There are other characters who makes appearances who I won't list so I don't spoil the surprises. Some are welcome returns, whilst others ridiculous and seem to have been shoehorned in to add to the retro-ness nostalgia. But as mentioned above, as much as there are certain standout scenes, this doesn't either right the wrongs of the previous entries nor do anything drastically different.

However, I did enjoy it overall, hence the 3 stars. There is also a notable change once we relocate to Io and the film, at least for a few minutes, settles down and actually gives us some decent backstory and interactions between characters. The action is also solid. Mercifully, the stupid green filtering which The Wachowskis insisted on shooting the first 3 films with is gone. This film looks gorgeous, the bright and popping colours actually making the Matrix and it's world come alive.

As I have seen from the reviews, as well as the feedback online, a lot of people hated this film. But I always look at films in a balanced way and there is a decent amount (if you're patient and don't mind sitting through exposition,) that I liked. Temper your expectations.

See it for a walk back down memory lane and a stunning Jessica Henwick.

Tomboy is a revelation. A stunning, perfect & deliberately un-provocative film. I first saw it the year it was released and fell in love with it. In that time, my reverence for it has only grown.

But one point which I do want to make, which especially today is more relevant than ever, is with regards to it's message. The issue of trans is so political, so highly charged & so toxic that in many ways to try & have a discussion is nearly impossible. Trenches are almost always dug deep on both sides & the vitriol exchanged is horrible. But Tomboy, to me so perfect for so many reasons, does one thing especially well: it takes the damn tension out of things.

For example, there is no mention of pronouns. There is no anger or upset when Laure is called Laure and not Michael by her parents or sister. There is a strong family unit around her and there is support and love.

This is a film which is so simple & delicate. It follows a girl called Laure who is masculine looking & moves to a new town. She is mistaken for a boy (not only for her looks but also calling herself Michael,) and becomes part of a new friend group. But what the film also does beautifully is show that this decision is also made to fit in. By having multiple layers to the character makes it so much more powerful. And the film goes to careful lengths to show that this isn't something which she feels forced to do. Her parents totally accept her looks. Although later on there is shock when the deception is discovered, there is never bile directed against her parents.

The film then shows Laure constructing her new identity & there is much amusement to be had in the various experiments that she does. The very close bond between her and her sister is beautifully played out. As are the interactions between Laure and the friend group. Amusingly, in real life, the children playing the friends are Zoè Hèran's actual friends, adding to the chemistry.

And speaking of Hèran, I cannot find the words to properly convey how perfect this performance is. She is incredible, flawless & heartbreaking. I loved being with her, following her journey. Over just under 90 minutes, we see her hopes, fears and triumphs. The tiny moves in her face, showing without words her feelings & emotions. To me it is a tragedy that we have not seen more of her.

And to Céline Sciamma, thank you. You have created a masterpiece, a beautiful looking, gentle & soulful work of art. This film will stay with me forever.

Finally, one reason this film has added power for me is because I also watched it with a trans-person recently. They were blown away by it and the meaning it gave them, along with the impact, added to the reverence that I already had for it. And they loved it for the same reasons I did: a simple film, without any of the tension that films about trans individuals seem obliged to feature today. This film doesn't minimise this struggle, it shows it clearly, gently and compassionately.

I love it and I hope you do as well.

Martin Clunes reprises his role as Colin Sutton for the final part of the Manhunt trilogy.

The Night Stalker/Minsted Man terrorised South London for decades until Sutton was brought in just before his retirement to try to catch him.

The investigation and how this disgusting verminous criminal was caught is gripping. I also massively appreciated the focus on the effects on the victims as well as the police offers. And a welcome amount of time was given to showing exactly how determined Sutton was to catch Delroy Grant.

A shame that there are only 2 series's, but absolutely worth a watch.

Not even Jacob Tremblay can save this.

3 boys with their different problems within school bunk off. Along the way they deal with learning to kiss girls, handling drugs and speaking to each other in dialogue that kids that age would never say.

I lasted about 40 minutes then gave up. There was also another element to this film which is quite unsettling and does need to be said: for all the "life lessons" these boys learn, they are far too young to be exposed to these types of scenarios and it does border on fairly dodgy ground what happens on screen, and not in a good way.

Did you watch Inception and think "If only this film had even more unlikeable characters, a plot which literally would take 4 or 5 repeat viewings to in some way understand and scenarios which become so turgid and confusing, you give up caring or even feigning interest in?" Well, then Christopher Nolan's new film is for you.

When the ACTUAL cast could not explain even basic elements of the film concisely, you know there are problems. I am not even going to bother trying to explain it. It is a convoluted and egomaniac mess, where lots of explosions/action scenes happen, with various characters you don't know or care about shouting words at each other that make no real sense. The protagonist is called, wait for it, The Protagonist and even refers to himself on more than one occasion in the 3rd person. Maybe Nolan wanted it to come across as meta. To me and probably a lot of people, it just comes across as sanctimonious and stupid.

Most of the rest of the characters are in a similar vein: Kenneth Branagh plays a cardboard cutout Russian villain who drinks vodka & shouts when he wants to make a point; Elizabeth Debicki plays yet another beaten mistress (following on from her performances as a beaten wife in Widows and Night Manager;) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays someone from the future, or is it the past, or is it the present? Whichever it is, I didn't care...

Thank God for Robert Pattinson. He is the only person you actually are interested about and enjoy spending time with. Pattinson plays this role with more than a little tongue in cheek and amusingly I thought it was almost his Bond audition. His carefree & wisecracking Neil is the only real joy to be had.

It has to be said that of course, being a Nolan film with a massive budget, it looks great and the stunts are welcomingly mainly real (Nolan actually crashed a jumbo jet into a hanger.) This insistence on using very little CGI is one of the main reasons this film gets 2 stars and not 1.

But Tenet's problems are massive. It is a bloated, convoluted mess, a cold film with nothing that grabbed me or made me want to come back to rewatch it and work out what different parts of it mean. It may mean a lot to certain people, but I haven't met a single person who enjoyed or even liked it. Here's hoping Oppenheimer is a better film.

In 2005, The Jeremy Kyle show started on ITV. Despite the show in its first few programmes seemingly genuinely wanting to help people, very quickly it descended into what a judge called "Human bear baiting." People called up, thinking that their issues could be helped, but instead were taken in, split up and goaded by staff members before being put on stage like some sick circus act from a hundred years ago to be vilified on TV and then later YouTube.

The show only ended after the widespread reporting of a guest who took his own life. Following that, the dam burst and multiple people who worked both on and had been featured on the show came forward to detail their mistreatment at the hands of a programme who exploited mainly the most vulnerable people in society.

And the fact that this DVD has been published even further shows the naked exploitation by Kyle and ITV. A sickening & utterly immoral programme which thankfully has been condemned to the scrapheap, although sadly Kyle is still employed to give his "advice and insight."

Banned by the BBC, who originally commissioned the film, due to the (what was considered in those days) graphic violence, this still remains an extremely unsettling & upsetting film. Other elements such as disgusting racism & casual violence are also commonplace.

The film focuses on the new inmates to a borstal and their interactions with the staff and fellow kids. It is in many ways an updated Lord of the Flies, except the oppressors are also the adults.

As much as Ray Winstone is in many ways seen as the lead, I was most moved and horrified by Davis who should never have been in the borstal in the first place. The way this vulnerable & slightly mischievous boy is destroyed is heartbreaking to watch, especially the later scenes.

But as much as it is difficult, it is also an incredible production. The young actors involved, as well as the seasoned pros, all do magnetic work. As much as it is difficult to watch, this is sadly a piece of history which needs to be seen, learnt from and yes, enjoyed as great cinema.

With this film, following on from Lock Stock, Guy Ritchie cemented his reputation as the master of the Cockney comedy.

Often copied but never bettered, this multiple-plotline film takes in diamond dealers, unlicensed boxing promotors and gangsters. All the stories perfectly fit together and the humour is never bettered.

The cast are uniformly great, whether it's Brad Pitt or ADE as Tyrone. The slightly dated look due to the budget also really helps the film.

Watch this, laugh your head off, then rent RocknRolla, which was in many ways the continuation of this incredible universe. Just avoid Revolver...

This film is for many people Mike Leigh's masterpiece, a jet black plunge into misery, hopelessness and hell. But for me, it was akin to walking through treacle whilst being spat on.

The strange thing is that I am often a big fan of films/characters which are anti-heroes to the extreme, the best example being Ewan McGregor's character Joe in Young Adam. Anti-heroes can go, in my view, to far more honest and impactful places than a standard protagonist. But even they have to have some redeemable features.

But Johnny, the lead in Naked, is just vile. As in really, really horrible. You wonder why anyone would want to hang around with him and how he even is able to be tolerated by the people he meets. Talking in machine gun fashion, spewing out bile and judgement, he may to some be this incredible sage who is stepping outside society to critique it. But his own life and view of things makes him the most pitiful & squalid of anyone. And whilst he may in some ways acknowledge this, to then spend a whole film with him casting judgement on others is just repugnant in the extreme. The honest truth however, as shown by the film's events, is that what he is above everything else is a thief, either of property or other people's emotions and empathy.

The other thing which has to be said about Johnny's rants are that, as much as there is the odd clever thing he may spit out, most of it is just tedious, stupid and unfunny. The main response I found myself thinking was "If this society is so heinous, move to a monastery, give up all your possessions and become a monk. Then you'll be surrounded by people who only worship God, and as you practically consider yourself one, you'll have the perfect person to evangelize."

The other part of this film that I had a huge problem with was the misogyny. The film opens with Johnny violently raping a woman and then fleeing. But the film then shows him with women either throwing themselves at him or certainly putting up with him belittling them non-stop. The film's message seems to be that the women of this "world" are perfectly happy to tolerate and even find this way of treating them something to accept. At least Joe knew what he was and would remove himself from the situation, telling one woman "I am not someone you want to marry."

I gave up watching the film after about an hour. As much as part of me felt I should watch it to the end, the honest truth is I didn't want to. Leigh's London is not a place I wanted to stay, especially not to spend the entire time with someone who deserves almost nothing but contempt.

I so wanted this to be amazing. The trailer looked great, the cast incredible (especially Rami Malek coming off the back of his Oscar win,) and the actual story had the potential for something incredible. It was teased as a slow-building, old-style whodunnit cop story, particularly in the style of Insomnia, one of my favourite cop thrillers of all time. Amusingly, Insomnia also starred 3 Oscar winners and focused on an oddball loner weirdo. But sadly that's where the similarities end.

The film as a whole is dreadful. It is an unbelievably dated, boring and glacial trudge through a standard rote story. The biggest problem was the script, which is where the dated criticism is most poignant. The film itself was first written in 1993 and you get the sense that had it been made & edited then, it would have turned out very different and probably would have been inestimably better. But it got stuck in development hell and sadly this is the result.

And I genuinely wanted to love it. It does have a lot going for it. The cast are some of the best actors working today, but they are squandered. For example, one of the biggest missed opportunities was with Malek and Leto. The two of them have and can tap into such a creepy, idiosyncratic and unsettling energy that I thought a proper face-off between them, either in an interrogation room or out on the street would not only be phenomenal but also a given. But this never properly happens. All we get is Malek as the dependable cop who follows Leto and then when the two do meet face to face, it ends not with a bang but a damp squib.

And speaking of Leto, there is something frustrating in the way that he is portrayed, both in terms of his attitude & also his look. I know that there is a temptation in these types of films to make the suspect look guilty, but this is just taken to ludacris levels in The Little Things. Albert Sparma is every single caricature & stereotype it's possible to be. He looks like what a tabloid-reading, curtain-twitching paranoid middle-class housewife would imagine a man suspected of those type of crimes would look like. The only thing Leto doesn't do is cackle, look at the screen and scream in a high pitched voice "I'm doing these evil things!!! Hahaha!" And this is another thing which totally derails the movie: it is too ridiculous to work in a real-world drama and would even struggle in a fantasy/comic book world.

Washington brings the usual gravitas he can muster with ease, but again the film wastes him, which is even more criminal considering the first few scenes with him set up what could be a fascinating story.

The film is fairly competently directed by John Lee Hancock and does have some achingly beautiful night shots as well. But this cannot and does not rescue the film from its schlocky & slow path towards an ending with no real payoff and a movie that never manages to capitalise on the potential it had in spades.